November 25 has been designated as ‘The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women’ to create awareness about gender-based violence and promote gender equality. According to News18, at a conference on this theme, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said,
“Women don’t belong to you, women are not an animal you can hit. A woman isn’t an animal you can beat, and nowadays we say don’t hit animals. We have compassion for animals, women are animals, children are animals, with rights.”
Netanyahu at event marking International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women: “A woman isn't an animal you can beat, & nowadays we say don’t hit animals. We have compassion for animals, women are animals, children are animals, with rights.” pic.twitter.com/jwfLH6aYqU
— Noga Tarnopolsky (@NTarnopolsky) November 23, 2020
During a conference on how to combat violence against women, specifically in Palestinian communities, Netanyahu compares women to animals, saying there is even consensus today about ending cruelty against animals. https://t.co/fkHZJAUQuM
— Mairav Zonszein מרב זונשיין (@MairavZ) November 23, 2020
The Jerusalem Post reports that after receiving criticism for his remarks, his office issued a clarification saying,
“Prime Minister Netanyahu, who spoke from the bottom of his heart today about women’s rights and against any violation of them, only gave an example of abuse in a small part of his speech when he also spoke about harm to animals, but in no way intended to compare them.”
What do you think of the PM’s statements at a time when the number of domestic violence cases in the country has tripled since March?