Claims of systematic rape on October 7 appeal to a racist trope of the savage, predatory Arab. Which is why western politicians and media are so unconcerned by the dearth of evidence
You are a propagandizing, ignorant sympathizer and even the oft-benign UN refutes you. You are convincing no one, your claims of the absence of evidence are far more refutable than the evidence you question, and I struggle to pray for God or so much as street thugs to have mercy on your soul.
But you won't publish this comment, as you are manipulating rhetoric and criticism, yourself.
UN just released its report and concurred that rape and sexual violence were systematically weaponized on October 7th. Would you care to issue an apology?
...refreshing to read a reasonable take on the situation. Donald Trump has taught them well in that if you tell a lie loudly enough and keep repeating it over and over again, you don't need evidence for people to believe it.
While this is a great article, it is making a key narrative error that favors Israeli and Western media propaganda. Here's a substack which breaks down the problem:
"A lie is halfway round the world before the truth has got it's pants on." Mark Twain
Thanks Jonathan Cook for your continued courage, tenacity, rigour and forensic insight into addressing the above. Your relentless energy keeps morals, decency and truth in the fight against an almost overwhelming tide of vile lies and deceits.
“The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.” Antonio Gramsci
"Given that Palestinians flooded out of Gaza that day after Hamas fighters broke through the prison fence, only a fool would argue with certainty that no rapes or sexual assaults occurred."
As far as I am aware the only evidence is of a testimonial nature. I would doubt that rapes occurred, but for sure, there were many innocent people killed on October 7th.
It's interesting that the modern feminist trope "believe all women" has been weaponised by the state of Israel to help justify their mass slaughter campaign. It's dangerous to believe what anyone claims without question.
The trope has its roots in child abuse cases, where the abuse is ongoing and the claims of assault made by the child have to be taken seriously. The child has to be believed even though there may not always be hard evidence to support their claims.
But this in my opinion should not apply to adults under any circumstances. That doesn't mean that adult claims of rape and abuse should always be dismissed, but they should require more evidence than simple testimony.
Someone somewhere said/wrote - something about religion and therefore rape is not plausible! I am neither Middle Easter nor Jewish and the last last thing you would ever call me is religious but maybe Mr. Cook could look into it!
I am going to be excruciatingly and brutally honest and you are not going to like what I have to say. I also mean no malice nor disrespect . . .
I understand and certainly appreciate you invested a lot of time and research on this article but giving even a microscopic ounce of media attention to this particular "topic" - is giving it an ounce to much! Your time is also way to valuable and can certainly be spent exposing other things.
You know it, I know it and everyone that reads Substack knows what transpired on 10-07 contrary to the plethora of egregious, pernicious, malicious, unsubstantiated, lies the Israel lobby is has invested one billion dollars in spewing!
This specific topic however is the one repeated most often - and obviously, hence the reason for your post. But common sense tells all of us in addition to the entire world, Israel has now basically become the scum of the earth.
Anyone that could possibly slaughter this magnitude of innocent, defenseless, small children and toddlers, infants and newborns, shoot them at point blank range, bulldoze tents crushing people alive deny them the most basic medical supplies not only in attempt to save their lives but deaden the insurmountable and excruciating pain from burns, broken and severed limbs, starving them to death - denying water and sanitation so they suffer from disease while destroying and bombing every single hospital, school, church and refugee camps - shooting and slaughtering them as they attempt to flee bombing every single imaginable safe haven. My point being . . . .
Hamas fighters are not "nice guys." But I do not find it particularly credible that any fighters who are engaged in an operation and are under fire would stop and take the time to start raping women. Their goal was to take as many hostages as possible for trade - and kill anyone who got in the way of that goal. But as always with the Israelis they always have to concoct propaganda for both a domestic audience and the American public.
The baby beheading allegations remind me of Allied propaganda in WW1 - how the German army supposedly impaled Belgian babies on their bayonets in 1914. There never was any evidence.
Thank you Jonathan for making the effort to remind all of us that journalists have a responsibility, like doctors, to “do no harm”. Your commitment to evidence-based reporting demonstrates your dedication to that principle, while not mincing words to describe the horror that is unfolding in Greater Palestine. Bravo! 👏
You are a propagandizing, ignorant sympathizer and even the oft-benign UN refutes you. You are convincing no one, your claims of the absence of evidence are far more refutable than the evidence you question, and I struggle to pray for God or so much as street thugs to have mercy on your soul.
But you won't publish this comment, as you are manipulating rhetoric and criticism, yourself.
UN just released its report and concurred that rape and sexual violence were systematically weaponized on October 7th. Would you care to issue an apology?
...refreshing to read a reasonable take on the situation. Donald Trump has taught them well in that if you tell a lie loudly enough and keep repeating it over and over again, you don't need evidence for people to believe it.
Such an idiot.
https://substack.com/@derpderpderp/note/c-45857071?r=2kpk00
While this is a great article, it is making a key narrative error that favors Israeli and Western media propaganda. Here's a substack which breaks down the problem:
It's Gaza, not Hamas
https://ericbrooks.substack.com/p/its-gaza-not-hamas
Max Blumenthal has a good tweet on Zaka. https://x.com/maxblumenthal/status/1735003374058115348?s=46&t=772nmjqwXfJ4yFA6Y6vrZQ
"A lie is halfway round the world before the truth has got it's pants on." Mark Twain
Thanks Jonathan Cook for your continued courage, tenacity, rigour and forensic insight into addressing the above. Your relentless energy keeps morals, decency and truth in the fight against an almost overwhelming tide of vile lies and deceits.
“The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.” Antonio Gramsci
"Given that Palestinians flooded out of Gaza that day after Hamas fighters broke through the prison fence, only a fool would argue with certainty that no rapes or sexual assaults occurred."
As far as I am aware the only evidence is of a testimonial nature. I would doubt that rapes occurred, but for sure, there were many innocent people killed on October 7th.
It's interesting that the modern feminist trope "believe all women" has been weaponised by the state of Israel to help justify their mass slaughter campaign. It's dangerous to believe what anyone claims without question.
The trope has its roots in child abuse cases, where the abuse is ongoing and the claims of assault made by the child have to be taken seriously. The child has to be believed even though there may not always be hard evidence to support their claims.
But this in my opinion should not apply to adults under any circumstances. That doesn't mean that adult claims of rape and abuse should always be dismissed, but they should require more evidence than simple testimony.
Someone somewhere said/wrote - something about religion and therefore rape is not plausible! I am neither Middle Easter nor Jewish and the last last thing you would ever call me is religious but maybe Mr. Cook could look into it!
Jonathan:
I am going to be excruciatingly and brutally honest and you are not going to like what I have to say. I also mean no malice nor disrespect . . .
I understand and certainly appreciate you invested a lot of time and research on this article but giving even a microscopic ounce of media attention to this particular "topic" - is giving it an ounce to much! Your time is also way to valuable and can certainly be spent exposing other things.
You know it, I know it and everyone that reads Substack knows what transpired on 10-07 contrary to the plethora of egregious, pernicious, malicious, unsubstantiated, lies the Israel lobby is has invested one billion dollars in spewing!
This specific topic however is the one repeated most often - and obviously, hence the reason for your post. But common sense tells all of us in addition to the entire world, Israel has now basically become the scum of the earth.
Anyone that could possibly slaughter this magnitude of innocent, defenseless, small children and toddlers, infants and newborns, shoot them at point blank range, bulldoze tents crushing people alive deny them the most basic medical supplies not only in attempt to save their lives but deaden the insurmountable and excruciating pain from burns, broken and severed limbs, starving them to death - denying water and sanitation so they suffer from disease while destroying and bombing every single hospital, school, church and refugee camps - shooting and slaughtering them as they attempt to flee bombing every single imaginable safe haven. My point being . . . .
DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME - WE ALREADY KNOW!
Given all the lies told by the IDF, I doubt if anything they claim is credible. The little boy can only cry Wolf so many times.
Hamas fighters are not "nice guys." But I do not find it particularly credible that any fighters who are engaged in an operation and are under fire would stop and take the time to start raping women. Their goal was to take as many hostages as possible for trade - and kill anyone who got in the way of that goal. But as always with the Israelis they always have to concoct propaganda for both a domestic audience and the American public.
I regard Cochav Elkayam-Levy as nothing more than an Israeli agent engaged in propaganda. A complete hack.,
The baby beheading allegations remind me of Allied propaganda in WW1 - how the German army supposedly impaled Belgian babies on their bayonets in 1914. There never was any evidence.
Thank you Jonathan for making the effort to remind all of us that journalists have a responsibility, like doctors, to “do no harm”. Your commitment to evidence-based reporting demonstrates your dedication to that principle, while not mincing words to describe the horror that is unfolding in Greater Palestine. Bravo! 👏