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THE GRAYZONE<\/p>\n
As the founder of the so-called Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children, Israel lawyer Cochav Elkayam Levy has been a go-to source for Western media organizations pushing the narrative that Palestinian militants carried out sexual assault on a massive and systematic basis when they attacked Israel.<\/p>\n
Elkayam-Levy has starred in a\u00a0factually challenged CNN special<\/a>\u00a0on the topic narrated by the fervently pro-Israel host Jake Tapper, who identified her as \u201can expert in human rights law who organized a civil committee to document evidence.\u201d Haaretz featured Elkayam-Levy as the subject of a\u00a0puff piece<\/a>\u00a0which misleadingly claimed that her work \u201cpresents a horrifying picture that leaves no room for doubt: On October 7, Hamas terrorists systematically carried out acts of rape and sexual abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n Then, on December 6, 2023, members of the White House National Security Council and Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein\u00a0hosted Elkayam-Levy<\/a>\u00a0in Washington to hear \u201cabout her work to gather testimony and document evidence of the events of October 7 and develop a comprehensive accounting of gender-based violence committed by Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, the lawyer\u2019s public relations extravaganza has earned her the Israel Prize, the most prestigious honor any Israeli citizen can receive from their government. \u201cWe must stand firm against the stark denial and the increasing tide of antisemitism,\u201d she declared in a\u00a0March 21 statement<\/a>\u00a0accepting the award.<\/p>\n Yet three days later, Israel\u2019s largest newspaper, YNet, published a\u00a0damning expos\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0accusing Elkayam-Levy of ripping off major donors, including a member of the Biden administration, spreading fake Hamas atrocity tales, and failing to deliver on her promise of a major report about sexual violence on October 7.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have disassociated themselves from her because her research is inaccurate,\u201d an Israeli government official told YNet. \u201cAfter all, the whole story is that they want to accuse us of spreading fake news, and her methodology was neither good nor accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n Government officials were particularly incensed that Elkayam-Levy spread discredited claims that a Hamas militant cut a fetus from a pregnant woman before raping the woman \u2013 a\u00a0lie first spread by confirmed fraudster Yossi Landau<\/a>\u00a0of the scandal-stained ZAKA organization. \u201cThe story about the pregnant woman who had her stomach cut open \u2013 a story that was proven to be untrue, and she spread it in the international press,\u201d the official complained to YNet. \u201cIt\u2019s no joke. Little by little, professionals began to distance themselves from her because she is unreliable.\u201d<\/p>\n Elkayam-Levy further alienated the Israeli government by spinning her \u201cCivil Commission\u201d out of a one-woman operation she ran called the Deborah Institute, creating the sense that she was representing Tel Aviv in an official capacity. \u201cIn the beginning she was really very active, which was very nice,\u201d a source told YNet. \u201cThen it started calling itself a civilian commission. People got confused, members of Congress turned to people who work with Israel and asked what it is \u2013 \u2018Israel built a commission?\u2019 It\u2019s a confusing name. And to the question of whether there is such a thing at all? Is there such a body? The answer is \u2013 no. It\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0the body. She\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0the civil commission.\u201d<\/p>\n Through her Deborah Institute, Elkayam-Levy has raised millions of dollars. But if the government sources who spoke to YNet are to be believed, she conned wealthy American Jewish donors like Rahm Emanuel, currently the Biden administration\u2019s ambassador to Japan, and channeled the money into her personal bank account.<\/p>\n According to YNet, Elkayam-Levy appealed for $8 million to launch her \u201cCivil Commission,\u201d requesting $1.5 million for \u201cmanagement and administration.\u201d \u201cRahm Emanuel, the US ambassador to Japan, donated money to her, she took donations from a lot of people, and started asking for money for lectures,\u201d the Israeli official complained.<\/p>\n After more than five months of research, however, the publicity-hungry lawyer has produced nothing of substance to justify her massive fundraising haul. Indeed, the \u201catrocity report\u201d Elkayam-Levy had promised supporters, which would have provided clear evidence of systematic sexual violence by Hamas on October 7, has yet to arrive.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, she reportedly attempted to obstruct a visit to Israel by United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten, whose report was ultimately touted by Israel as \u201cproof\u201d of sex crimes by Hamas despite\u00a0Patten\u2019s own admission<\/a>\u00a0that it contained no evidence and lacked any investigative mandate from the UN.<\/p>\n I first became aware of Elkayam-Levy\u2019s penchant for fudging facts during a November 11, 2023 presentation she delivered to Harvard University\u2019s Maimonides Society. There, she presented\u00a0images of female Kurdish fighters killed in combat<\/a>\u00a0as Jewish Israeli women who had been killed and raped by Hamas militants at the Nova Electronic Music Festival on October 7.<\/p>\n After I exposed her glaring falsehood, Elkayam-Levy refused to correct her claim,\u00a0taking to Twitter\/X<\/a>\u00a0instead to thank me for promoting her work.<\/p>\n