something that has been bothering me for a while is this particularly nasty reply i got on a post about sexual violence against jewish women:
this is from someone who has the word "feminist" in their bio.
(also included an image of a newspaper from The Four Girls - Sephardic Heritage Museum)
i have been making an effort to humanize the people these idiots like to dehumanize.
so here goes.
in the mid 1970s, four Jewish women were murdered and raped because they tried to escape from Syria, where it was becoming rapidly more hostile for Jews.
these women were three sisters and their cousin.
Lulu Zeibak, 23
Mazal Zeibak, 22
Fara Zeibak, 24
Eva Saad, 18
from They Did Not Reach The Border:
"The Jewish travel ban was in effect. If caught on the move, the women would be interrogated and jailed. Syrian police often deliberately locked Jews up with hardened criminals. A short stay in a Syrian prison could be a death sentence."
"In Syria, it started with forced military conscription (1909), then Nuremberg-type anti-Jewish laws (1930s), forced Arabization of Jewish schools (1945), laws prohibiting the ownership of real property, the shunning of Jewish businesses and boycotts (1948) and the freezing and then seizure of Jewish bank accounts (1949). The emotional impact of some of these measures was magnified, occurring just 36 months after the crematoria had cooled at Auschwitz, Dachau, Bergen-Belsen, Buchenwald and the rest. Nor was this timing coincidental. Syria and its Vichy French puppet masters were on the side of the Nazis. They permitted the Luftwaffe to use Syriaâs airbases. Nazi war criminals even sought refuge in Syria after the war. Posters in Arabic stating âIn heaven, God is your ruler. On earth, Hitlerâ were frequently displayed in shops in the towns of Syria. And then there were the pogroms. In 1944, the Damascus Jewish Quarter was twice sacked by mobs. Over 150 Jewish shops were looted and destroyed in Aleppo in 1947. Less than two years later, in 1949, organized attackers threw grenades into the Al-Menashe synagogue in Damascus, killing 13 and wounding 32. In 1950, many Syrian Jews were ejected from their homes, some of which had been in their families for centuries. In 1967, anti-Jewish violence erupted again in response to the Six-Day War. âSlit the throats of the Jews!â chanted the mob."
"The womenâs bodies were found on March 2, 1974. They were discovered in a cave outside Al-Zabadani. They had been raped before they were murdered. Their bodies were hacked to pieces and burned by acid almost beyond recognition. They had also been robbed. A finger of one of the young women had been cut off in order to remove a ring. Syrian police returned the womenâs remains to their families in burlap sacks. They cavalierly deposited the sacks in front of their parentsâ homes on Purim. The bodies of Natan Shaya and Kassem Abadi were also discovered in the cave. They were likely victims of an earlier massacre. The boys were also attempting to reach freedom in Israel. While the official statement of the Syrian government is that smugglers were responsible, some people believe the atrocity was committed by Syrian soldiers. A member of the Zeibak family said that to this day the Syrian government has concealed all facts from them. The last three Syrian Jewish refugee families were smuggled out of the country in 2016. Today, not a single Jew lives in Syria."
From the Sephardic Heritage Museum's page on this:
"At the four girlsâ funeral in Damascus several thousand Jews, mostly women, along with some of their Arab neighbors march to the U.S. embassy, shouting demands to leave Syria. Their protest galvanizes activists around the world. President Assad calls their claims âZionist propagandaâ and denies that Jews were being mistreated."
these were real people. they were living breathing humans with families, and they risked their lives trying to escape to find a better life. Lulu, Fara, Mazal, Eva, Natan, Kassem. They were murdered for being Jews. They were murdered for resisting attempts to destroy them.
Remember them. remember and remember and remember them.
now, to address in more detail the terrible comment left by the self-described feminist above, it makes me so fucking angry. i cannot believe that this is a statement someone would even dare say.
"Wait, the Syrian women are from the fucking 70s???? Like, now I believe these story is legit because you had to dig out a 50 year old story. Jesus. Don't you realize that actually hurts your claim? Rape of Israeli Jewish women by Muslims is apparently so rare you have to go back half a century to find one case (note because literacy is dead: of course I don't believe no Israeli Jewish woman has been raped since the 70s, I'm pointing out how absurd it is to go back more than a decade before Hamas was created to claim this is systemic)"
if these women had not been murdered, they would currently be in their 70s. they were not these ancient "3000 years ago waaa" concept you seem to have. these are women who were younger than my grandmothers. these are women who should still be alive right now.
also, i didn't know that a mass-murder-rape-robbery-abuse-of-corpses should be "gotten over" 50 years later. or ever. what a rotten thing to say about someone.
this person also clearly didn't read the sources beyond this because these women were not Israeli. they were Syrian Jews who attempted to escape TO Israel because they wanted to be able to LIVE.
and the thing is, yes, this is systemic. the romans raped jews. the caliphates raped jews. the people who participated in pogroms raped jews. nazis raped jews. hamas raped jews. white europeans raped jews. and yes, arab muslims raped jews.
during the october 7th attack, members of hamas were encouraged to use sexual violence against jews. in captivity in gaza, israeli hostages were raped by hamas members.
i encourage anyone who can handle it to read the full report on sexual violence on October 7th.
The-Dinah-Project-full-report-A4-pages_web.pdf
they recorded themselves raping jewish girls and posted it on the internet because they were PROUD of what they had done. they wanted to humiliate these women in every possible way.
Israeli doctors: Many of 30 released female hostages were assaulted in Gaza
French court jails two teenagers over 2024 Jewish girl rape
Jewish French woman allegedly raped, kidnapped to 'avenge Palestine' | The Jerusalem Post
Full article: Sexual violence, rape, and pogroms, 1903â1920
End The Silence
I Was Raped Because I Am Jewish - Tablet Magazine
Testimonials of Israeli Hostages:
15 hostages break silence on sexual violence on Oct. 7 - JNS.org
Ilana Gritzewsky:
Ex-hostage tells UN Security Council of sexual assault, starvation in struck Gaza hospital | The Times of Israel Former hostage tells 'Times' about being sexually assaulted in Gaza - JNS.org
Romi Gonen:
Former hostage Romi Gonen recounts repeated sexual assaults by captors in Gaza | The Times of Israel Israeli hostage reveals she was raped by Hamas nurse
Guy Gilboa-Dalal
A Hamas Hostageâs Secret Ordeal - The New York Times 'I had nowhere to run': Guy Gilboa-Dalal recounts sexual abuse by captor in Gaza | The Times of Israel
Sasha Troufanov
Freed captive Sasha Troufanov reveals sexual harassment during Gaza captivity | The Times of Israel
Alon Ohel
Third released hostage says he was sexually abused during Gaza captivity 'You're an animal': Ex-hostage Alon Ohel says he was chained for year and a half, starved | The Times of Israel
Rom Braslavski
Former hostage reveals sexual abuse during 738 days of captivity in Gaza 'I was torn apart, dying': Rom Braslavski says captors sexually assaulted, tortured him | The Times of Israel
Elizabeth Tsurkov
Freed hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov details torture, sexual assault by Iraqi captors | The Times of Israel Elizabeth Tsurkov Recounts 2 1/2 Years of Captivity - The New York Times
Dafna Elaykim
Former hostage Dafna Elaykim says she was sexually assaulted in captivity | The Jerusalem Post Teenage former hostage: Terrorist touched me constantly, said he wants us to get marr Released hostage, 15, says she acted as mother to her younger sister in captivity | The Times of Israel
Aviva Siegel
Freed hostage Aviva Siegel recounts Hamas's sexual abuse, violence toward captives | The Times of Israel
Agam Goldstein-Almog
'They're going to rape me,' Gaza hostage told mother on Hamas captivity | The Jerusalem Post 'How can we look you in the eyes?' Ex-hostage shares new images of time in captivity | The Times of Israel
Amit Soussana
Ex-hostage Amit Soussana: 'I fought off many men' Ex-hostage tells UN she was sexually assaulted by Hamas guard 'in most horrifying way' | The Times of Israel
sexual violence against jews is not something i had to "drag up evidence" for. i did not talk about the syrian women because that was the only example. that incident is one in a whole list of events that involved systemic sexual violence and torture against jewish people. there is history here. im sorry if you feel offended that i could possibly suggest people like to sexually abuse jews. but your little freedom fighters are far from the first to do it.
i have experienced sexual abuse, assault, and harassment. i am a survivor. i feel repulsed and disgusted that people insist on denying this very well documented history. they choose to believe every jew must be a liar instead of fixing their broken societies and addressing what has already happened.
believe jewish women. believe israeli women. believe survivors. believe the released hostages.
believe jewish people when we talk about sexual violence against us.
