Arabs at the United Nations have placed the blame for Palestinian men who beat their wives on Israel. in a statement so egregious it was immediately rebuked by a watchdog group.
The outlandish claim came during a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council this month, when a report on violence against women was submitted, reported Palestinian Media Watch.
According to PMW’s Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik, the report claimed there was “a clear linkage between the prolonged occupation and violence against women.”
However, U.N. Watch Director Hillel Neuer responded immediately.
See his statement:
[jwplayer NjaoMY0e-pszPfxYQ]
The report on “violence against women” was undermined, he explained, “by its subservience to the recurring and unproven assumption … that there is, quote, ‘clear linkage between the prolonged occupation and violence against women.’
“In other words, what you are saying is as follows: When Palestinian men beat their wives, it’s Israel’s fault.”
He asked where was the evidence for a “clear linkage.”
“Where is the data. I don’t see it anywhere in the report,” he said.
And he questioned why those submitting the report had not done the basic comparisons, such as looking at similar statistics from Lebanon, Jordan, and other Arab nations.
“Why have you not done so?” he asked.
Besides, he said, Arab television routinely promotes messages to men about how to beat their wives, he said.
PMW produced a video documenting the messages:
[jwplayer WRaJDBLR-pszPfxYQ]
The organization explained on April 1, 2017, a PA reporter said on official PA TV: “To those who use beatings and violence to solve their marital problems: Carefully read the Quranic verse again (Sura 4:34). There are solutions before giving beatings. If you have to, there are religious rules for beatings that must be obeyed. Guys, the goal of the beatings is rebuke in a way that does not cause injury.”
And it was Mufti Sheikh Samih Hajjaj, just last November, who said: “Let’s say that a husband senses that his wife is lying. First he needs to rebuke her and quote the Quran and Hadith on the ban on lying … The [Muslim] scholars said that the beating can be with a small brush or a handkerchief, and the number of blows should not exceed 10.”
He explained the beating should not be about the face.
“Hit in places that are not seen, and do not cause a permanent mark,” he said.
And it was, according to PMW, the mufti of Gaza, Hassan al-Laham, who said: “Allah said: Warn them [the wives], and separate from them, and hit them. … She may be from a more socially respectable family than yours, however she became your wife, and she is under your command, and is under your care, so that you should treat her according to Allah’s command… [Quran:] ‘Warn them [the wives] and separate from them.’ The separation means separation in the bedroom… She will ask why, and he will explain: ‘You made a mistake and I am angry about it.’ Perhaps this will lead to reconciliation… After the warning and separation, comes the hitting – hitting that does not make her ugly… Not hitting that will bring the police, and break her hand and cause bleeding, or hitting that makes the face ugly… The hitting is not meant to disfigure, harm, or degrade. The hitting will be like a joke. He will hit her jokingly. Not a blow that breaks a bone or makes the face ugly, and he will not curse and the like. This hitting is a kind of reminder that the love and friendship that Allah commanded, is still found between us (i.e., the couple).”
And from Yusuf Jabareen, of the Technion in Haifa, came: “Part of our identity is to attack women – we must acknowledge it… Palestinian identity has its charms, but there are things that we have adopted from Arab culture for centuries that harm the individual and the woman. For example, in recent months, look how many [Arab] women were killed in Lod, in Ramle, and in Acre, and so on. That’s part of our identity.”
Finally, PMW reported, came the comments from Ismail Nawada, a Palestinian cleric: “The other issue that disgraces us is the topic of [wife] beating. First of all, the beating is not a severe beating, and as the experts in Islamic law said: ‘Hit her with a handkerchief.’ Some asked: ‘What use is that?’ It’s a case of psychological treatment and not a physical issue to hit her. When the wife understands that her husband only raised his hand to her, she will be affected, if she is very sensitive. This is why no one should assume he is allowed to hit his wife with a stick, to make her bleed, or to hit her in the face. This is only a sign: ‘Oh wife, you need hitting. Don’t necessitate [this] again.'”
All of the statements were made on official PA television, PMW reported.
