Senator Krueger Joins Women's Rights Leaders in Statement Condemning Use of Rape and Sexual Assault as Weapons of War

New York - State Senator Liz Krueger today joined the following statement signed by women's rights leaders condemning the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war during the October 7th Hamas attacks. To view the full list of signatories, go to www.womensrightsleadersspeakout.org.

 

Women's Rights Leaders Condemn the Atrocities of October 7th

Statement by Women's Rights Leaders on Rape Atrocities During the October 7th Attacks

As women’s rights activists and leaders, we stand for the right of every woman and girl, of every nationality, religion, and community, to live free of all forms of violence, including rape and sexual assault.

In the weeks since October 7th, overwhelming evidence has emerged that widespread, horrific acts of rape and sexual violence were systematically perpetrated by Hamas attackers against Israeli women and girls during the October 7th assault. The evidence includes forensic examinations of Israeli victims’ bodies bearing signs of rape and torture; eyewitness testimony by survivors of the Oct. 7th attacks who saw women being raped and mutilated; the testimony of first responders who found the bodies of Israeli women and girls in their bedrooms amid unmistakable and virtually unspeakable evidence of having been raped; video footage filmed by Hamas attackers and recovered from their devices, which recorded evidence of sexual assault, and which has been viewed and attested to by American journalists and elected officials; videos which have been made public showing a young Israeli woman with bloodied pants, being dragged by her hair in and out of a vehicle by Hamas abductors, and another young woman stripped to her underwear with Hamas abductors on top of her; and testimony being compiled by an independent, nongovernmental commission investigating war crimes perpetrated against women and children by Hamas on October 7th. 

The undersigned have marched, organized, and spoken out for women of every race, religion, identity, and nationality. Our hearts break for all victims of gender-based atrocities, and our hearts break for these specific victims, the Israeli women and girls raped and sexually tortured on and after October 7th. Despite our different backgrounds and perspectives, we stand united in these principles: 

• We denounce the use of rape as a weapon of war, which is a crime against humanity.  

• We call for a thorough, skillful, and unbiased investigation by international human rights investigators of acts of rape and sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas and other terrorist groups against Israeli women and girls on and after October 7th; we call for perpetrators of war crimes to be held accountable by all relevant authorities including the International Criminal Court.  

• We demand the immediate, unconditional release of all remaining hostages so that they can receive desperately needed treatment for trauma and other serious medical conditions; we affirm that continuing to hold these kidnapped hostages captive is an ongoing violation of international law; and we say to these hostages and their loved ones: you are not alone.

 We grieve as we witness the heartbreaking anguish of women, children, and all those who suffer through no fault of their own in both Israel and Gaza. We mourn the deaths of so many Palestinian and Israeli civilians who have been killed in this war. We long for a just peace. To denounce rape as a weapon of war is not to express approval or alignment with the governing coalition in Israel, nor does it signal support for the bombings in Gaza. But as feminists we are committed to the universal principle that rape must always be condemned; we bear witness to the mountain of evidence that Hamas and other terrorist groups used rape as a weapon of war against Israeli women and girls; and we demand accountability for crimes that must never be tolerated by the world community.   Most of all, we stand with the victims of gender-based atrocities, with the survivors and with those who did not survive, and we raise our voices in solidarity with them.   

 

Signed by

Governor Kathy Hochul, New York State

Letitia James, Attorney General, New York State

Hon. Carolyn Maloney, President, National Organization for Women-NY

Gloria Steinem  

Mariska Hargitay, Founder, Joyful Heart Foundation 

Hon. Judy Harris Kluger, Executive Director, Sanctuary for Families

Letty Pogrebin, Founding Co-Editor, Ms. Magazine  

Jayne Bigelsen, Chief Policy Officer, Women’s Justice NOW

Rachel Foster, Founding Co-Chair, World Without Exploitation 

Lauren Hersh, National Director, World Without Exploitation

Jane Manning, Director, Women’s Equal Justice 

Alexi Meyers, Co-Chair, New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition 

Sonia Ossorio, Executive Director, National Organization for Women-NYC

Rebecca Zipkin, Policy Director, World Without Exploitation 

Lori Cohen, Chief Executive Officer, PACT

Ane Mathieson, Project Director, EMPOWER Center

Christine Pelosi, Co-Founder, We Said Enough

Judi Polson, Chair, NOW-NYS

Anne Ream, Founder, Voices and Faces Project

Maria Trusa, Founder, Yo Digo No Mas

Shannon Watts, Founder Emeritas, Moms Demand Action

Sheryl Sandberg

Rabbi Sharon Brous, Founder and Chief Rabbi, Ikar Temple

Mandana Dayani, Human Rights Activist 

Diane Von Furstenberg

Ashley Judd, Actor and Activist 

Ambassador Eleni Kounalakis, Lieutenant Governor, California 

Amy Paulin, New York State Assemblymember

Liz Krueger, New York State Senator 

Mimi Rocah, Westchester District Attorney 

Joyce Vance, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama

Congressman Ritchie Torres 

Congresswoman Grace Meng

Andrea Stewart Cousins, New York State Senate Majority Leader  

Carl Heastie, New York State Assembly Speaker

Mayim Bialik

Helen Hunt 

Jill Kargman

Téa Leoni

Seth Meyers

Alysia Reiner

Paul Rudd

Amy Schumer

Jessica Seinfeld 

 

New York State Senators

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins  

Senator Jabari Brisport 

Senator LeRoy Comrie 

Seatorn Nathalia Fernandez

Senator Kristen Gonzalez    

Senator Joseph Griffo

Senator Pete Harckham

Senator Michelle Hinchey 

Senator Brad Hoylman Sigal  

Senator Liz Krueger

Senator Andrew Lanza

Senator John Liu

Senator John Mannion

Senator Rachel May 

Senator Shelley Mayer

Senator Zellnor Myrie

Senator Gustavo Rivera  

Senator Sean Ryan

Senator Julia Salazar  

Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton

Senator James Skoufis

Senator Toby Stavisky

Senator Kevin Thomas

Senator Lea Webb

Retired Senator Alessandra Biaggi

 

New York State Assembly Members

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie 

Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay 

Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato

Assemblymember Jeff Aubry

Assemblymember Didi Barrett

Assemblymember Michael Benedetto 

Assemblymember Sam Berger

Assemblymember Jacob Blumencranz

Assemblymember Alex Bores

Assemblymember Ed Braunstein

Assemblymember Harry Bronson

Assemblymember Chris Burdick 

Assemblymember Kenny Burgos 

Assemblymember Marianne Buttenschon

Assemblymember Robert Carroll 

Assemblymember Willaim Colton

Assemblymember Brian Cunningham

Assemblymember Brian Curran

Assemblymember Taylor Darling

Assemblymember Joseph P. DeStefano

Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz

Assemblymember Simcha Eichenstein

Assemblymember Harvey Epstein 

Assemblymember Emily Gallagher

Assemblymember Jodi Giglio 

Assemblymember Joseph M. Giglio

Assemblymember Deborah Glick 

Assemblymember Jessica Gonzales - Rojas

Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi 

Assemblymember Joshua T. Jensen 

Assemblymember Billy Jones 

Assemblymember Charles Lavine

Assemblymember Grace Lee 

Assemblymember Dana Levenberg

Assemblymember William Magnarelli 

Assemblymember John McDonald

Assemblymember David G. McDonough

Assemblymember Karen McMahon

Assemblymember Brian Miller 

Assemblymember Angelo J. Morinello

Assemblymember Steve Otis 

Assemblymember Amy Paulin 

Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas

Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar 

Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal 

Assemblymember Nily Rozic

Assemblymember Angelo Santabarbara

Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright

Assemblymember Amanda Septimo

Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky

Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon

Assemblymember Tony Simone

Assemblymember Douglas M. Smith

Assemblymember Phil Steck

Assemblymember Al Stirpe 

Assemblymember Al Taylor 

Assemblymember Fred Thiele 

Assemblymember Monica Wallace  

Assemblymember Carrie Woerner 

Assemblymember Ken Zebrowski 

Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas

Assemblymember Sandra Galef

Assemblymember Mary Beth Walsh

Retired Assemblymember Tom Abinanti

Retired Assemblymember Sandy Galef

 

District Attorneys

Alvin Bragg, Manhattan District Attorney 

Darcel Clark, Bronx District Attorney

Eric Gonzalez, Kings County District Attorney 

Melinda Katz, Queens District Attorney 

Michael McMahon, Staten Island District Attorney   

Mimi Rocah, Westchester District Attorney 

 

New York City Councilmembers

Councilmember Shaun Abreu

Councilmember Erik Bottcher

Councilmember Gale Brewer 

Councilmember Eric Dinowitz

Councilmember Oswald Feliz

Councilmember Kamillah Hanks

Councilmember Julie Menin

Councilmember Keith Powers 

Councilmember Lynn Schulman

Councilmember Marjorie Velázquez 

Retired Councilmember Helen Rosenthal 

 

Elected Officials

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli 

George Latimer, Westchester County Executive 

Yadira Ramos-Herbert, Mayor-Elect New Rochelle

Mark Levine, Manhattan Borough President

Vanessa Gibson, Bronx Borough President

Retired Congressmember Nita Lowey 

Vedat Gashi, Chairman of the Westchester County Board of Legislators

Margaret Cunzio, Westchester County Legislator  

Tyrae Woodson Samuels, Westchester County Legislator 

Justin Brasch, White Plains City Council President 

Ellen Hendrickx, Greenburgh Town Councilwoman 

Suzanne Berger, Westchester County Leader

Brad Lander, City Comptroller 

Christine Hunschofsky, Florida State Representative

 

Leaders

Rabbi Elka Abrahamson, President, Wexler Foundation

Jason Alexander, Actor 

Gaby Allan, Writer and Producer

Dina Bakst

Dee Beaubien, Board Member, Personal PAC

Miriam Ben-Yoseph, Professor Emerita, DePaul University

Amanda Berman, Executive Director, Zioness 

Jeff Berman, CEO, WaitWhat

Mijal Bitton, Spiritual Leader, Downtown Minyan

Carole Boron, Personal PAC

Sarah Bremner, Producer

Rachel Bronson, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Shifra Bronznick

Meredith Burns, CEO, Fort View Productions 

Katie Cappiello, Playwright 

Lea Carpenter, Writer

Josh Charles

Sharon Chitrit

Jennifer Cody Epstein, Novelist 

Abie Cohen

Leandra Medine Cohen, Author

Tom Colicchio, Chef and Activist

Lisa Collins, Actor

Victorian Cook, Founder, Torah Trumps Hate

Camille Cooper, CEO, Augusta Associates

Elizabeth Corsini, Public Health and Equity Strategist 

Jennifer Crittenden, Writer and Producer

Tara Rudes Dann, CEO and Founder, L’AGENCE

Chloe Jo Davis, Editor and Writer, GirlieGirlArmy

Marcia Dickstein Sudolsky, President, Tri-State Maxed Out Women

Eileen Dordek, Board Member, Personal PAC

Tina Duryea, Artist

Asaf Eyal

Paula Eiselt, Filmmaker and Reproductive Rights Advocate

Kathryn Erbe, Actor

John Erickson, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles

Stephanie Ferdman

Nancy Fisher, Board Member, Museum of Jewish Heritage 

Sophie Flack, Writer 

Sheri Flanders, Writer

Eric Fleiss, Co-Founder, Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance 

Mimi Frankel, Member, Commissioner's Board, Women's Refugee Commission

Mara Freedman

Amanda Foreman

Aura Friedman

Frida Furman, Professor Emerita, DePaul University

Amanda Gamer

Kathryn Garcia, Director, State Operations for the State of New York

Spencer Garrett, Actor

Sue Gelsey, Chief Engagement Officer, Kaplen JCCon the Palisades

Liz Whitmer Gereghty, Community Leader

Corinne Goldman

Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, Illinois State Representative

Dana Gordon, Founder, Politics with Dana and Steve

Sally Gottesman

Rob Greenberg, Producer, Writer, and Director

Linda Greenhouse

Mindy Feldman Hecht 

Joshua Henna, President & Founder & White Horse Strategies 

Hagit Hamus

Marisa Harary

Mary Haviland, Advocate & Author on Gender-Based Violence  

Mindy Feldman Hecht, Board President, Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance 

Alissa Hendel

April Hennig

Aline Hilford

Penny Hirsch, Board Member, Women Initiating New Directions

Michael Hirshchorn, President, Ish Entertainment 

Susan Hoffman Hyman, Screenwriter and Founder and CEO of StoryBreak

Ilyse Hogue, Senior Fellow, New America

Annie Hausmann, Council President, Borough of Norwood New Jersey 

Sara Hurwitz

Jacob Hyman

Jon Hyman, Teacher

Joshua Hyman, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, New York Presbyterian/Columbia University

Stephanie Jacobs, Founder, Advocates for Change

Oren Jacobson, Co-Founder, Men4Choice

Sheila Jaffe, President, National Organization for Women, Palm Beach County Florida

Patty Jenkins

Michelle Jubelirer, Chair and CEO, Capitol Music

Deborah Karton, Trustee, Jewish Women's Foundation

Dr. Dara Kass

Deborah Katz, Former Sex Crimes Prosecutor and Investigator

Julie Kay, Author and Human Rights Attorney

Rachel Klein, Director Hillel of Westchester

Sarah Koch, Network Producer

Faith Kogan

Blair Kohan

Nancy Kohn, Trustee, Jewish Women's Foundation

Jill Lafer, Former Board Chair, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Lauren Leader, CEO, All In Together

Martha Levy

Paulette Light

Dahlia H. Lithwick, Journalist and Author 

Jonathan Littman, CEO Littman Media

Marcie Love, Founder and Chair Emerita, Personal PAC

Ellen Grob Levy, Board Member, Tri-State Maxed Out Women

Joshua Malina, Actor

Janel Maloney, Actor

Claudia Mammerman, Partner, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton

Camryn Manheim, Actor

Jennifer Mann

Mary Manning McCullough

Deborah Marcus, The CAA Foundation, Executive

Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Historian, The New School 

Joan Meier, Professor of Clinical Law, Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance

Yael Melemede, Filmmaker, SALTY Features

Haina Just Michael, Co-President, Hillels of Westchester

Stacey Sherr Michelon, Board Member, Planned Parenthood of Illinois

Eileen Minnefor, Attorney and Writer

Jenny Mollen 

Tiffany Erwin Moller, Lecturer, Columbia Law School

Victoria Moran

Denise Namer

Galt Niederhoffer, Writer and Producer

Grace Newton, Former Board Chair, Personal PAC

James Odell

Michael Osgood, Former Commanding Officer, NYPD Special Victims Division  

Abigail Pogrebin

Yotam Polizer, CEO, IsraAID

Danielle Pollack, Policy Manager, National Family Violence Law Center

Elizabeth Posner, Chair of Board, Planned Parenthood Illinois Action

Daphne Lazar Price, Executive Director, Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance

Stephanie Reddick, Artist

Samantha Ronson

Erin Rose, Founder and CEO, Every Two Minutes

Sandra Rose

Jodi Rosen, Board Member, Planned Parenthood of Illinois

Nancy Rotering, Mayor, Highland Park, Illinois

Rachel Rothenberg-Saenz

Jennifer Rubin

Julie Rudd

Kathleen Russell, Founding Executive, The Center for Judicial Excellence

Dr. Masua Sagiv

Rabbi Joanna Samuels

Kathleen Sances, President, G-PAC

Danielle Schoenberg, Membership Manager, Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs

Erin Schrode

Clarence Schwab, Treasurer, Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance 

Ellen H. Schwartz, Film Producer  

Lorraine Schwartz

Steven L. Schwartz, Former Sex Crimes Prosecutor  

Tamara Sepper

Lynne Sered, Trustee, Jewish Women's Foundation

Libby Shani

Maayan Sherris

Karen Kehela Sherwood, Producer 

Ben Sherwood 

Reshma Shetty, Actor

Debra Shigley

Alexandra Shiva, Film Director

Suzy Shuster, CEO, Magnetic Media Group

Lori Silverbush, Filmmaker and Activist

Deshi Singh, Founder and CEO, Apricot

Kate Sloan 

Lindsay Sloane

Halie Soifer, CEO, Jewish Democratic Council of America

Sara Spinnell

Anna Stein

Emily Tisch Sussman, Founder and Host, She Pivots

Jennifer Taub, Professor, Western New England University 

Hope Taitz

Abigail Tambor

Jennifer Taub

Shelley Taub

Virginia Terry, Director of Strategic Communications, Girl Rising

Daena Title, Artist

Carol Todrys, Board Member, National Center for Jewish Women - New York

Wendi Trilling, Producer and President, TrillTV

Naomi Tucker, Founding Executive Director, Shalom Bayit

Hollis Wei, Executive Director, JACPAC

Laura Welch, President, Illinois NOW

Joyce White Vance, University of Alabama Law School, Professor

Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers 

Liz Whitmer Gereghty, Community Leader

Kate Wiczyk

Modi Wiczyk, CEO, Media Rights Capital

Katy Williamson 

Jill Wine-Banks 

Maya Wolf

Noah Wyle, Actor

Sara Wyle, Actor

Julie Zebrak

Barbara Zdravecky, CEO, Planned Parenthood of SWCFI