Sheryl Sandberg, the former Meta executive, joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Israeli officials at a recent event to draw attention to the horrific violence women endured during the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7. Speaking forcefully on the issue, Sandberg condemned the use of sexual violence in conflict, calling it an act of war that should never be tolerated, regardless of political affiliation. “Rape should never be used as an act of war,” she stated. “There are no circumstances that justify rape.”

Sandberg, who has also expressed her views through a video and a written column, was one of the key voices at the gathering, which was organized by Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. The event aimed to shed light on the atrocities faced by women during the attacks, featuring testimonies from first responders and those who recovered the bodies of female victims. These accounts detailed brutal assaults, including the violation of corpses and reports of women being shot in their most intimate areas.

Hillary Clinton, who participated in the event via video, expressed sorrow for the Israeli women impacted by the violence but also called for peace and acknowledged the suffering of Palestinian women. Yet many speakers, including Sandberg, strongly criticized women’s rights organizations, especially UN Women, for not condemning Hamas’s actions more swiftly. Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N., Gilad Erdan, expressed frustration, pointing out that it took nearly two months for UN Women to issue a statement condemning the attacks.

One of the most poignant moments of the event came from Shari Mendes, an American-born architect and Israel Defense Forces reservist, who described the grisly task of preparing the bodies of fallen female soldiers. Mendes and others detailed how many of the women were found in bloody and shredded clothing, with some shot in intimate areas.

Mandana Dayani, co-founder of I Am a Voter, also addressed the silence of some women’s groups, suggesting that anti-Semitism may be to blame. She posed a direct challenge to these organizations: “What is it about these women and girls that makes them so unworthy of your otherwise limitless capacity for outrage, solidarity, and justice?”

Sandberg, known for her leadership in women’s workplace empowerment through her book Lean In, has long been a vocal advocate for Israel. Her parents were deeply involved in supporting Jewish causes, and Sandberg herself has supported the Anti-Defamation League with a $2.5 million donation in 2019. At the event, she made it clear that the atrocities committed against women on October 7 should not be overlooked or minimized due to political considerations or bias.