UN puts Israel on sexual violence blacklist alongside Hamas
Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein said the move was 'utterly repugnant and inexcusable'
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council has condemned the United Nations’ decision to place Israel on a blacklist of entities accused of systematic sexual violence in conflict zones, alongside Hamas and ISIS, calling it a “disgraceful equivalence” that marks “an appalling low for a UN system consumed by relentless institutional anti-Israel bias.”
The decision by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, contained in the 2026 edition of the Secretary-General’s Report on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, claims the UN verified 13 instances of sexual violence against Palestinians by Israeli armed forces in 2025, in addition to 18 cases in 2023 and 2024.
AIJAC Executive Director Colin Rubenstein said the move was “utterly repugnant and inexcusable”.
“To compare the democratic State of Israel — with its independent judiciary, robust legal safeguards and mechanisms to investigate allegations of wrongdoing — with Hamas terrorists who systematically weaponised rape, sexual torture and mass murder on October 7, is utterly repugnant and inexcusable,” Rubenstein said.
The Zionist Federation of Australia has also condemned the decision, calling it a profound moral failure.
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