Co-author of Dinah Project to ‘Post':‘ Blacklisting Hamas is 'historic justice' for Oct. 7 victims

Yahoo

21 hours ago

The report, released last month, called for the use of all of the evidentiary tools at the justice system's disposal to reach indictments.
The blacklisting of Hamas by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the Thursday report on conflict-related sexual violence on October 7 is a historic statement, worthy of its own merit, and has the potential to bring justice one step closer for the victims, Prof. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, who co-authored the report with the all-female team at The Dinah Project, told The Jerusalem Post in an interview on Thursday.
The five-person team, nestled under Bar Ilan University's Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women, includes founding members Col. (res.) Sharon Zagagi-Pinhas and retired judge Nava Ben-Or, as well as Eetta Prince-Gibson and Nurit Jacobs-Yinon.
The report, released last month, called to use all of the evidentiary tools at the justice system's disposal to reach indictments - including other evidence, which are just as strong and acceptable in criminal law, like eyewitness testimonies and those of first-responders.
This type of evidence does have legal precedent use, and is, per the report, the most appropriate framework through which to bring about justice, given the chaotic and widespread nature of the October 7 massacre attack. The full report can be read at thedinahproject.org.
'Significant and positive responses to report'
Halperin-Kaddari said that the responses to the report were 'very significant and positive.'
'We found that there was an openness to accept our conclusions - without the usual argumentative rejections. The work was deep, comprehensive and clear, and we also came as an independent academic body - rather than that of public service or public leadership... Essentially, no one has done this before us,' she explained.
The conclusions of the report purport to extend far beyond Israel and to where conflict-related sexual violence exists in other places. For about as long as there have been conflict and wars, sexual violence has often followed. The UN has highlighted over the years that sexual violence is often deliberately used as a tactic of war - to terrorize, humiliate, displace, and shatter communities.
UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramilla Patten - who led a mission to Israel in early 2024 and released a report strengthening the basis of such crimes committed on October 7 - said last June that CRSV is chronically underreported, and that 'with each new conflict, we see rising numbers of cases of sexual violence.'
Halperin-Kaddari said, 'When you have dozens of eyewitnesses to a sex crime, that is not something that can be denied.' The Dinah Project simply suggested using the full range of legal and evidentiary tools at the systems' disposal.
Part of what made the Hamas attack massacre unique is its circumstances, its tone, and 'the fact that it was clearly to target an entire community at large, not select parts of it.'
These, coupled with all the literature on conflict-related sexual violence, lend greater credence to the tools that can and should be used to prosecute the perpetrators now, she explained.
She said the team hopes that the prosecution advances efforts to reach indictments, and treats the issue with the proper gravity.
The Dinah Project is one of several voices that called for the UN to blacklist Hamas in this report. Halperin-Kaddari welcomed the move.
She also noted that the criticism towards the UN is familiar and well-known, but 'we believe that in spite of these challenges, the best way to achieve justice is to do it from the inside, to work with the system in place.'
'The listing has diplomatic, political, moral, and even historical implications. That is why we set it as one of our goals - for the historic justice of the act itself,' she explained.
A professor herself, she said that her wish is that the next generation of legal scholars would include October 7 on their list of historical examples of conflict-related sexual violence that saw justice. 'Blacklisting Hamas is exactly the move needed for this.'
There is more work to do. This extends to the diplomatic and international realm, and has to include a designation of Hamas as a terrorist entity, she explained.
But, because of the challenges to this - like vetoes on the UN Security Council - 'it is pertinent to take different steps, approach different international organizations, and raise the voices of the victims above the noise,' she said.
Solve the daily Crossword