{{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Infobox organization | name = The Dinah Project | logo = The-dinah-project.png | founded = {{start date and age|2023}} | founder = Ruth Halperin-Kaddari | headquarters = Jerusalem, Israel | website = {{URL|https://thedinahproject.org/|thedinahproject.org/}} }}
{{Short description|Israeli human rights organization}} '''The Dinah Project''' (Hebrew: '''פרויקט דינה''') is an organization dedicated to recognition and justice for victims of sexual violence in war, emphasizing the victims of sexual and gender-based violence during the October 7 attacks.
== Leadership == The Dinah Project was founded in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks by legal scholar and women's rights advocate Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, military prosecutor Sharon Zagagi-Pinhas, and Israeli lawyer and judge Nava Ben-Or.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-07-08 |title=Hamas used sexual violence as part of 'genocidal strategy', Israeli experts say |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1mz8gxzg82o |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Its Advisory Board includes Dorit Beinish, Majed El Shafie, Gal Gadot, Carol Gilligan, Gadeer Mhree, Dahlia Lithwick, Deborah Lyons, Raheel Raza, Amit Soussana, and Noa Tishby.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home - new |url=https://thedinahproject.org/ |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=Dinah Project |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Activities ==
=== ''A Quest for Justice'' === The Dinah Project published ''A Quest for Justice: October 7 and Beyond'' in July 2025. The report "establishes that Hamas used sexual violence as a tactical weapon, as part of a genocidal scheme and with the goal of terrorizing and dehumanizing Israeli society."<ref name=":0" /> It documented "widespread and systematic" sexual violence committed by Hamas at the Nova music festival, Route 232, the Nahal Oz military base, and the kibbutzim Re'im, Nir Oz, and Kfar Aza.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dayan |first=Linda |title=New report reveals Hamas' 'widespread and systematic' sexual violence on October 7 |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-07-06/ty-article/.premium/new-report-reveals-hamas-widespread-and-systematic-sexual-violence-on-october-7/00000197-e061-d083-a3b7-f873be360000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250706193617/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-07-06/ty-article/.premium/new-report-reveals-hamas-widespread-and-systematic-sexual-violence-on-october-7/00000197-e061-d083-a3b7-f873be360000 |archive-date=2025-07-06 |access-date=2025-07-08 |work=Haaretz.com |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> The report was structured to indicate legal strategies for pursuing justice for victims of sexual violence in warfare.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rape as weapon of war: Report lays groundwork for prosecuting Oct 7. sexual violence |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/rape-as-weapon-of-war-report-lays-groundwork-for-prosecuting-oct-7-sexual-violence/ |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=The Times of Israel |language=en-US |issn=0040-7909}}</ref> The report includes evidence and testimony from fifteen freed hostages, only one of whom had previously spoken publicly of her experiences, and noted that most of the victims had been "permanently silenced," either murdered or too traumatized to testify.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Linn |first=Erez |date=2025-07-06 |title=15 hostages break silence on sexual violence on Oct. 7 |url=https://www.jns.org/15-hostages-break-silence-on-sexual-violence-on-oct-7/ |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=JNS.org |language=en-US}}</ref> It also drew from reports of seventeen witnesses of the attacks and trauma counselors working with survivors.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lamb |first=Christina |date=2025-07-05 |title=Sexual violence was rife on October 7, say new witnesses |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/middle-east/israel-hamas-war/article/sexual-violence-was-rife-on-october-7-say-new-witnesses-wn8sgp3qn |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}}</ref>
Documented evidence included "bodies found with foreign objects inserted into the genitals; bodies bearing signs of genital mutilation; and bodies – mostly of women – discovered at various sites either fully or partially undressed from the waist down, with hands bound and gunshot wounds, often to the head or genitals." Victims were found "with their hands tied behind their backs and/or to structures such as trees and poles, and shot." It corroborated 2024 findings by the United Nations that Hamas had committed rape and “sexualized torture” during its assault. The report called upon the United Nations to list Hamas as an organization that employs "sexual violence as a weapon of war."<ref>{{Cite web |last=i24NEWS |date=2025-07-08 |title=Dinah Project publishes 'most comprehensive' Oct 7 sexual violence report |url=https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel-at-war/survivor-testimonies/artc-dinah-project-publishes-report-on-october-7-sexual-violence |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=i24NEWS |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-08 |title='Widespread sexual violence' took place during Hamas's 7 October attacks, report by Israeli experts says |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/widespread-sexual-violence-took-place-115700198.html |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Goldenberg |first=Tia |date=2025-07-08 |title=Israeli report accuses Hamas of using sexual violence as a weapon of war on Oct. 7 |url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-07-08/israeli-report-accuses-hamas-of-using-sexual-violence-as-a-weapon-of-war-on-oct-7 |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-08 |title=Report finds Hamas used sexual violence as systematic weapon of war |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-860343 |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=The Jerusalem Post |language=en |issn=0792-822X }}</ref>
In March 2026, Novara Media reported that the report received £90,000 in funding from the UK government.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Rivkah |date=2 March 2026 |title=UK Gave £90k to Sexual Violence Report Central to Israel’s Genocide Propaganda |url=https://novaramedia.com/2026/03/02/uk-gave-90k-to-sexual-violence-report-central-to-israels-genocide-propaganda/ |access-date=2026-03-03 |website=Novara Media |language=en-GB}}</ref>
====Reaction==== {{Undue weight section|date=May 2026}} An Israeli official stated the report was "a significant public diplomacy tool for us".<ref name=":1" /> The report was cited by the Israeli government in a Google Ads campaign calling for the prosecution of Hamas for its mass sexual violence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Poulson |first=Jack |title=Google’s $45 Million Contract With Netanyahu's Office to Spread Israeli Propaganda |url=https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/google-youtube-netanyahu-israel-propaganda-gaza-famine |access-date=2025-09-14 |website=Drop Site News |language=en}}</ref>
An analysis of the report by ''Drop Site News'' concluded that it "contains scant new evidence and largely aggregates existing reports, many of which have been discredited or called into question. Instead of marshaling new evidence, it argues that less should be needed: The report spends the bulk of its 80 pages presenting a legal argument for a lower evidentiary standard to prosecute Hamas for war crimes over the alleged systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grim |first=Ryan |author-link=Ryan Grim |date=July 22, 2025 |title=UN Statements Undercut New Israeli Report on 10/7 Sexual Violence |url=https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/un-statements-undercut-dinah-project-report-october-7-sexual-violence-claims |access-date=2025-08-05 |website=Drop Site News |language=en}}</ref> ''Novara Media'' said of the report, "Though presented as an academic paper, the report has an inflammatory tone, describing 'those terrorists who participated in the attack on October 7' as 'a violent horde that lacks any moral restraint'."<ref name=":1" />
Reem Alsalem, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, responded to the publication of ''A Quest for Justice'' with a statement saying, "It is my understanding that neither the [U.N. special commission appointed to investigate the October 7 attacks] nor any other independent human rights mechanism established that sexual or gender-based violence was committed against Israelis on or since the 7th of October as a systematic tool of war or as a tool of genocide."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rajvanshi |first=Astha |date=2025-07-08 |title=New Israeli report says Hamas used sexual violence as a 'weapon of war' in Oct. 7 attack |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/world/israel/hamas-israel-sexual-violence-rape-war-oct-7-rcna217401 |access-date=2025-08-02 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>
==== Relationship to the 2026 Civil Commission report ==== On 12 May 2026, the Israeli non-governmental organisation the Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children published ''Silenced No More'', a report on sexual and gender-based violence during the 7 October 2023 attacks and against hostages held in Gaza.<ref>{{cite web |date=12 May 2026 |title=Silenced No More: Sexual Terror Unveiled |url=https://www.civilc.org/silenced-no-more |access-date=13 May 2026 |website=The Civil Commission}}</ref>
The report, based on a two-year investigation involving more than 10,000 photographs and video segments, over 1,800 hours of visual material and more than 430 testimonies and interviews, concluded that sexual violence during the attacks was “systematic, widespread, and integral” to the assault and its aftermath.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mednick |first=Sam |date=12 May 2026 |title=Sexual violence was systematic and integral to Oct. 7 attacks and their aftermath, new report says |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-war-sexual-violence-8babfb99bb34a6704965ca9e23bbefbe |access-date=13 May 2026 |work=Associated Press}}</ref>
The Civil Commission report identified recurring patterns of abuse including rape, gang rape, sexual torture, forced nudity, mutilation and abuse during captivity. According to the commission, the repetition of these patterns across multiple attack sites suggested that the violence was not isolated but formed part of a broader method of terror and humiliation.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mednick |first=Sam |date=12 May 2026 |title=Sexual violence was systematic and integral to Oct. 7 attacks and their aftermath, new report says |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-war-sexual-violence-8babfb99bb34a6704965ca9e23bbefbe |access-date=13 May 2026 |work=Associated Press}}</ref>
''Le Monde'' described the report as the most comprehensive investigation to date into sexual violence committed during the attacks.<ref name="NewReport">{{cite news |last=Bronner |first=Luc |date=12 May 2026 |title=October 7: New report documents extent of sexual violence committed by Hamas |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/05/12/october-7-new-report-documents-extent-of-sexual-violence-committed-by-hamas_6753371_4.html |access-date=13 May 2026 |work=Le Monde}}</ref> The report’s conclusions were presented as broadly consistent with earlier findings and documentation efforts by the Dinah Project, the United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (OSRSG-SVC), the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel and other organisations investigating conflict-related sexual violence connected to the attacks.<ref name="NewReport" />
=== Other activities === Halperin-Kaddari, Zagagi-Pinhas, Ben-Or, and other representatives of The Dinah Project have discussed the October 7 attacks and sexual violence in media appearances.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 November 2023 |title=Are reports of sexual violence on October 7th being ignored? |url=https://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/2023/11/29/amanpour-israel-october-7-sexual-violence-ruth-halperin-kaddari-sarah-hendriks.cnn |website=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mateache |first=Aurora García |date=2024-04-12 |title="En la masacre del 7-O se usó el cuerpo de la mujer para sembrar el terror" |url=https://www.articulo14.es/internacional/masacre-7-octubre-cuerpo-mujer-sembrar-terror-20240412.html |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=Artículo 14 |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sharon Zagagi-Pinhas über sexuelle Gewalt durch die Hamas: "Bilder, die dich nachts kaum schlafen lassen" |url=https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000221044/sharon-zagagi-pinhas-ueber-sexuelle-gewalt-durch-die-hamas-bilder-die-dich-nachts-kaum-schlafen-lassen |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=DER STANDARD |language=de-AT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-30 |title=Oct 7 investigation into sexual violence : Hamas 'atrocities amounted to crimes against humanity' |url=https://www.france24.com/en/video/20231130-oct-7-investigation-into-sexual-violence-hamas-atrocities-amounted-to-crimes-against-humanity |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref>
In ''Newsweek'' in 2024, project member Ayelet Razin Bet Or contradicted the claims of musician Roger Waters that Hamas had committed no rape or sexual violence in the October 7 attacks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Razin Bet Or |first=Ayelet |last2= |first2= |date=2024-07-18 |title=Hamas Is Responsible for Rape in Israel—and in Gaza {{!}} Opinion |url=https://www.newsweek.com/hamas-responsible-rape-israel-gaza-opinion-1926671 |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref>
== See also ==
* Sexual and gender-based violence in the October 7 attacks
== References == <references />
== External links ==
* {{Official website|https://thedinahproject.org}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Dinah Project}} Category:Human rights organizations Category:Human rights organizations based in Israel Category:2023 establishments in Israel Category:Organizations established in 2023 Category:Sexual violence in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict Category:October 7 attacks Category:Sexual abuse advocacy and support groups Category:Organizations based in Jerusalem