For many International Women's Day is a special day to appreciate the important women in our lives, but for others the day has become marred by loss and grief. Many are in mourning here in Israel. We invite you to rise up at this time to support Israeli women at this time of crisis in our nation. The wound seems incurable, but your solidarity means so much.
The UN finally found the heart to affirm what we already knew: Israeli women were brutally raped and sexually assaulted, tortured and killed on October 7.
Hamas has used rape as a weapon of warfare. The UN statement came 150 days too late, but was ironically just in time for International Women's Day.
Not only are many in agony, missing sons and daughters who have been murdered or taken hostage, but there are several mothers with their children still in captivity in Gaza.
Some of the most iconic images of the hostages have been of the red headed Bibas family who were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. The mother, Shiri, and her two small children, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, were stolen from their beds and have been kept as prisoners for over four months now. If indeed, they are still alive. Meanwhile, another hostage who was pregnant when kidnapped by Hamas has apparently become a mother while in captivity. The baby will be over three months old by now. Can you imagine trying to care for a newborn in a terror tunnel in Gaza?
“You can only imagine, as I do, what must be going through that young mother’s mind as she is being held with her newborn by these murderers,” wrote Sara Netanyahu to her equivalent in the US, Jill Biden in a letter. “We must call for the immediate release of them and all those being held… The nightmare… must end.”1
As Sara Netanyahu made her appeal on behalf of the hostages in Gaza, we encourage you also to do all you can. As we come up to the Feast of Purim, we encourage you to be a modern-day Esther: please rise up to speak on behalf of Israel, to your local politicians and also appeal to the ultimate authority: to God.
PRAY:
Pray for the miraculous release of the hostages, even as the violence threatens to increase over Ramadan. Pray for God to set the captives free. Pray for women in captivity, young and old, and pray for all the many thousands of mothers in Israel who are grieving or in distress at this time.
WRITE:
Public pressure really makes a difference, much more than you might think. Please write emails and letters to your local representative about the situation, appealing on behalf of the captives, for their release and for Hamas to be called to surrender.
RISE UP!
Please don't be shy about standing up for Israel, especially the Israelis who have no voice and cannot speak for themselves. Israel has a lot of enemies at the moment, but if you are a friend of Israel, please make your voice heard loud and clear, and speak up for God's people at this time!
- Times of Israel, Hostage gave birth in Gaza captivity, Netanyahu’s office confirms, 15 November 2023
Photo by Lampos Aritonang on Unsplash
