Michal Herzog, wife of President Isaac Herzog, called for the formation of a committee for a state inquiry into why the concerns from female observers at Nahal Oz were ignored ahead of the October 7 attacks at The Jerusalem Post Women Leaders Summit on Tuesday evening in Tel Aviv.
Speaking with The Jerusalem Report’s Tamar Uriel-Beeri, the First Lady noted that she had just come from a meeting with a group of parents of observers from Nahal Oz who were impacted that day, and all those which followed. She divulged the contents of the meeting to the crowd.
“The young women, the soldiers, came forward with what they saw to their commanders. But is it because they were young women that they were brushed off?” She stated, calling for answers.
After being asked what “soft power” implies, referring to previous statements and comments on the phrase, she elaborated on its meaning, noting that there is no official definition of the role of the spouse or partner of the person elected to Israel’s presidency. “What is soft power? It’s a very vague definition. It’s not an executive power, not a defined power… sometimes you can move mountains with a simple call, simply getting women together in a group,” she stated.
She continued, recognizing the presence of another interviewee, Orit Sulitzeanu, the Director-General of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI). “I want to give this as an example of a group of women getting together and working together for this most important goal of giving voice to those who don't have a voice anymore. Meaning, especially after October 7, the victims of October 7, the sexual violence victims, and I'm so proud of a group of very brave Israeli women who keep this topic on the world’s stage at all times,” the First Lady said.
She emphasized that the issue of sexual violence as a weapon is something that clearly expands beyond Israel’s borders. “We don't only speak for Israeli women. We speak for women, period, because there's bound to be in this turbulent world. It will give rise to the next use, and we have to prevent it.”
She called for women to work together, noting that working collectively is far more powerful than working alone, in any case.
First Lady Herzog noted the bravery of captivity survivors including Amit Soussana and Ilana Griwetsky, two released hostages who came forward to talk about the sexual assaults they experienced while in captivity, with Griwetsky’s experience being published just hours ahead of the summit in a New York Times report.
New 'purple card' process will protect survivors of sexual violence from repeating details
Addressing the direct impact of sexual violence on survivors’ mental and physical health, she told the Jerusalem Post that a new initiative will soon be launching to keep survivors of sexual violence from re-hashing events when receiving medical treatment. In a joint effort between the Health Ministry and an Israeli NGO, the upcoming “purple card” initiative will create a signal for impacted women to not re-hash the details of the traumatic event.“There will soon be a process [with the purple card] so that victims of violence can actually come with the purple card presented to a doctor or in the emergency room, and everyone will know that this woman presenting the card has actually gone through sexual violence,” she shared. “She won't have to repeat the story again and again. She won't be frowned upon as something different, and this is something that I was able to create a connection so that soon we will be advertising this whole process, giving training for medical professionals and in hospitals.”
Herzog called for the need for the presence of more women in decision making rooms and processes. She noted that women have not been involved in the hostage negotiation process, at least on the surface. She brought up that October 2025 will be marking 20 years since UN resolution 1325, which marked the right of women to participate in processes of security and conflicts worldwide, as well as the right to defend women.“Here we are, 20 years later, a lot of work still to be done, and that's why I wish for all of us to participate in every place we can bring our voice forward, because our voice is always a little bit different, and it always adds another point of view,” she said. “It doesn't have to be necessary in politics… but we need more women to be seen around these very, very important tables and decision-making tables, for instance. It baffles me that we don't have more women involved in the hostage dealings because it brings another point of view.”
She closed her remarks calling for every last hostage to be brought home; “we are not complete until they are home!”