By now, one has either heard of the extensive sexual violence committed against women in Israel by Hamas, or one has chosen to live under the most apathetic rock. In the seemingly never ending saga of shedding light on this dark day, another piece of the collection of depravity has just been released: “Silenced No More,” the nearly 300 page report on sexual violence by the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children. It is an unbelievably tragic yet admirable effort displaying the best of what people can achieve with empathy and dedication. However, it is also yet another insidious spotlight on the absolute worst to which others can sink when choosing pure evil.

Yet for me, it is less about what is actually inside of this report…it is about the continued necessity of it. Its still very necessary existence is by default necessarily troubling. To anyone with a pulse, it should beg the question: why did this have to be released? Why is this still so relevant and crucial to talk about?

The obviously depressing and depressingly obvious answer is that though this horror took place over two and a half years ago, the pain still exists nearly as fresh because it has been largely silenced by the world.

Such unimaginable brutality addressed in the report but largely unaddressed by most serves as a perfect microcosm for the core of October 7th itself: while the extent of the unthinkably vicious savagery has been more than the human, especially female, mind can come to terms with, the following unfathomable global denial and ignorance of these painful realities continue to rival the original atrocities. And so this gigantic wound upon Israeli women has since scarred over but never fully been allowed to heal.

This sadism against women is easily arguable as both the worst of what was committed that day and the worst that one human can do against another…not only due to the nature of the pain the women endured, but because it reveals the undeniable nature of the criminals inflicting it. That they chose this deliberately, as the crime of sexual violence is always absolutely unnecessary in any situation. That they wanted to........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)