tagged w/ Rachel Corrie
-
On this episode of Breaking the Set, Abby Martin interviews John Perkins, economist and author of ‘Confessions of an Economic Hitman’, about how corporations are determining the world order, and how assassins take out those who challenge the system.On this episode of Breaking the Set, Abby Martin interviews John Perkins, economist... more
-
-
crack down on criticism of the state of Israel on campuses, which the resolution defines as “anti-Semitism.” The anti-democratic resolution is the latest step in the broader campaign to stifle and suppress dissent on California’s increasingly volatile campuses.crack down on criticism of the state of Israel on campuses, which the resolution... more
-
-
What the pro-Palestinian activist—whose death was just ruled an accident—shared with Lawrence of Arabia
Last week an Israeli court dismissed the civil lawsuit brought by Rachel Corrie’s parents, ruling that the March 2003 death of their daughter was accidental and that the state of Israel bears no responsibility for her death. Working as an activist with the International Solidarity Movement, the then-23-year-old college student from Washington state was killed when she stood in the path of an Israeli Defense Forces bulldozer to protest against Palestinian home demolitions. “She did not distance herself from the area, as any thinking person would have done,” said Israeli Judge Oded Gershon. “She consciously put herself in danger.”
The one question that has yet to be answered is: Why did she put herself in danger? What, exactly, was Rachel Corrie doing in Gaza?
Judging from Corrie’s letters, it is clear that she desired to help the persecuted. “Many people want their voices to be heard,” she wrote to her friends and family in February 2003 about the Palestinians she was meeting in Rafah, “and I think we need to use some of our privilege as internationals to get those voices heard.” But if Corrie sought to help the downtrodden, she might have gone to many different parts of the world; communities even here in the United States would have benefited from her talents and energies. Instead, she went to the Middle East.
In many precincts of the American and European left, it is a piece of conventional wisdom that the Arab-Israel conflict is one of the central moral dilemmas of the age. Even the bloody, intra-Arab strife coursing throughout the region hasn’t derailed the notion that the conflict in the Holy Land is the most significant conflict in the Mideast: It remains useful as a reflecting pool for a well-known variety of Western narcissism. From this perspective, solving the Palestine question is an important step in righting the sins of the West.
Groups like the International Solidarity Movement, then, act as a sort of tour agency for a particular kind of Western adventurer, searching for a level of raw political engagement and ideological commitment that simply doesn’t exist in the United States. The obvious advantage that Israel offers is that, compared to the rest of the Middle East, it is relatively safe. Corrie herself implicitly acknowledged this fact when she walked into the middle of a war zone to mount a protest. No sensible person could similarly assume the mercies of, say, the Syrian regime were he to walk into the middle of that war zone to complain of government atrocities.
Nonetheless, Corrie had indeed put herself in harm’s way—a wager that culminated with her losing her life.
One way to understand Corrie’s story is as part of a longstanding tradition of adventurous, generous, and sometimes vain Western travelers to the Middle East. Among these crusading spirits, the most famous example is perhaps T.E. Lawrence, who saw in the band of Arab tribesmen and former Ottoman officers he led against the Turks an opportunity to serve the underdog and tie himself to a larger cause. Along the way it appears that Lawrence, embracing local customs and dress, recognized that the Arab Revolt also offered him a staging ground for a kind of charismatic search for the authentic self that had the flavor of salvation.
Given the significance of religion in a part of the world that produced three major faiths, it is hardly surprising that the region would seem to offer itself as a place where communal political activism is a form of spiritual vocation. What this type of Western traveler seeks by going to the Middle East is a politics of personal transcendence—to become someone that they couldn’t in their staid, well-ordered societies.
Full Story: http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/111130/why-rachel-corrie-went-to-gazaWhat the pro-Palestinian activist—whose death was just ruled an... more
-
-
Court clears Israeli army over murder of U.S. activist Rachel Corrie
Isaac eyes Mississippi River, New Orleans
MAN KILLED WHILE TRYING TO CREATE BIGFOOT SIGHTINGCourt clears Israeli army over murder of U.S. activist Rachel Corrie
Isaac eyes... more
-
-
The US ambassador in Tel Aviv said Israel failed to carry out a “thorough, credible and transparent investigation” when it stopped looking into the murder of a 23-year old American killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in 2003.
On March 15, 2003, 23-year old American peace activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer after trying to stop the vehicle from destroying Palestinian houses on the Egypt-Gaza border. The young woman was a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement and was trying to prevent the demolition of Palestinian-owned buildings.
Witnesses of the incident said the driver of the bulldozer was aware that Corrie was in front of the vehicle, but continued to destroy the house, intentionally crushing her in the process, stated a report from the Palestine Monitor.
US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro told Corrie’s parents last week that the Israeli military’s investigation was unsatisfactory. The investigation had concluded that the young woman’s death was an accident and her own fault for endangering herself.
After the Israeli military’s investigation and conclusion, Corrie’s family filed a civil lawsuit against the Israeli government, claiming the death was a murder. A verdict is expected on Tuesday.
While the US government’s position on the investigation was not news to the Corrie family, attorneys said that hearing the ambassador’s statement shortly before the verdict was “important and encouraging.”
“This trial is an attempt to hold accountable not only those who failed to protect Rachel’s life but also the flawed system of military investigations which is neither impartial nor thorough,” the family’s attorney said. “Under international law, Israel is obliged to take all feasible precautions to spare civilians from the dangers of military operations. The Israeli military flagrantly violated this principle in the killing of Rachel Corrie.”
Corrie’s father called the lawsuit “a small step in our family’s nearly decade-long search for truth and justice.”
Regardless of how the judge rules, the US government will demand a full account from Israel about Corrie’s death.
http://rt.com/usa/news/us-israel-investigation-corrie-521/
http://youtu.be/iz0Vef4Fu8UThe US ambassador in Tel Aviv said Israel failed to carry out a “thorough,... more
-
-
Rachel's bravery will never be forgotten. Everyday, more and more people become aware of Rachel's work in Palestine and the positivity she left behind. Her parents have tirelessly been working for the last 9 years to bring justice for the shocking and disgraceful behaviour shown by the Israeli and American governments regarding Rachel's death.
http://youtu.be/ZMHeuDjhwFoRachel's bravery will never be forgotten. Everyday, more and more people become... more
-
-
Peace activist Rachel Corrie, 23, was a student at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. She was MURDERED on Sunday, March 16, 2003 by the IDF, in the southern Gaza city of Rafah while trying to stop an Israeli bulldozer from tearing down a Palestinian physician's home. Israeli military spokesman Captain Jacob Dallal called her death an accident.
Today is Rachel's Birthday, she would have been 32 years old. There will be celebration around the World toady calibrating Her life and Death. Every American should be proud of Rachel. She was steadfast in her convictions and died doing what was right.
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/Peace activist Rachel Corrie, 23, was a student at Evergreen State College in Olympia,... more
-
-
The failure of the United States to stand up to Israel's terrorism is going to isolate us along with Israel from the rest of the world. The USA and Israel are two peas in a pod.The failure of the United States to stand up to Israel's terrorism is going to... more
-
-
On March 10, 2010, the parent's of slain activist Rachel Corrie, get their long-standing effort to put the Israeli military on trial for Rachel's death, seven years after the now world-famous activist and Olympia native met her fate beneath an army bulldozer on a mission to demolish Palestinian homes. Her parents are pressing a civil suit against the Israeli defense ministry, saying that its soldiers killed Rachel either intentionally or through negligence.
They filed the case in 2005, but it was held up by legal wrangling over whether the Israeli government could be sued. The US mainstream media continues to collectively bury the story of the Rachel Corrie civil trial.On March 10, 2010, the parent's of slain activist Rachel Corrie, get their... more
-
-
When Americans travel or live abroad we feel pretty safe, especially when visiting the countries of our allies and friends. After all, as citizens of the most powerful country in the world, most governments take extraordinary measures to avoid disrupting their relationship with us.
Killing one of our citizens with its military sullies diplomatic relations resulting in international condemnation, sanctions or worse. Recently one country emerged where killing an American civilian or our military personnel receives vague notice, a cursory condemnation and usually no investigation. In fact, our government goes to extraordinary lengths to protect this country when it kills American citizens. Its reputation supercedes American lives.
http://windowintopalestine.blogspot.com/2010/06/americans-killed-by-israel.htmlWhen Americans travel or live abroad we feel pretty safe, especially when visiting the... more
-
-
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-138534121/dead-jews-arent-news.html
The boat the Israelis peacefully intercepted was called Rachel Corrie - named after a young American protester accidentally killed when offering herself as a human shield in Gaza. Her name became immortalised, some 30 songs have been written for her, a London play named after her and a film last year. But another Rachel, completely forgotten, is Rachel Thaler - a 16-year-old British citizen murdered by a Palestinian suicide bomber in 2002.
'Dead Jews aren't news: British newspapers care greatly about some victims of the Israel army, says Tom Gross, but not the Jewish victims of Palestinian terror - even if they are British
Rachel Thaler, aged 16, was blown up at a pizzeria in an Israeli shopping mall. She died after an 11-day struggle for life following a suicide bomb attack on a crowd of teenagers on 16 February 2002. Even though Thaler was a British citizen, born in London, where her grandparents still live, her death has never been mentioned in a British newspaper.
Rachel Corrie, on the other hand, an American radical who died in 2003 while acting as a human shield during an Israeli anti-terror operation in Gaza, has been widely featured in the British press. According to the Guardian website, she has been written about or referred to on 57 separate occasions in the Guardian alone.
But Rachel Thaler, unlike Rachel Corrie, was Jewish. And unlike Corrie, Jewish victims of Middle East violence have not become a cause célèbre in Britain. This lack of response is all the more disturbing at a time when an increasing number of British Jews feel that there has been a sharp rise in anti-Semitism.
Thaler is by no means the only Jewish Rachel whose violent death has been entirely ignored by the media. Other victims of the Intifada include Rachel Levy (aged 17, blown up in a grocery store), Rachel Levi (19, shot while waiting for the bus), Rachel Gavish (killed with her husband, son and father while at home celebrating a Passover meal), Rachel Charhi (blown up while sitting in a Tel Aviv cafe, leaving three young children), Rachel Shabo (murdered with her three sons aged 5, 13 and 16 while at home), Rachel Ben Abu (16, blown up outside the entrance of a Netanya shopping mall) and Rachel Kol, 53, who worked at a Jerusalem hospital and was killed with her husband in a Palestinian terrorist attack in July a few days after the London bombs.
Corrie’s death was undoubtedly tragic but, unlike the death of these other Rachels, it was almost certainly an accident. She was killed when she was hit by an Israeli army bulldozer she was trying to stop from demolishing a structure suspected of concealing tunnels used for smuggling weapons.
Unfortunately for those who have sought to portray Corrie as a peaceful protester, photos of her burning a mock American flag and stirring up crowds in Gaza at a pro-Hamas rally were published by the Associated Press and on Yahoo News on 15 February 2003, a month before she died. (Those photos were not used in the British press.)
While Thaler’s parents, after donating their murdered daughter’s organs for transplant surgery, grieved quietly, Corrie’s parents embarked on a major publicity campaign with strong political overtones. They travelled to Ramallah to accept a plaque from Yasser Arafat on behalf of their daughter. They circulated her emails and diary entries to a world media eager to publicise them. They have written op-ed pieces, including a recent one in the Guardian.
The International Solidarity Movement (ISM), the group with which Corrie was affiliated, is routinely described as a “peace group” in the media. Few make any mention of the ISM’s meeting with the British suicide bombers Omar Khan Sharif and Asif Muhammad Hanif who, a few days later, blew up Mike’s Place, a Tel Aviv pub, killing three and injuring dozens, including British citizens. Or of the ISM’s sheltering in its office of Shadi Sukiya, a leading member of Islamic Jihad. Or of the fact that in its mission statement the ISM said “armed struggle” is a Palestinian “right”.
According to the “media co-ordinator” of the ISM, Flo Rosovski, “‘Israel’ is an illegal entity that should not exist” – which at any rate clarifies the ISM’s idea of peace.
Indeed, partly because of the efforts of Corrie’s fellow activists in the ISM, the Israeli army was unable to stop the flow of weapons through the tunnels near where she was demonstrating. Those weapons were later used to kill Israeli children in the town of Sderot in southern Israel, and elsewhere.
However, in many hundreds of articles on Corrie , most papers have been careful to omit such details. So have actor Alan Rickman and Guardian journalist Katharine Viner, co-creators of My Name is Rachel Corrie, leaving almost all the critics who reviewed the play completely ignorant about the background to the events with which it deals.
So in April, when reviewers first wrote about the play, they tended to take it completely at face value. “Corrie was murdered after joining a non-violent Palestinian resistance organisation,” wrote Emma Gosnell in the Sunday Telegraph. The Evening Standard, for example, described it as a “true-life tragedy” in which Corrie’s “unselfish goodness shines through”.
Only one critic (Clive Davis in the Times) saw the play for the propaganda it is. At one point Corrie declares, “The vast majority of Palestinians right now, as far as I can tell, are engaging in Gandhian non-violent resistance.” As Davis notes, “Even the late Yasser Arafat might have blushed at that one.” But ultimately the play, and many of the articles about Corrie that have appeared, are not really about the young American activist who died in such tragic circumstances. They are about promoting a hate-filled and glaringly one-sided view of Israel.'http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-138534121/dead-jews-arent-news.html
The... more
-
-
Israeli defense forces bord ships on a regular basis as a matter of security.Can we compare this boarding of the Rachel Corrie, to the Flotilla and see where aggresion lies?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRzQNsumRRUIsraeli defense forces bord ships on a regular basis as a matter of security.Can we... more
-
-
Reportedly due to land on Wednesday, Ireland's chief political leader offers stern warning to Israel.
June 2, 2010 |
Irish humanitarian aid ship the MV Rachel Corrie is still sailing for Gaza, in spite of Israel's recent, devastating attack on other vessels in the Gaza aid flotilla, resulting in at least nine dead activists and hundreds of prisoners.
The ship, named after 23-year-old U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie -- who was crushed to death in 2003 by an American-built bulldozer operated by the Israeli army -- has been pleading with the international community to pressure Israel into leaving them alone.
The Irish government, for its part, has threatened Israel with "the most serious consequences" if any Irish national, captured or currently abroad an aid vessel, is harmed.
"If any harm comes to any of our citizens, it will have the most serious consequences," Taoiseach Brian Cowen said, according to The Irish Times.
"Taoiseach" is the position bestowed upon the individual who leads Ireland's government.
The MV Rachel Corrie is reportedly due to arrive in Gaza on Wednesday, according to the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Irish officials have demanded Israel let the boat pass unimpeded. Ireland has long opposed Israel's military blockade of Palestine.
"The government has formally requested the Israeli government to allow the Irish-owned ship to be allowed to complete its journey unimpeded and discharge its humanitarian cargo in Gaza," Cowen said.
"The Rachel Corrie is carrying medical equipment, wheelchairs, school supplies and cement, a material Israel has banned in Hamas-ruled Gaza, organizers said," the Seattle Post-Globe reported.
Five Irish activists and five Malaysian activists were said to be aboard.
"In the names of our friends, we are more determined than ever to continue into Gaza with our humanitarian cargo and our support for the blockaded and suffering people of Gaza," read a message sent on behalf of the activists, published by Global Research. "We expect Israel to respond to the international condemnation of its violence by not impeding by any means the safe passage of the Rachel Corrie. We appeal to the international community and United Nations to continue to demand Israel our safe passage into Gaza."
Activist group Jewish Voice for Peace declared in an e-mail to supporters, "We still don't know the names of those who were killed or injured, or where they are from. And we don't know the whereabouts or well-being of more than 400 activists still being held by Israel." The group demanded Israel release the activists without condition or charge.
The activists' call echoed another from NATO, which demanded the prisoners' freedom and pressed the need for a "prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation" into the events.
In response to the activist killings, Egypt announced it would open a portion of border crossing into Palestine to allow in future shipments of humanitarian supplies. Turkey, reportedly the country of origin for some of the May 31st raid's victims, pledged it would send a military escort with future Gaza aid boats.Reportedly due to land on Wednesday, Ireland's chief political leader offers... more
-
-
What a lowly snail in the slime to condemn a mother whose child was murdered at the hands of the Israeli Defense Forces-Her small body Bulldozed while the IDF destroyed the rightful home of a Palestinian Doctor. What a sick minded writer who can judge a women AND her murdered daughter who are both only sympathetic towards the Palestinians plight and who never uttered a bad word against individual Jews.
NEVER!
God will judge this scumbag of a journalist. Here is the story:
There’s something so deeply, deeply depressing about the attack against Cindy Corrie by J Weekly, the Bay Area’s Jewish newspaper. True, it’s just one of countless examples of the moral malaise that plagues the institutional Jewish world when it comes to Palestinians, but on this day, this day when I am fresh back from Gaza, from Hebron, from Silwan, it has gotten to me.
I’m not sure which is worse- the possibility that the J’s editorial writer actually believes the morally groundless drivel he or she is writing? Or the possibility that they know full well that the moral outrage that is the Israeli treatment of Gazans is an affront to all Jews and feeling people, but that they care more about keeping advertisers happy.
While acknowledging the right of the SF Jewish Film Festival to air the film Rachel, a documentary made by Jewish-Israeli filmaker Simone Bitto , the Bay Area’s Jewish magazine has condemned in an editorial the decision to invite Cindy Corrie. Cindy is the mother of the subject of the film, Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli Defense Forces bulldozer while protesting home demolitions in Gaza.
As a grieving mother, Cindy Corrie has our sympathies. No parent should ever have to bury a child. But as an echo chamber of her daughter’s repulsive opinions, this woman has no business attending and speaking at a Jewish event like the film festival.
We are all for free speech. We are all for scheduling controversial films. But Cindy Corrie’s appearance crosses a line. The Jewish Film Festival is under no obligation to offer a microphone to Israel-bashers.
Israel-bashers? Repulsive opinions? For free speech? Oh to have just one hour to take the J editors to Gaza to see for themselves that which the Corries have so rightfully denounced. I just returned from there, and yet again, I have never been so confronted with the fact of meaningless, cruel and vindictive suffering. This has nothing to do with Israel-bashing. In fact, if you care about Israel, and only Israel, you still will come down on the side of the Corries, for it’s nearly impossible to see a decent future for Israelis if the country continues to harm and radicalize Gazans through illegal blockades and incursions and war.
------more below, but there are many links and videos at the link above.What a lowly snail in the slime to condemn a mother whose child was murdered at the... more
-
-
On this day six years ago, Rachel Corrie was killed by Israeli soldiers in Rafah, Gaza. By now the story is well known: Rachel, standing in front of the home of a doctor and his family in hopes of preventing a demolition, was run over by an armored bulldozer, a Caterpillar D9. After six years of promises from elected leaders, no independent investigation of her death has been conducted.
Link to emails she sent to her family- http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14919On this day six years ago, Rachel Corrie was killed by Israeli soldiers in Rafah,... more
-
-
This week marks the sixth anniversary of the killing of Rachel Corrie as she tried to defend Palestinian homes. Corrie, a student from Olympia Washington was crushed beneath a US made Caterpillar bulldozer driven by a member of the Israeli Defense Forces during a protest against home demolitions in the Gaza Strip. The IDF has never accepted responsibility for her death. GRITtv put together these clips in honor of her memory. It begins with a poem written by Rachel as a child.This week marks the sixth anniversary of the killing of Rachel Corrie as she tried to... more
-
-
GRITtv
-
added this
-
4 years ago
- |
-
From Democracy Now! Headlines for March 16, 2005
Rachel Corrie’s Family Sues Israel & Caterpillar, Inc.
"And the family of Rachel Corrie has sued bulldozer manufacturer Caterpillar and the state of Israel in connection with her death. The 23-year-old U.S. activist was killed two years ago today in the Gaza town of Rafah. She was run over by a bulldozer operated by an Israeli soldier. We’ll speak to her family later in the show."
_____________________________________________________________________________________
This is the same Caterpillar, Inc who is getting the contract from the new Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood. Rahm Emmanuel, member of the Israeli army, phoned the CEO of Exelon before he took the post of White House Chief of Staff (same position Carl Rove had to Bush). Emmanuel is good friends with Ray "Radiation" LaHood, a pro-nuclear Republican from Peoria, Il - home to Caterpillar, Inc. During the Bush years, Peoria turned into a police state (They alleged a 911 highjacker was here). LaHood and Caterpillar are Bush/Cheney/ FISA/ torture/ control freaks and I guarantee all roads/ bridges/tunnels will have the latest military spying/'control the masses' technology invented. The laid off taxpayers, who are now so poor, will jump at these new transportation jobs even though it could mean an end to what freedom we have left. Returning military will also be used. Chicago mafia + Catholic mafia. This is the real corruption in Illinois, Blagojovich was just a diversion. Fitzgerald needs to come to Peoria to clean up the corruption here (or is he too busy protecting Emmanuel?). New roads to transport nuclear waste? Not the future I want.From Democracy Now! Headlines for March 16, 2005
Rachel Corrie’s Family Sues... more
-
