The Lie:

• “There is not a single shred of evidence of even one rape on October 7.” — Norman Finkelstein, on The Candace Owens Show, November 1, 2025

The Truth:

• Every credible investigation — including the United Nations, New York Times, NBC News, Israel’s Ministry of Health, and UN Watch — confirms that Hamas and Islamic Jihad used rape, sexual torture, and sexual humiliation as weapons of war.
• First-person testimonies, security footage, and GoPro videos recorded by Hamas terrorists further prove these crimes occurred both on October 7 and during the two years of captivity in Gaza.

Background:

• In November 2025, Norman Finkelstein appeared on The Candace Owens Show. Finkelstein, an American academic known for his severe anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric, told Owens there was “no medical, forensic, or photographic evidence” of rape on October 7.
• Candace Owens, a well-known political influencer notorious for antisemitic and anti-Israel commentary, agreed and called Israeli reports “propaganda.” Their viral exchange denied well-documented atrocities.

Truth Explained:

• Rom Braslavski’s testimony shatters the deniers’ claims. The 25-year-old was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7 and held for 738 days by Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza.  In his first interview since his release, he revealed that his captors stripped him naked, tied him up, and sexually humiliated him.  His account confirms that sexual torture was used deliberately to degrade and dehumanize Israeli hostages. (Ynet, Nov 5 2025)
  
• Amit Soussana, an Israeli lawyer kidnapped on October 7, was freed after 55 days in Gaza. She told The New York Times she was beaten, sexually assaulted, and forced at gunpoint to commit sexual acts on her captor. She returned to Israel with fractures in her eye socket, cheek, knee, and nose. Her testimony is one of several verified by investigators and trauma specialists documenting systematic sexual violence in captivity. (NYT, Mar 26 2024)
  
• The UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, found “clear and convincing information” that hostages were raped and sexually abused, and “reasonable grounds to believe” that multiple rapes and gang rapes occurred on October 7. Her team reviewed 5,000 photos, 50 hours of video, and conducted 34 confidential interviews. (NBC News, Mar 5 2024)
  
• The Israeli Ministry of Health documented rape, sexualized torture, starvation, and abuse of men, women, and children held in Gaza. (Israel MOH, Dec 23 2024)
  
• UN Watch’s report to the UN Human Rights Council recorded Hamas’s use of rape, genital mutilation, and sexualized torture, based on survivor and eyewitness testimony — including male survivors raped by Hamas terrorists. (UN Doc A/HRC/58/NGO/223)
  
• The legal report “Screams Before Silence” found that Hamas’s sexual violence met the legal definition of crimes against humanity. (FES Israel, Nov 2024)
  
• The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) documented hostages who were beaten, branded, and sexually assaulted, including teenagers forced to perform sexual acts on each other. (FDD, Dec 30 2024)
  
• The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Hamas has been placed on the UN “blacklist” for sexual crimes in conflict, with sexual abuse of hostages ongoing. (MFA, Aug 14 2024)
  
• Deputy Head of Mission Rotem Segev condemned the constant denial of these crimes, writing that ignoring these crimes “murders the women a second time.” (MFA, June 21 2024)

Quotes:

“It was the most horrific thing. It’s something even the Nazis didn’t do.” — Rom Braslavski, former hostage (Ynet, Nov 5 2025)

“There are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred at several locations.” — Pramila Patten, UN Special Representative (NBC News, Mar 5 2024)

“Until there is universal condemnation of the sexual violence directed at Israeli women, no woman is safe.” — Rotem Segev, Israeli diplomat (MFA, June 21 2024)

Takeaway:

Norman Finkelstein and Candace Owens twisted the documented rape and torture of Israeli men and women into a cynical conspiracy. Their denial of Hamas’s sexual crimes is not “analysis” — it’s a blood libel reborn for the digital age. Denial is complicity in the horrors of October 7th.

Sources:

AEI, Mar 15 2024 • Ynet, Nov 5 2025 • New York Times, Mar 26 2024 • NBC News, Mar 5 2024 • UN Doc A/HRC/58/NGO/223 • Israel MOH, Dec 23 2024 • FES Israel, Nov 2024 • FDD, Dec 30 2024 • MFA, Aug 14 2024 • MFA, June 21 2024