Israeli academic: “The only thing that could deter a suicide bomber is knowing that if caught, his sister or his mother would be raped”

This is not a quote from a no-one.

This is a quote from Dr. Mordechai Kedar, an Israeli scholar of Arabic literature and lecturer at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. Among others, he is the current director of the Israel Academia Monitor, a neo-McCarthyst website that follows alleged “anti-Israel activities of Israeli academics”.

He made this statement on Monday in an Israeli radio station talk show.

The interviewer, Yossi Hadar, responded that Kedar’s proposal “sounds bad […] We can not of course take such measures.”

But Kedar replied that “it is culture…” and “this is the Middle East”, before adding that “I did not speak about what we are doing or not doing. I am speaking about the reality: the only thing that will deter a suicide bomber – if he knew that if he pulls the trigger, his sister will be raped.”

Bar Ilan University is a Jewish religious university situated in a Tel Aviv suburb. In November 1995, Yigal Amir, a student at the institution, assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

More here.

Rape in South Africa

Al Jazeera recently broadcasted ‘Rape in South Africa’ within The Stream programme.

Rape is a huge issue in South Africa, where studies show sexual abuses happen every 26 seconds and affect children and women alike.

A particular issue in the country is that of “corrective” rape, in which men rape women known or believed to be lesbians in order to “cure” them of their homosexuality.

Many credit the nation’s violent past, especially during the apartheid era, with being the cause of the country’s rape epidemic. With only one in nine women estimated to report her rape to police, an attitude of impunity exists for rapists.

Different surveys and studies carried out in the last few years examine the attitudes of South African adults towards rape. They reveal that men do not consider rape to be a major problem in the country.

In 2005, the current President of South Africa Jacob Zuma was charged with rape but was later acquitted. The trial generated political controversy when Zuma, who was also the head of the National AIDS Council, recognised not to have used a condom despite knowing the woman he had sex with and accused him of rape was HIV-positive. Zuma said he had showered to avoid contracting HIV after sleeping with her as he believed this would reduce his risk of infection.  Not surprisingly, the comments drew sharp criticism from health experts and AIDS activists.