Canada’s ambassador to Israel offers to help investigate Hamas’s mass sexual assault of women and girls

Lisa Stadelbauer
Cochav Elkayam-Levy, left, chair of Israel's Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children, meets with Canada's ambassador to Israel, Lisa Stadelbauer, in November 2023. (Canadian Embassy photo)

Canada’s ambassador to Israel, Lisa Stadelbauer, has offered her country’s help to Israeli law enforcement teams who are now piecing together evidence of systematic sexual violence against women and girls by Hamas during and after the terrorist attack on Oct. 7. Stadelbauer officially reached out to the Israeli police, and to women’s groups and to the chair of Israel’s civil commission on sex crimes by Hamas.

The Tel Aviv–based diplomat may have been the first Canadian ambassador to publicly declare that she believes Israeli women: she made her statement on Nov. 24, more than two weeks before Canada’s own minister of foreign affairs, Melanie Joly, who tweeted the same thing on four days ago, on Dec. 7.

The issue of feminists around the world not believing Israeli women has gained traction in the last week, while Hamas denies its militants sexually violated any Israeli victims or hostages. On today’s The CJN Daily, Lisa Stadelbauer speaks out, saying she is personally ashamed that it took her so long to realize what Israeli investigators have been telling the world.

What we talked about

  • Learn more about #MeTooUnlessUrAJew on last week’s episode of Bonjour Chai
  • Why a city councillor in Victoria, B.C., denied that Hamas used rape against Israeli women, in The CJN
  • CJN columnist Phobe Maltz Bovy on why there is no #MeToo for the victims of Hamas rapes

Credits

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.