On 8 December 2023, the World Council of Churches (WCC) held a hybrid discussion watched globally. It was part of the WCC 16 Days Against Gender-based Violence campaign. It rightfully identified the horrific and traumatic impact of the weaponizing of sexual violence by highlighting the evidence from the wars in Ukraine and Sudan. But for some inexplicable reason, the WCC would not even acknowledge the demonic accounts of sexual violence perpetrated against Israeli women, men, and children less than two months earlier.
To its minor credit, in a statement dated June 11 2024, the WCC did quote from a United Nations statement in March 2024 that there is “reasonable grounds” to believe “the most extreme and inhumane forms of killing, torture and other horrors, including sexual violence” happened on 10-7. But it quickly added a condemnation of Israel claiming that it is using sexual violence against Palestinian detainees in the West Bank.
More disturbing than the tepid response from the WCC is that one has to read deep into the June 11 statement to find any reference to sexual violence. The rest of the statement is more typical of the mainline Protestant narrative: blame Israel for all the damage, hunger, health crisis, destruction and loss of life during the Gaza war. Never hold the Islamic terrorists accountable.
Yet, this goes from bad to worse. Not only did the WCC only offer anemic outrage for what happened 10-7, it was heavily criticized by other Christian groups for being too critical. For example, Kairos Palestine issued a lengthy letter, published on the website of the United Church of Canada, that objected to several aspects of the WCC statement, including its account of the Hamas attacks. It argued that the WCC used particularly strong language when describing Hamas atrocities while inadequately describing Israeli actions against Palestinians. More significantly, it directly criticized the treatment of sexual violence.
The letter affirmed as follows:
We hold a firm position that sexual violence must be condemned in its entirety and irrespective of who commits it. However, centering Israeli victims of sexual violence, in accounts that are still being investigated (at least for allegations of rape), and referring to Palestinian victims of Israel’s long standing, systematic policies of sexual violence, that have evolved as a tool of warfare in Gaza, with verified testimonies and documented accounts as mere “instances of sexual violence by Israeli authorities against Palestinian detainees in the West Bank” is not acceptable.
Kairos Palestine considered even the WCC formulation insufficiently attentive to Palestinian suffering. The United Church of Canada's decision to publish this letter is significant evidence of the perspectives it chose to circulate within its church community.
But the pattern I am finding in my research still holds. Again, there is no instance of any public statement from any of the mainline liberal Protestant denominations specifically condemning and drawing attention to the gut-wrenching, substantial and detailed reporting that has come to light about what actually happened on 10-7 regarding conflict sexual violence. Church leaders frequently used language such as atrocities, terror attacks, war crimes, brutality and violence against civilians when discussing 10-7. General and muted condemnation of Hamas' 10-7 attacks was considerably easier to document across the denominations than specific acknowledgment of the sexual violence committed during those attacks.
It sickens me to think that mainline Protestant denominations refuse to accept the growing collection of research including personal testimony and forensic evidence dealing with this horror.
It is difficult to read this material. But we must.
The Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes Against Women and Children Silenced No More: Sexual Terror Unveiled — The Untold Atrocities of October 7 and Against Hostages in Captivity
Published: May 12, 2026
Research director: Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, Israeli human rights and international law scholar.
Link: https://www.civilc.org/silenced-no-more
The Dinah Project-A Quest for Justice: October 7 and Beyond
Published: July 2025, English edition; June 2026, updated Hebrew edition.
Research leadership: Professor Ruth Halperin-Kaddari and an interdisciplinary group of Israeli legal and gender experts.
Link: https://thedinahproject.org/
Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI)Silent Cry: Sexual Violence Crimes on October 7
Published: February 2024
Lead researcher: Dr. Carmit Klar-Chalamish
Links: https://1202.org.il/en/information-and-data/reports-and-articles/october-7-sexual-violence-crimes-report/
Israel Women's Network and the Women & War Research and Documentation Collective
Analysis of the Israeli Government's Preparedness and Response to Acts of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in the Hamas Attack of October 7, 2023 and Policy Recommendations
Report dated: December 2024.English publication: February 2025
Authors: Dr. Sarai Aharoni and Shira Barbibay-Shaham
Link: https://iwn.org.il/october-7-sexual-violence/
On 8 December 2023, the World Council of Churches (WCC) held a hybrid discussion watched globally. It was part of the WCC 16 Days Against Gender-based Violence campaign. It rightfully identified the horrific and traumatic impact of the weaponizing of sexual violence by highlighting the evidence from the wars in Ukraine and Sudan. But for some inexplicable reason, the WCC would not even acknowledge the demonic accounts of sexual violence perpetrated against Israeli women, men, and children less than two months earlier.
To its minor credit, in a statement dated June 11 2024, the WCC did quote from a United Nations statement in March 2024 that there is “reasonable grounds” to believe “the most extreme and inhumane forms of killing, torture and other horrors, including sexual violence” happened on 10-7. But it quickly added a condemnation of Israel claiming that it is using sexual violence against Palestinian detainees in the West Bank.
More disturbing than the tepid response from the WCC is that one has to read deep into the June 11 statement to find any reference to sexual violence. The rest of the statement is more typical of the mainline Protestant narrative: blame Israel for all the damage, hunger, health crisis, destruction and loss of life during the Gaza war. Never hold the Islamic terrorists accountable.
Yet, this goes from bad to worse. Not only did the WCC only offer anemic outrage for what happened 10-7, it was heavily criticized by other Christian groups for being too critical. For example, Kairos Palestine issued a lengthy letter, published on the website of the United Church of Canada, that objected to several aspects of the WCC statement, including its account of the Hamas attacks. It argued that the WCC used particularly strong language when describing Hamas atrocities while inadequately describing Israeli actions against Palestinians. More significantly, it directly criticized the treatment of sexual violence.
The letter affirmed as follows:
We hold a firm position that sexual violence must be condemned in its entirety and irrespective of who commits it. However, centering Israeli victims of sexual violence, in accounts that are still being investigated (at least for allegations of rape), and referring to Palestinian victims of Israel’s long standing, systematic policies of sexual violence, that have evolved as a tool of warfare in Gaza, with verified testimonies and documented accounts as mere “instances of sexual violence by Israeli authorities against Palestinian detainees in the West Bank” is not acceptable.
Kairos Palestine considered even the WCC formulation insufficiently attentive to Palestinian suffering. The United Church of Canada's decision to publish this letter is significant evidence of the perspectives it chose to circulate within its church community.
But the pattern I am finding in my research still holds. Again, there is no instance of any public statement from any of the mainline liberal Protestant denominations specifically condemning and drawing attention to the gut-wrenching, substantial and detailed reporting that has come to light about what actually happened on 10-7 regarding conflict sexual violence. Church leaders frequently used language such as atrocities, terror attacks, war crimes, brutality and violence against civilians when discussing 10-7. General and muted condemnation of Hamas' 10-7 attacks was considerably easier to document across the denominations than specific acknowledgment of the sexual violence committed during those attacks.
It sickens me to think that mainline Protestant denominations refuse to accept the growing collection of research including personal testimony and forensic evidence dealing with this horror.
It is difficult to read this material. But we must.
The Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes Against Women and Children Silenced No More: Sexual Terror Unveiled — The Untold Atrocities of October 7 and Against Hostages in Captivity
Published: May 12, 2026
Research director: Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, Israeli human rights and international law scholar.
Link: https://www.civilc.org/silenced-no-more
The Dinah Project-A Quest for Justice: October 7 and Beyond
Published: July 2025, English edition; June 2026, updated Hebrew edition.
Research leadership: Professor Ruth Halperin-Kaddari and an interdisciplinary group of Israeli legal and gender experts.
Link: https://thedinahproject.org/
Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI)Silent Cry: Sexual Violence Crimes on October 7
Published: February 2024
Lead researcher: Dr. Carmit Klar-Chalamish
Links: https://1202.org.il/en/information-and-data/reports-and-articles/october-7-sexual-violence-crimes-report/
Israel Women's Network and the Women & War Research and Documentation Collective
Analysis of the Israeli Government's Preparedness and Response to Acts of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in the Hamas Attack of October 7, 2023 and Policy Recommendations
Report dated: December 2024.English publication: February 2025
Authors: Dr. Sarai Aharoni and Shira Barbibay-Shaham
Link: https://iwn.org.il/october-7-sexual-violence/
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