RACHEL CORRIE STRUCK DOWN AND STRUCK OFF

August 29, 2012

The District Court in Haifa, yesterday, declared no wrongdoing in the case of Rachel Corrie and claimed that her death should be attributed to her own negligence. No surprises there. Similar incidents involving foreigners killed by Israeli military personnel have been dismissed as being unfounded: James Miller, Tom Hurndall, Iain Hook, Tristan Anderson, Harald Fischer, Raffaele Ciriello... Not to mention the volumes of Palestinian casualties. As well as this you have those who managed to survive their ordeal, like Caoimhe Butterly and Brian Avery.

Rachel Corrie was only 23 when she was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer in 2003. She had been protesting against the demolition of Palestinian houses, by boldly and conspicuously standing in front of the homes she was trying to protect. But this was not Tiananmen Square and the vehicle just kept on going. The scene in Avatar springs to mind: "They'll move..." Well she didn't. Perhaps it was a misplaced trust, or maybe she just did not make it in time. The Jerusalem Post's version is that she as kneeling and the driver just did not see her:

"At the time, the bulldozer was clearing brush near the Rafah border crossing to prevent illegal weapons smuggling by terrorists from Egypt."

She may have been young and naive, but it is unlikely she would have been risking her life for "brush"!

It also describes her as a radical who travelled to Gaza to "directly participate in the hostilities between Israel and Palestinian combatants". I expect she must have been fairly radical to have the courage to stand up for her cause; but directly participating in hostilities would indicate she was holding a gun, not a megaphone. At the end of the day, what the judge and elements of the press are saying is that "She is not one of us, she is expendable". That is where they are very wrong. People like Rachel Corrie speak to our conscience. Injustice should not bury her twice.