World Remembers Rachel Corrie While Her Family Fights for Accountability in Israel
Washington, D.C.--Seven years ago today, U.S. student and peace activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by an Israeli soldier driving a Caterpillar D-9R bulldozer
while she attempted to nonviolently prevent the demolition of a
Palestinian pharmacist’s home in Rafah, Gaza. Now, after a dismissal in
U.S. district court and an Israeli investigation that the U.S. State
Department characterized as not “thorough, credible, [or] transparent,”
Rachel’s family is seeking justice through the Israeli court system as
plaintiffs in a civil trail over Rachel’s unlawful killing in the Gaza
Strip. “The killing of Rachel Corrie is yet another example of Israel’s
unlawful attacks on unarmed civilians in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories,” said attorney Hussein Abu Hussein who is representing
Rachel Corrie’s family. “The Israeli soldiers and commanders acted
in violation of both Israeli and international law prohibiting the
targeting of civilians and the disproportionate use of force against
non-violent protest with blatant disregard [for] human lives,” added Abu Hussein. Today, on the anniversary of Rachel’s death, while the Haifa court hearing Corrie v. State of Israel
is in recess, the Corrie family and their supporters around the world
are taking action to memorialize Rachel and continue her struggle for
justice and freedom for Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. Over one dozen Rachel Corrie memorial events are taking place across the United States and at least seven
national peace organizations are participating in a call-in day to the
White House demanding that the U.S. break Israel’s inhumane siege of
the Gaza Strip. These organizations, including the US Campaign to
End the Israeli Occupation, Jewish Voice for Peace, the American
Friends Service Committee, and the Methodist Federation for Social
Action, are participating in this call-in day at the request of the
Corrie family. After visiting the Gaza Strip several times in the wake of
“Operation Cast Lead,” Israel’s December 2008-January 2009 attack on
the Gaza Strip, Rep. Brian Baird, whose constituents include the Corrie
family, has publicly requested that the United States break the siege
of Gaza. Participants in this call-in day are asking the Obama
Administration to support his proposal. Background: This is the Corrie family’s second court case over
Rachel’s death. In 2005 the Corries sued Caterpillar, Inc. in U.S.
district court for aiding and abetting the state of Israel in Rachel’s
death and various other war crimes. The basis for this suit was that
Caterpillar supplies bulldozers, such as the one that killed Rachel,
and other equipment built to the specifications of the Israeli
military, knowing that this equipment will likely be used in violations
of intentional law that could result in civilian death. This first case
was dismissed based on the “political question doctrine,” meaning that
the court thought that Caterpillar’s military sales to Israel were a
foreign policy issue and therefore outside the jurisdiction of the
court. For more information about the 2005 case, Corrie et al. v. Caterpillar, please see the archive at the Center for Constitutional Rights: http://ccrjustice.org/
Quote from a 2004 letter from Lawrence B. Wilkerson, Chief of Staff to
former Secretary of State Colin Powell, to the family of Rachel Corrie.
The Corrie family made clear that their struggle for justice and
accountability is much larger than Rachel’s individual case, and that
they stand in opposition to Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip as well
as recent crackdowns on Palestinian, Israeli, and international
nonviolent activists in the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The Corries filed the current civil case in Israel in 2005, at the urging of the U.S. State Department.
For updates on the current case, Corrie v. State of Israel, please see the Rachel Corrie Foundation website: http://rachelcorriefoundation.