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Rachel Aliene Corrie

English: Joe Carr's image caption: "March...
English: Joe Carr's image caption: "March 16, 03. Rachel nonviolently blocks Israeli bulldozers from destroying Palestinian homes along the Rafah/Egyptian border along with nine other International Solidarity Movement volunteers. Photos from earlier in the day, NOT OF THE ACTUAL INCIDENT of her death." (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rachel Aliene Corrie (April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003) was an American peace activist[1] and member of International Solidarity Movement (ISM)[2]from Olympia, Washington, who was crushed to death by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) armored bulldozer in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.[1][3]
She had come to Gaza during the height of the second Palestinian intifada[4] as part of her senior-year college assignment to connect her home town with Rafah in a sister cities project.[5] While there she had engaged with other ISM activists in efforts to non-violently prevent the Israeli army's demolition of the homes of Palestinian people.[1][6][7]
Less than two months after her arrival,[5] on March 16, 2003, Corrie was killed after a three-hour confrontation between two bulldozers and eight ISM activists.[3][8] Wearing a bright orange fluorescent jacket and, until shortly before her death, using a megaphone, she was killed while standing in the path of a bulldozer that she believed was about to demolish the house of local pharmacist Samir Nasralla's family whom she had befriended.[9] She was run over twice by the bulldozer resulting in a fractured skull, shattered ribs and punctured lungs.[10]
The exact nature of her death and the culpability of the bulldozer operator are disputed, with eyewitnesses saying that the Israeli soldier operating the bulldozer deliberately ran over Corrie, and the Israeli government saying that it was an accident since the bulldozer operator could not see her.[11][12][13][14]
In 2005 Corrie's parents filed a civil lawsuit against the state of Israel. The lawsuit charged Israel with not conducting a full and credible investigation into the case and with responsibility for her death,[15] contending that she had either been intentionally killed or that the soldiers had acted with reckless neglect.[3] They sued for a symbolic one U.S. dollar in damages to make the point that their case was about justice for their daughter and the Palestinian cause she had been defending.[16]
In August 2012, an Israeli court rejected their suit[3] and upheld the results of Israel's 2003 military investigation, ruling that the Israeli government was not responsible for Corrie's death.[15] The ruling, the Israeli justice system, and the investigation it exonerated have been criticized.[17][18][19]
Rachel Corrie's life has been memorialized in several tributes, including the play My Name Is Rachel Corrie and the cantata The Skies are Weeping. Her collected writings were published in 2008 under the title Let Me Stand Alone, opening "a window on the maturation of a young woman seeking to make the world a better place".[20] The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice has been established to continue her work.

Early life

Corrie was born on April 10, 1979, and raised in Olympia, Washington, United States. She was the youngest of three children of Craig Corrie, an insurance executive, and Cindy Corrie. Cindy describes their family as "average Americans—politically liberal, economically conservative, middle class".[21][22][23]
After graduating from Capital High School, Corrie went on to attend The Evergreen State College, also in Olympia, where she took a number of arts courses. She took a year off from her studies to work as a volunteer in the Washington State Conservation Corps. She also spent three years making weekly visits to mental patients.[23]
While at Evergreen State College she became a "committed peace activist" arranging peace events through a local group called 'Olympians for Peace and Solidarity'. She later joined theInternational Solidarity Movement (ISM) organisation in order to use non-violent methods for challenging the policies of the Israeli army in the West Bank and Gaza.[1] In her senior year, she proposed an independent-study program in which she would travel to Gaza, join protesters from the ISM, and initiate a "sister city" project between Olympia and Rafah.[10] Before leaving, she also organized a pen-pal program between children in Olympia and Rafah.[24]

Activities in the Palestinian territories

After flying to Israel on January 22, 2003, and staying overnight in East Jerusalem, Corrie underwent a two-day training course at the ISM's West Bank headquarters before heading to Rafah to participate in ISM demonstrations.[10][22] During her training, Corrie studied direct action tactics, which included basic rules for avoiding harm. A later article on the Corrie incident summarized these as: "Wear fluorescent jackets. Don't run. Don't frighten the army.  
On Corrie's first night there, she and two other ISM members set up camp inside Block J, "a densely populated neighborhood along the Pink Line and frequent target of gunfire from an Israeli watchtower". By situating themselves visibly between the Palestinian residents and the Israeli snipers manning the watchtowers they hoped to discourage shooting by displaying banners stating that they were "internationals". However, Israeli soldiers fired bullets over their tent and at the ground a few feet away. Deciding that their presence was provoking the Israeli soldiers rather than deterring them, Corrie and her colleagues dismantled their tent and left the area.[10]
Qishta, a Palestinian who worked as an interpreter, noted: "Late January and February was a very crazy time. There were house demolitions taking place all over the border strip and the activists had no time to do anything else."[10] Qishta also stated of the ISM activists: "They were not only brave; they were crazy."[10] The confrontations were not entirely safe for the activists: a British participant was wounded by shrapnel while entering an olive grove to retrieve the body of a young Palestinian man killed by an Israeli sniper's bullet, and an Irish peace activist named Jenny was nearly run down by a bulldozer.[10]
Palestinian militants expressed concern that the "internationals" staying in tents between the Israeli watchtowers and the residential neighborhoods would get caught in crossfire, while other residents were concerned that the young activists might be spies. Corrie worked hard to overcome this suspicion, learning a few words of Arabic, and participating in a mock trial denouncing the "crimes of the Bush Administration".[10] With time, the ISM members were taken into Palestinian family homes, and provided with meals and beds. Even so, in the days before Corrie's death, a letter gained wide circulation in Rafah, casting suspicion again on the ISM members. "Who are they? Why are they here? Who asked them to come here?" it asked.[10]The letter made the activists feel preoccupied and frustrated, and on the morning of Corrie's death they planned ways to counteract its effects. According to one of them, "We all had a feeling that our role was too passive. We talked about how to engage the Israeli military."[10]
On March 14, 2003, during an interview with the Middle East Broadcasting network, Corrie said:
I feel like I'm witnessing the systematic destruction of a people's ability to survive.... Sometimes I sit down to dinner with people and I realize there is a massive military machine surrounding us, trying to kill the people I'm having dinner with.[10]

Water well human shielding efforts

According to a January 2003 article by Gordon Murray, in the last month of her life Corrie "spent a lot of time at the Canada Well helping protect Rafah municipal workers" who were trying to repair damage to the well done by Israeli bulldozers. Canada Well was built in 1999 with CIDA funding. It, along with El Iskan Well, had supplied more than 50% of Rafah's water before the damage. The city had been under "strict rationing (only a few hours of running water on alternate days)" since. Murray writes that ISM activists were maintaining a presence there since "Israeli snipers and tanks routinely shot at civilian workers trying to repair the wells." In one of her reports, Corrie wrote that despite her group's having received permission from the Israeli District Command Office and the fact that they were carrying "banners and megaphones the activists and workers were fired upon several times over a period of about one hour. One of the bullets came within two metres of three internationals and a municipal water worker close enough to spray bits of debris in their faces as it landed at their feet."[27] According to Murray, the Canadian government refused to "officially protest or denounce the Israeli army actions", yet "quietly agreed to help fund the estimated $450,000 repair costs".[28]

Controversy over protest against 2003 invasion of Iraq

While in Gaza, Corrie took part in a demonstration as part of the February 15, 2003 anti-war protest against the invasion of Iraq. She was photographed burning a makeshift U.S. flag.[10][29] Robert Spencer criticized Corrie for having burned the flag in front of children, writing that she was "fostering ... hatred" of the United States.[30]
After her death the ISM released a statement quoting Corrie's parents on the widely-circulated picture of the incident:
In the words of Rachel's parents: 'The act, while we may disagree with it, must be put into context. Rachel was partaking in a demonstration in Gaza opposing the War on Iraq. She was working with children who drew two pictures, one of the American flag, and one of the Israeli flag, for burning. Rachel said that she could not bring herself to burn the picture of the Israeli flag with the Star of David on it, but under such circumstances, in protest over a drive towards war and her government's foreign policy that was responsible for much of the devastation that she was witness to in Gaza, she felt it OK to burn the picture of her own flag. We have seen photographs of memorials held in Gaza after Rachel's death in which Palestinian children and adults honor our daughter by carrying a mock coffin draped with the American flag. We have been told that our flag has never been treated so respectfully in Gaza in recent years. We believe Rachel brought a different face of the United States to the Palestinian people, a face of compassion. It is this image of Rachel with the American flag that we hope will be remembered most.'[31]

Corrie's e-mails from Gaza to her mother

Rachel Corrie sent a series of e-mails to her mother while she was in Gaza, four of which were later published by The Guardian.[32] In January 2008 Norton published a book titled Let Me Stand Alone by Corrie, which included the e-mails along with some of her other writings.[33][34][35] Yale Professor David Bromwich said that Corrie left "letters of great interest" and that she had studied methods of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King with care.[36] Corrie wrote to her mother, "The vast majority of Palestinians right now, as far as I can tell, are engaged in Gandhian nonviolent resistance."[33] The play My Name is Rachel Corrie and the cantata The Skies are Weeping were based on Corrie's letters.

Corrie's death and subsequent controversy

On March 16, 2003 the IDF was engaged in an operation involving the demolition of Palestinian houses in a military zone between the Rafah refugee camp and the Egyptian border calledPhiladelphi Route.[37] Corrie was part of a group of three British and four American ISM activists attempting to disrupt the IDF operation. Corrie placed herself in the path of a Caterpillar D9Rarmored bulldozer in the area and was fatally injured. After she was injured she was taken by a Red Crescent ambulance to the Palestinian Najar hospital, arriving at the emergency room at 5:05 pm still alive but near death. At 5:20 pm she was declared dead.[38]
The events surrounding Corrie's death are disputed. Eyewitnesses said that the Israeli soldier operating the bulldozer deliberately ran Corrie over while she was acting as a human shield to prevent the demolition of the home of local pharmacist Samir Nasrallah.[8][10][39] They said she was between the bulldozer and a wall near Nasrallah's home, in which ISM activists had spent the night several times.[10] On the other hand an IDF officer testified in court that on that day they were only clearing "vegetation and rubble" and that no houses were slated for demolition.[40] However, ISM activist Richard Purssell testified, "[t]hey began demolishing one house. We gathered around and called out to them and went into the house, so they backed out. During the entire time they knew who we were and what we were doing, because they didn't shoot at us. We stood in their way and shouted. There were about eight of us in an area about 70 square meters. Suddenly, we saw they turned to a house they had started to demolish before, and I saw Rachel standing in the way of the front bulldozer." Human-rights activists and Palestinians say that the demolitions had also been accompanied by gunfire from Israeli snipers. The director of Rafah's hospital, Dr. Ali Moussa said that 240 Palestinians, including 78 children, had been killed. "Every night there is shooting at houses in which children are sleeping, without any attacks from Palestinians."[10]
The major points of dispute are whether the bulldozer operator saw Corrie and whether her injuries were caused by being crushed under the blade or by the mound of debris the bulldozer was pushing. An IDF spokesman has acknowledged that Israeli army regulations normally require that the operators of the armored personnel carriers (APCs) that accompany bulldozers are responsible for directing the operators towards their targets because the Caterpillar D9 bulldozers have a restricted field of vision with several blind spots.[41] In a statement issued the day after Corrie's death, however, the ISM said, "[w]hen the bulldozer refused to stop or turn aside she climbed up onto the mound of dirt and rubble being gathered in front of it ... to look directly at the operator who kept on advancing."[42]
The IDF produced a video about Corrie's death that includes footage taken from inside the cockpit of a D9. The video makes a "credible case", wrote Joshua Hammer in Mother Jones, that "the operators, peering out through narrow, double-glazed, bulletproof windows, their view obscured behind pistons and the giant scooper, might not have seen Corrie kneeling in front of them".[10]Corrie's father, Craig Corrie has said "I know there's stuff you can't see out of the double glass windows." But he has denied that as a valid excuse for the death of his daughter, saying "you're responsible for knowing what's in front of your blade." Based on his experience of overseeing work with bulldozers similar to the D9 while serving as a combat engineer in Vietnam he said: "It's a no brainer that this was gross negligence", adding "they had three months to figure out how to deal with the activists that were there."[43] Eye witness Tom Dale commenting on the 2012 verdict said: "Whatever one thinks about the visibility from a D9 bulldozer, it is inconceivable that at some point the driver did not see her, given the distance from which he approached, while she stood, unmoving, in front of it. As I told the court, just before she was crushed, Rachel briefly stood on top of the rolling mound of earth which had gathered in front of the bulldozer: her head was above the level of the blade, and just a few meters from the driver."[44]
In April 2011, during the trial of the civil suit brought by Corrie's parents, an IDF officer testified that Corrie and other activists had spent "hours" trying to block the bulldozers under his command. He went on to say that it was "a war zone where Palestinian militants used abandoned homes as firing positions" and exploited foreign activists for cover. He shouted over a megaphone for the activists to leave, tried to use tear gas to disperse them and moved his troops several times. "To my regret, after the eighth time, (Corrie) hid behind an earth embankment. The D9 operator didn't see her. She thought he saw her," he said.[40]
An infantry major later testified that the activists were endangering troops and had ignored numerous warnings to leave the area. Between September 2000 and the date of Corrie's death Israeli forces in the area had been subjected to 1,400 attacks involving gunfire, 150 involving explosive devices, 200 involving anti-tank rockets, and 6,000 involving hand grenades or mortar fire.[3] Israeli military officials gave evidence in court stating that Corrie and other activists were legitimate military targets.[45]

ISM and other eyewitness accounts

Joe Carr, an American ISM activist who used the assumed name of Joseph Smith during his time in Gaza, gave the following account in an affidavit recorded and published by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR):

Subsequent events

Lawsuits

In the United States

Corrie's family and several Palestinians filed a federal lawsuit against Caterpillar Inc. alleging liability for Corrie's death. The suit alleged Caterpillar supplied the bulldozers to the Israelis despite having notice they would be used to further "a policy plaintiffs contend violates international law". The case was dismissed by a Federal judge in November 2005 for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, citing, among other things, the political question doctrine. The judge found, alternatively, that the plaintiffs' claims failed on the merits.[77]
The Corrie family appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In September 2007 the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal on the political question grounds and thus did not rule on the merits of the suit. The Court found that as the bulldozers were paid for by the U.S. Government as part of its aid to Israel, the Judicial Branch could not rule on the merits of the case without ruling on whether or not the government's financing of such bulldozers was appropriate and that this was a matter not entrusted to the Judicial Branch.[78]

In Israel

In 2010, Corrie's parents, represented by Attorney Hussein Abu Hussein, filed a lawsuit against the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Defense Ministry in the Haifa District Court, seeking US$324,000 in compensation.[79] The case began in Haifa on March 10, 2010.[80] Judge Oded Gershon presided over the case. On October 21, 2010, the bulldozer driver who had run over Corrie testified for four hours, and was questioned by the Corries' attorney.[81] In addition, four experts, including an expert on the behalf of the Corrie family testified during the trial, and concluded that the bulldozer driver could not see Corrie.[82] Four ISM witnesses testified during the case. However, the Palestinian physician from Gaza who had examined Corrie's wounds on the scene was unable to testify after Israel refused him an entry visa and rejected an application for him to testify by video link.[83]
The court ruled against Corrie's family on August 28, 2012. In a 62-page verdict, the judge ruled that Corrie's death was an accident for which she was responsible, and absolved the IDF of any wrongdoing.[3][84][85] According to the judge "The mission of the IDF force on the day of the incident was solely to clear the ground.... The mission did not include, in any way, the demolition of homes."[86][87] The court invoked the principle of the combatant activities exception, as the IDF was attacked in the same area where Corrie was killed a few hours earlier; that Corrie could have avoided the danger and that defendants were not at fault as there was neither intent nor negligence involved in her death.[3] Judge Oded Gershon said that the IDF did not violate Corrie's right to life because Corrie had placed herself in a dangerous situation, that Israel's investigation was appropriate and did not contain mistakes, and also criticized the U.S. government for failing to send a diplomatic representative to observe Corrie's autopsy.[88] Gershon said: "I rule unequivocally that the claim that the deceased was intentionally hit by the bulldozer is totally baseless. This was an extremely unfortunate accident.[85] I reached the conclusion that there was no negligence on the part of the bulldozer driver. I reject the suit. There is no justification to demand the state pay any damages. She [Corrie] did not distance herself from the area, as any thinking person would have done. She consciously put herself in harm's way."
Furthermore, Gershon pointed to three different entry bans, and also pointed out that the Philadelphi route was effectively a war zone and was formally declared a closed military zone when Corrie died. Gershon also noted that the United States had issued an Israel travel advisory warning to avoid Gaza and the West Bank. In addition, Gershon said that the ISM "abuses the human rights discourse to blur its actions which are de facto violence" and specialized in disrupting IDF activity, which "included an army of activists serving as 'human shields' for terrorists wanted by Israeli security forces, financial and logistical aid to Palestinians including terrorists and their families, and disruption of the sealing of suicide bombers' houses".[89] The Corrie family laywer, Hussein Abu Hussein, said they were "now studying our options", in regards to a possible appeal.[90]
While rejecting the Corrie family's claims to damages, the judge also waived the Corrie family's court costs.
Haifa District Court spokeswoman Nitzan Eyal said that her family could appeal the ruling. The amount sought was a symbolic US$1 and legal costs. Her mother reacted to the verdict in saying: "I am hurt. We are, of course, deeply saddened and deeply troubled by what we heard today from Judge Oded Gershon." Corrie's sister, Sarah Corrie Simpson, stated that she believed "without a doubt" that the driver had seen her as he approached, and stated that she hoped he would one day "have the courage" to tell the truth. The right wing political party Yisrael Beitenu issued a statement that called the verdict "vindication after vilification".[91]
Richard Falk, UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories and vocal critic of Israel,[92] said of the verdict that it was "a sad outcome, above all for the Corrie family that had initiated the case back in 2005, but also for the rule of law and the hope that an Israeli court would place limits on the violence of the state, particularly in relation to innocents and unarmed civilians in an occupied territory".[93] Former U. S. President Jimmy Carter of the Carter Center, said that the "court's decision confirms a climate of impunity, which facilitates Israeli human rights violations against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Territory".[94] However, journalist Brendan O'Neill,[95] supported the court's verdict.
The Israel Law Center, Shurat HaDin, has said that the Corrie Family should sue the Palestinian Authority and ISM over their daughter's death.[96] In addition, NGO Monitor president, Gerald Steinberg said, "Corrie's death was entirely unnecessary, and the leaders of the ISM bear much culpability for her death."[97]




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