Israel’s leadership is pushing the allegations that Hamas fighters raped Israeli women during the October 7 attacks for its own political objectives while the government’s ongoing refusal to allow the...

Israel’s leadership is pushing the allegations that Hamas fighters raped Israeli women during the October 7 attacks for its own political objectives while the government’s ongoing refusal to allow the United Nations to conduct a full investigation into the matter threatens to hinder any evidence, advocates have warned.

  • circuscriticEnglish
    5•7 months ago

    There’s a huge difference between isolated incidents, and the systemic use of rape as a weapon of war.

    One’s a regular criminal offense, and the other is Hague War Crime Tribal level of offense.

    • mozz
      6•7 months ago

      Not even slightly. Or, I mean, not for quite a while; the treatment of rape in war has evolved past what you are describing since quite some time ago.

      • Pre World War 2: Shit happens, they’re soldiers, what are you going to do
      • World War 2 through 1993: Hey I think they shouldn’t do that
      • 1993: UN declares systematic rape to be a war crime <-- you are here
      • 1993-2008: Various minor redefinitions over a series of resolutions

      Then in 2008, the UN took the fairly sensible when you think about it step of saying that if you are fielding an army, and that army is raping people with any regularity, then that is your problem i.e. a crime against humanity and you don’t get to mount the defense that you didn’t tell them to, and so it’s not your problem if it is happening.

      Your viewpoint is disgusting and explicitly rape-apologist, as well as in this case legally incorrect.

      • circuscriticEnglish
        1•7 months ago

        Are you relying to the wrong the wrong comment? Or did you just not read mine correctly…?

        Before I lay into the absurdity of your response as it relates to my comment, please double check.

        Because it should be obvious that my comment adheres to the UN charter you reference and I never claimed that systemic only includes weaponized rape ordered through the chain of command.

        • mozz
          4•7 months ago

          You said that a soldier raping a civilian is a regular criminal offense. I cited the UN resolution that says among other things:

          The Council demanded that all parties to armed conflict take immediate and appropriate measures to protect civilians, including by, among others, enforcing appropriate military disciplinary measures and upholding the principle of command responsibility; training troops on the categorical prohibition of all forms of sexual violence against civilians; debunking myths that fuel sexual violence; and vetting armed and security forces to take into account past sexual violence.

          I mean, it’s possible that we’re saying the same thing; sort of contingent on what you mean exactly by “isolated incidents”. I am saying that widespread rape on October 7th is indicative of a war crime regardless of whether approval for it came through Hamas’s chain of command. Is that what you’re saying?