Knesset Marks Day Against Sexual Violence Honoring the MeToo Movement

In recent news, the Knesset is preparing to mark the War Against Sexual Violence Day across the State of Israel. The day designated for this battle has been decided to be October 19th, Tuesday, which will also honor the fourth anniversary of the popular #MeToo movement. 

The day will be marked as a joint initiative between Idit Silman (Yamina) and Mossi Raz (Meretz). The primary goal of celebrating the day is to ensure that the topic is highlighted and therefore, given the proper attention it deserves.

On the day, Knesset committees will schedule various debates regarding reforms and laws that have not yet been completed. By doing so, Silman and Raz hope to assign first priority to this topic where the national agenda is concerned. Soon after the debates, the focus will be shifted towards an afternoon conference, which will cover and talk about a couple of victims of sexual crimes.

Yael Sherrer, the CEO and founder of the lobby contesting sexual assault, stated that she believes that this is the right way to go about it. She expressed determination over wanting policymakers to hear the accounts of the victims, and learn about how the State, as well as its institutions, received and treated them. 

She went on to state how the day was an impressive achievement. According to the CEO, it symbolizes the turning point in the care that IDF harbors and exhibits for its soldiers. 

In other news, Elazar Stern, intelligence minister, gave way to controversy just recently when he admitted that he was responsible for shredding some anonymous complaints. These pertained to a handful of officers under him, back when he was the head of the IDF Manpower Directorate. 

Stern, the leading candidate of the coalition to take place as the head of the Jewish Agency, commented on the matter while giving a radio interview regarding an anonymous complaint of sexual harassment. The allegation was leveled against the incoming head of an Israeli Security Agency, Shin Bet. 

The intelligence minister went on to encourage people to come out in the open to make complaints. He added that a culture of anonymous accusations would not be entertained at all. 

Soon after, a video aired on national television, which showed a female soldier complaining that Stern had prohibited her from moving ahead with a complaint of sexual harassment. She stated that she had been a soldier in the official school of the IDF, Bahad 1, between the years of 1995 and 1997. The victim was identified as G and spoke in an electronically altered voice. 

According to the woman, one of the NCOs of the division had tried to force himself on her, when MK Stern, her personal commander, as well as the accused, had been present in the room. After the incident, the intelligence minister had forbidden the woman to make a complaint. She claimed that he threatened to make her days at the IDF ‘bitter and dark’ and have her removed from the army. However, Stern categorically denied all allegations of the sort.