The moral fabric of global society is at stake: We women can't be afraid to speak out - opinion

• Published date: 20 March 2024
• Author: FELICE FRIEDSON/THE MEDIA LINE
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

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I learned from my mother and grandmother to embrace my womanhood with strength. I remember days and nights sitting with my mother at our dining room table laden with heaps of papers, researching for her dissertation on religious practices during the Holocaust. The same hate and antisemitism from that frightening period, which the world swore to never let happen again, has become acceptable again today.

Throughout history, women have navigated uncharted territory when no one else would. From Deborah the prophet to Joan of Arc, from Irena Sendler, a Christian who saved 2,500 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, to 2011 Nobel Laureate Tawakkol Karman of Yemen, women have stood up and changed the course of history.

Today's women need to feel just as secure in standing up for the truth and speaking out against evil.

I used to think that the United States was a haven of ideas and that democratic values promoted life and liberty for people of all races, religions, ethnicities, and genders. And now, women can certainly voice their opinions without having to watch their backs.

But within the last few decades, the moral fabric of society has eroded. Right and wrong have become indistinguishable. And too many women feel uncomfortable sharing their inner thoughts publicly.

My son recently shared with me a leaflet found in New York that featured a Palestinian flag and the words "Rape is Resistance." I'd really like to believe the leaflet was intended as sharp satire, aimed at highlighting the absurdity of pro-Palestinian activists labeling the October 7 events as legitimate resistance. However, the unsettling reality is that we cannot be certain of its origins or intent. It's frighteningly possible that it was produced by a pro-Palestinian group and meant to be interpreted literally. Such ambiguity serves as a stark reminder of the Orwellian era we find ourselves in, where the line between satire and reality is disturbingly blurred.

Have we truly sunk this low? Has rape become acceptable as a strategy and a tactic rather than seen as an abomination? Rape is an atrocity, whether it happens to Jews, Sudanese women in Darfur or Khartoum, Ukrainian women, or any man or woman. By being quiet amid calls for rape and reports of rape, we are complicit.

The rape and murder of women in Israel on October 7 is now deemed to be justifiable. Women are being defamed and killed in Iran, a reality that has been underexposed despite the...