'It never happened': Norman Finkelstein challenges Oct. 7 sexual violence claims on podcast

Author and political scientist Norman Finkelstein has challenged official accounts of sexual violence during the October 7, 2023, attacks, stating that "it never happened." Appearing on political commentator Hasan Piker’s streaming program, Finkelstein discussed his new book, "Gaza's Gravediggers: An Inquiry into Corruption in High Places," and directly addressed the allegations.Finkelstein pointed to recent research by Israeli legal analyst Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, noting her report references an archive containing 10,000 photographs and digital segments from the day of the attacks. He emphasized the immense amount of data, stating it would take 1,800 hours to review. Finkelstein calculated that a single researcher working continuously would need over seven months to go through the material.Given this vast archive from a confined geographic area, Finkelstein argued that verifiable material, especially something as significant as sexual violence, could not easily escape notice. "As a first approximation, you could say not much could have escaped the collective lens of 10,000 photographs and digital segments," he stated. He then posed the question: "So now, where was the digital evidence? There isn't one."

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The most recent report that came out by an Israeli Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, she says, 'We have 10,000 photographs and digital segments from October 7th.' 10,000. She also says it would take 1,800 hours to go through all of that digital and photographic evidence from October 7th.