A Northeastern University law professor says the political leanings of many women’s rights organizations have played a role in their silence about the sexual violence perpetuated by Hamas in its Oct. 7 assault on Israel.
“I think organizations here in the U.S. have been disinclined to make a statement because many women’s rights organizations or feminist-led organizations are aligned with movements of the left and liberation,” says Margo Lindauer, a clinical professor at Northeastern University’s School of Law. “Many of those organizations oppose current Israeli policies towards Palestine,” she says.
But when it comes to condemning sexual violence, “my opinion is that it shouldn’t matter,” Lindauer says. “If we stand for women and we stand against rape as an act of war, we all have to stand up to what Hamas did,” regardless of whether individuals support an Israeli, Palestinian or two-state solution or a ceasefire, she says.
