Page 89 - October 7 - Teresa Pirola

Jewish people, remembering that Nazi atrocities against Jews were too often met by the silence of Christians who turned a blind eye to, or even collaborated with, the persecution of their Jewish neighbours.
This must not happen again. Professor Halperin-Kaddari sheds light on a specific moment in our own present-day story where violence against women calls for protest, in the context of October 7 being the largest systematic slaughter of Jews in a single day since the Holocaust.
So, I ask members of my own church community, where are the voices of Catholic feminists? Will they condemn Hamas’ atrocities? Will they be a voice for the voiceless—in this case, for the Israeli, mainly Jewish, victims of rape who cannot speak? Will they advocate for the return of the hostages, including the 17 women between the ages of 20 and 40 who remain in captivity and at risk of abuse at the hands of Hamas?
It is heartening to hear the voices of those courageous Muslim women who have recently spoken out against Hamas’ atrocities and the weaponising of rape on October 7. I am listening to hear the voices of the Catholic sisterhood raised too.
The oft-repeated declaration ‘Never Again’ (in response to past Nazi atrocities) must not be an empty platitude. Protesting the gender-based atrocities of October 7 is one way to show that we mean what we say.
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