Forgiving attitude towards Sde Teiman suspects a slippery slope for sex offenses, says ARCCI head
Israel’s Association of Rape Crisis Centers (ARCCI) called on Israeli authorities to fully investigate and exercise the full extent of the law in alleged cases of sex offenses against Palestinian detainees perpetrated by Israeli soldiers and jailers.
Failing to do so could lead to a slippery slope, ARCCI head Orit Sulitzeanu said. “Whoever thinks it is legitimate to commit sexual violence against the horrible Nukhba terrorists can then say that it is legitimate to commit sexual violence against prisoners, and can then say it is legitimate to commit sexual violence against those who are the other side of the political map, and this can deteriorate in a very dangerous way.”
Sulitzeanu expressed concern over the public reaction to the case of nine soldiers arrested for alleged offenses against a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention center, which has included an outpouring of support for the suspected soldiers from the public and elected officials.
“If Israeli society is forgiving about what happened, it will come back like a boomerang,” said Sulitzeanu.
One of the dangers of this forgiving attitude towards and normalization of sex offenses is that it could lead victims of sex offenses to think that offenses against them could be excusable.
Sulitzeanu offered as an example the case in which an IDF soldier comes back from reserves and commits sexual violence against his girlfriend. In a society that is forgiving to those who commit sex offenses, his girlfriend might think this is legitimate because her partner has seen horrible things in his IDF service, she explained.
As a mother of released soldiers and an Israeli citizen, Sulitzeanu said that, of course, she supports the IDF soldiers protecting Israel. Along with this, being a combat soldier means that you must meet certain moral and legal standards, she added.
“The fact that you are a soldier, or a combat soldier does not give you the right to harm or sexually abuse or physically abuse anyone else.”
Preventing the phenomenon of sexual violence
Sulitzeanu highlighted that sexual violence is a phenomenon that is destructive and terrible, regardless of who is committing it and against whom.
“Whether a combat soldier or a criminal, and whether the person hurt is a horrible Nukhba terrorist or a girl – it’s always terrible.”
“Sexual abuse doesn’t have a ‘context,’ and there are no circumstances in which it is allowed. Not even investigating or punishing the worst of our enemies,” said the ARCCI in a statement responding to reports of sex offenses in multiple Israeli prisons.
“It is our duty to maintain our moral limits even when the rage and pain are bubbling up.”
“Investigating and bringing about justice is not a ‘prize’ to murderers or the other side – they are standing up strongly for our character as a society.”
The ARCCI has seen decreased sex offense reporting after a spike in reporting that followed the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, said Sulitzeanu, attributing some of this to an atmosphere in which women don’t feel they can report because they feel others are facing more serious problems, making it seem like it is not an appropriate time for them to report offenses against them.
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