Sheryl Sandberg unveils documentary on Hamas' ‘systematic’ sexual violence on Oct. 7
Former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg joins ‘America’s Newsroom’ to discuss her documentary on Hamas’ sexual violence committed against Israeli women on Oct. 7, titled ‘Screams Before Silence.’
Nearly seven months after the Oct. 7 massacre, a new documentary brings to light the atrocities and sexual assaults committed against Israelis.
Former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s documentary, "Screams Before Silence," features firsthand accounts of the horrors of that day when roughly 1,200 Israeli lives were taken.
"When you hear this chaos for like 20 minutes or 15 minutes, you understand that something much worse [is] happening right over there. It doesn't stop. That was the time when I started to be afraid I'm going to be raped," a woman recalled from the Nova Music Festival attack.
Sandberg said on "America’s Newsroom" Friday that she took on the project because "the world needs to see and acknowledge what happened."
BLINKEN: SEXUAL VIOLENCE HAMAS COMMITTED ON OCT. 7 ‘BEYOND ANYTHING I’VE SEEN'
The horrifying aftermath of the Hamas terror attack on Israel, Oct. 7, 2023.
"After Oct. 7, the reports were coming out about not just mass murder, but mass sexual violence. And the usual people who should be speaking out were either ignoring it or denying it. And that's not OK," the Lean In founder told Dana Perino.
The documentary allows viewers to hear directly from first responders and survivors who were on the ground.
Sandberg shared details from another conversation with a man named Rami, who she described as a "regular citizen," who traveled to the site of the attack and saved hundreds. She said Rami also witnessed "women naked, legs spread, bloodied, tied to trees."
"He sits there in this documentary and tells that story, crying that he couldn't save them. And I think the world needs to see and acknowledge what happened here," Sandberg said.
The documentary, Sandberg argued, will prove to viewers that Hamas members wanted to commit sexual assault against Israeli women.
And as anti-Israel protests continue to grow across the U.S., with college campuses being taken over by encampments and demonstrators, Sandberg believes the sexual violence is being ignored because it doesn’t "fit into their narrative."
"If you believe that Oct. 7 was resistance – and I do not believe that, I don't believe terror is resistance – but if you believe that, sexual violence doesn't fit into that narrative because rape is never resistance," she explained.
But when confronted, some self-proclaimed pro-Palestinian activists have denied the sexual violence entirely.
"Fox & Friends" co-host Lawrence Jones spoke to two activists this week in Milwaukee who said they are simply advocating for "humanity."
Jones brought up the rape of Israeli women and the treatment of children, and the activists responded by questioning the legitimacy of the claims, saying they had been "debunked."
The U.N., however, released a report recognizing the rape and sexual attacks on Israeli women.
"I don't know the resource, but like I said, we're not here to condone… we're not here for violence at all," one activist said.
Jones shared his conversation with his co-hosts Wednesday, saying, "If we can't even meet at a common ground that women were raped and children were put into ovens in Israel on Oct. 7, then we can't have a conversation."
ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS SURGES AS AGITATORS TAKE OVER
Anti-Israel demonstrators rally outside Columbia University on April 23, 2024, in New York City. (Jeenah Moon/Getty Images)
Despite the increasing polarization, Sandberg maintains that the sexual violence committed is a non-partisan issue and warned that what is happening on college campuses is "really not OK."
"I'm a big believer in free speech.… University is a time where you go to college. You can talk about any issue, open dialogue," she said. "The truth is, the disorder on campus – having places where people don't feel safe – that doesn't lend itself to real dialogue about hard issues, that stops the honest conversations we need to have."
Sandberg’s documentary, "Screams Before Silence," is available on YouTube, and she urged viewers to bear witness to the stories of those who survived the Oct. 7 attack in order to give a voice to the women who were silenced and understand the "depths of this terror."
"And right now, as you and I are here, there are still hostages there, and we know they're being sexually assaulted, and people need to see what's really happening here," Sandberg said.
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Fox News' Bailee Hill contributed to this report.
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