Prof. Anne Bayefsky: 'Accountability needed for those who deny, invert Hamas rapes'
A human rights expert calls for accountability after UN officials denied or downplayed Hamas's systematic rape of Israeli women during the October 7 attack, reflecting a deep moral inversion where perpetrators are excused and victims are silenced.
Isaiah 5:20
Direct Principle“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
Why this passage
In its original context, Isaiah pronounces judgment on Judah's leaders and people who have so inverted their moral compass that they cannot distinguish between righteousness and wickedness. The prophet is not describing a mere mistake but a willful, hardened reversal of God's moral categories.
This principle applies directly to any institution or individual that denies documented evil and reframes the perpetrator as the victim. The UN officials who downplayed or denied Hamas's systematic rape of Israeli women are engaged in precisely this inversion — calling the atrocity 'unverified' or 'propaganda' while the evidence mounts.
Isaiah 5:20 pronounces a woe upon those "who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness." This is precisely what occurs when international officials deny documented atrocities and invert the moral status of victim and aggressor.
Behold, the world's institutions are not neutral arbiters of justice but vessels of a deeper rebellion against God's moral order. The Christian is called to name evil as evil, even when the powerful refuse to do so, and to stand with the violated rather than the violator.
Today's Prayer
Pray for the victims of Hamas's sexual violence, that their testimony would not be silenced, and for the exposure of every institution that shields evil by calling it good.
Further Scripture
Additional passages that illuminate this event, each grounded in a distinct interpretive lens.
“Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”
Why this passage
Paul describes the final stage of human moral rebellion: not merely committing sin but actively approving of those who sin. The Greek word συνευδοκέω (syneudokeō) means to consent to, applaud, or take pleasure in the wrongdoing of others.
This verse exposes a deeper corruption than the original crime itself. The UN officials who downplay or deny Hamas's rapes are not passive observers but active approvers of evil, giving institutional cover to atrocities.
How it applies
The call for accountability against those who denied Hamas's rapes targets this exact moral corruption. These officials are not merely failing to condemn evil — they are giving approval to those who practice it, placing themselves under the same divine condemnation Paul describes.
Related by Scripture
Other events we've interpreted through the same passage or hermeneutical lens.
Foreign Ministry: 'NYT timed Hamas propaganda to undermine report on Hamas rapes'
Moral DeclineShares Isaiah 5:20Russia disrupts mobile internet as Kremlin scales back Victory Day parade
Technology & SurveillanceShares Isaiah 5:20How child soldiers in Sudan become influencers on TikTok
Moral DeclineShares Isaiah 5:20North Korea ramps up executions over foreign media, says NGO
Persecution of ChristiansShares Isaiah 5:20US condemns Iran’s leadership role at UN nuclear conference as ‘beyond shameful’
One World Government / EconomyShares Isaiah 5:20
Community launching soon
Get the invite by email when the Watchman's Wall opens
Source: israelnationalnews— we link to the original for full context.