Subscribe to Common Dreams News Updates
Most Popular This Week
Popular content
Today's Top News
Rachel Corrie's Family Brings Civil Suit over Human Shield's Death in Gaza
Parents want case to highlight events that led to American activist's death under Israeli army bulldozer
The family of the American activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza seven years ago, is to bring a civil suit over her death against the Israeli defence ministry.
Peace activist Rachel Corrie died while protesting in front of a bulldozer trying to destroy a Palestinian home in Rafah in March 2003. (Photograph: Denny Sternstein/AP) The case, which begins on 10 March in Haifa, northern Israel,
is seen by her parents as an opportunity to put on public record the
events that led to their daughter's death in March 2003. Four key
witnesses - three Britons and an American - who were at the scene in
Rafah when Corrie was killed will give evidence, according the family
lawyer, Hussein Abu Hussein.
The four were all with the International Solidarity Movement, the activist group to which Corrie belonged. They have since been denied entry to Israel, and the group's offices in Ramallah have been raided several times in recent weeks by the Israeli military.
Now, under apparent US pressure, the Israeli government has agreed to allow them entry so they can testify. Corrie's parents, Cindy and Craig, will also fly to Israel for the hearing.
A Palestinian doctor from Gaza, Ahmed Abu Nakira, who treated Corrie after she was injured and later confirmed her death, has not been given permission by the Israeli authorities to leave Gaza to attend.
Abu Hussein, a leading human rights lawyer in Israel, said there was evidence from witnesses that soldiers saw Corrie at the scene, with other activists, well before the incident and could have arrested or removed her from the area before there was any risk of her being killed.
"After her death the military began an investigation but unfortunately, as in most of these cases, it found the activity of the army was legal and there was no intentional killing," he said. "We would like the court to decide her killing was due to wrong-doing or was intentional." If the Israeli state is found responsible, the family will press for damages.
Corrie, who was born in Olympia, Washington, travelled to Gaza to act as a human shield at a moment of intense conflict between the Israeli military and the Palestinians. On the day she died, when she was 23, she was dressed in a fluorescent orange vest and was trying to stop the demolition of a Palestinian home. She was crushed under a military Caterpillar bulldozer and died shortly afterwards.
A month after her death the Israeli military said an investigation had determined its troops were not to blame and said the driver of the bulldozer had not seen her and did not intentionally run her over. Instead, it accused her and the International Solidarity Movement of behaviour that was "illegal, irresponsible and dangerous."
The army report, obtained by the Guardian in April 2003, said she "was struck as she stood behind a mound of earth that was created by an engineering vehicle operating in the area and she was hidden from the view of the vehicle's operator who continued with his work. Corrie was struck by dirt and a slab of concrete resulting in her death."
Witnesses presented a strikingly different version of events. Tom Dale, a British activist who was 10m away when Corrie was killed, wrote an account of the incident two days later.
He described how she first knelt in the path of an approaching bulldozer and then stood as it reached her. She climbed on a mound of earth and the crowd nearby shouted at the bulldozer to stop. He said the bulldozer pushed her down and drove over her.
"They pushed Rachel, first beneath the scoop, then beneath the blade, then continued till her body was beneath the cockpit," Dale wrote.
"They waited over her for a few seconds, before reversing. They reversed with the blade pressed down, so it scraped over her body a second time. Every second I believed they would stop but they never did."
While she was in the Palestinian territories, Corrie wrote vividly about her experiences. Her diaries were later turned into a play, My Name is Rachel Corrie, which has toured internationally, including to Israel and the West Bank.
Other foreigners killed by Israeli forces
Iain Hook, 54, a British UN official, was shot dead by an Israeli army sniper in Jenin in November 2002. A British inquest found he had been unlawfully killed. The Israeli government paid an undisclosed sum in compensation to Hook's family.
Tom Hurndall, a 22-year-old British photography student, was shot in the head in Rafah, Gaza, in April 2003 while helping to pull Palestinian children to safety. In August 2005 an Israeli soldier was sentenced to eight years for manslaughter.
James Miller, 34, a British cameraman, was shot dead in Gaza in May 2003. He was leaving the home of a Palestinian family in Rafah refugee camp at night, waving a white flag. An inquest in Britain found Miller had been murdered. Last year Israel paid about £1.5m in damages to Miller's family.
- Posted in
54 Comments so far
Show AllI am glad something is being done about the tragic death of this young woman in the hands of these US backed up killers. She was simply defending the weak. I have been wondering about this story ever since 2003. It shows that Palestinians, Afghans, Iraqis and others do not count in this world order since they are so poor. TOO SAD.
It shows that Americans don't count either.
You've got it. I remember the absolute lack of action/reaction by Congress and the White House.
Congress, Senate and the WH, all have to bow to the zionist if they want to be in high office...Do you ever wonder why all these so-called leaders need to go to Israel to campaign? even for the presidency?
In the photos I have seen, Rachael was very clearly seen by the driver of the bulldozer before she was run over twice.
Would you care to share these photos with us? Clearly, if these photos exist, they are to be found somewhere on the web?
http://electronicintifada.net/artman2/uploads/1/rach.jpg
It clearly shows that she was visible to the driver.
Du weißt wohl nicht, mein Freund, wie grob du bist.
Except that this photo was taken hours before she was killed, shows a different bulldozer from the one that ran over her, and is taken from an angle that presents a very distorted perspective on her size relative to the blade and the vehicle itself.
But why bother with the facts? All this did not stop the International Solidarity Movement from presenting this photo together with another one, taken after her death, as "Before and After" pictures - or you from from reaching the conclusion that she was clearly visible to the driver. Yes - but this was another driver, hours earlier.
http://www.peacewithrealism.org/corrie.htm
You shouldn't believe everything you read.
I presume you have no understanding of perspective at all? Because the camera in the earlier photo, taken between 45 minutes and 1 hour 45 minutes (not "hours", unless you have documentation to impeach the times given at EI) before her homicide clearly was at the level of her head (her head and the horizon line intersect). Since we know that both bulldozers are D9s, we can look them up (wiki has nice front and side photos of the killer model) and estimate where someone her height (5'6", I believe) would have to have stood to have been invisible to the driver who killed her.
For him not to have seen her, she would have to have darted in front of the bulldozer no more than 12-18 feet in front of the blade. Further away she would definitely have been visible to him. Since her entire motivation was to stand in front of the machine and stop it demolishing a Palestinian physician's house, it would have made no sense for her to suddenly run in front of the machine out of the driver's line of sight.
She was visible, and killed intentionally.
> presume you have no understanding of
> perspective at all? Because the camera in the
> earlier photo, taken between 45 minutes and
> 1 hour 45 minutes (not "hours", unless you
> have documentation to impeach the times
>given at EI)
Suppose that it was 45 minutes our 1:45 hours earlier and not hours earlier, as claimed by others, does it matter? Looking at the pictures carefully reveals that these are two different bulldozers, and that the pictures were taken at different times. Why, then, were these pictures published as "before and after" photos?
> Since we know that both bulldozers are D9s,
> we can look them up (wiki has nice front and
> side photos of the killer model) and estimate
> where someone her height (5'6", I believe)
> would have to have stood to have been
> invisible to the driver who killed her.
See the third picture in the link that I posted above to get the true perspective.
http://www.peacewithrealism.org/corrie.htm
Good gracious me, you sound exactly like the climate deniers: trying to deflect attention away from the facts and onto the presentation instead. It's probably too much to expect you to feel shame, but you're certainly being very dishonest.
I was going to mention that third picture as an example of distorted perspective, with the looming bulldozer and the humans appearing small because of distance. But I reconsidered: why bother. The reality is shown by the non-distorted photos, and measurements, at wiki. Do the math. It's not rocket science.
> I was going to mention that third picture
> as an example of distorted perspective,
> with the looming bulldozer and the
> humans appearing small because of distance.
On the contrary, Rachel Corrie is standing closer to the camera than the blade - so, if anything, the perspective makes her seem larger than she really is compared to the bulldozer - even in the third picture.
Here is the link again. I suggest for all readers to judge for themselves which picture gives a more correct perspective, and who in this discussion is trying to deflect attention away from the facts. The most important fact being, that there is no picture showing that the driver was able to view Rachel Corrie when she was killed, contrary to the claim by Humbaba that has started this thread.
http://www.peacewithrealism.org/corrie.htm
I don't know what you are babbling about, but in all the pictures from your link, the driver of the bulldozer should be able to see Rachel. The third picture is a pointless picture as there is no perspective from that angle.
So you are trying to look objective based on pictures that prove that the murderous bastard driving the dozer intentionally drove over her. Either you are blind or just trying to confuse everyone like a good zionist troll.
Yes...different driver...different bulldozer, etc, etc....all I hear is excuse for cold blooded murder. The intent of those bulldozer drivers was murder and destruction. Nothing else.
Just as I said, why bother with the facts?
Israel lives in a world of made up facts. Tomorrow they will announce that the moon is square and you will be running around naked in the town square shouting "eureka" like a good old zionist sheep.
*Comment deleted by site administrators for violating our Comment Policy*
see: http://www.commondreams.org/comment-policy
*Comment deleted by site administrators for violating our Comment Policy*
see: http://www.commondreams.org/comment-policy
The family of Rachel Corrie has the same chance of seeing justice done for the murder of their daughter as the families of the sailors killed aboard the USS Liberty, and for the same reasons: cowed politicians in Washington routinely sell out Americans to demonstrate absolute fealty to Israel.
Military man? Peace activist? Doesn't matter. All Americans are disposable when Israel's reality as a murderous, psychotic boil on the face of humanity risks exposure.
My heart went out to Rachel Corrie & her family when i heard about her being bulldozed by the vicious Israeli military. This is a young girl, a true HERO, the world should admire and cherish for her valiant defense of those who were unjustly attacked. She was a Schindler to the Palestinians against her worse than Nazi oppressors! The whole world should exercise their conscience and make sure that the perpertrators of this heineous act are brought to justice and dealt with no mercy! It is very naive and shortsighted of these zionists ("chosen ones")to believe that they are exempted from the laws of cause and effect!
Israel can do whatever it wants to do, only because it is backed by the US government. So Corrie was killed by her own government in a real sense
IT was a U.S. made Caterpillar bulldozer that killed Rachel...Didn't oourprez give a speech at the Caterpillar factory?
If you want to expose yourself to the person who was Rachel Corrie, I would encourage you to read her words in the book, "Let Me Stand Alone, The Rachel Corrie
Journals". It is difficult for me to describe what you will find there. For me it was: Intensity.Determination.Empathy.Courage. Vision. Adjectives are as close as I
can get. Phrases and sentences end up being cliches.
My ignorant and unequivocal support for the government of Israel died on the same day as Rachel. If possible, it died even more-- is there such a thing as 150%?- with Mr. Olmert's subhuman activity against refugees in Lebanon and against the Palestinians in Operation Cast Lead. Didn't Olmert's government claim that the Lebanese massacre was to avenge the deaths of 3 IDF men? Didn't Israel also say that the murders of 1400 Gazans served as retaliation for the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit? If this is the case, how should our government have reacted to Rachel Corrie's death? (we know how, of course: George W. did nothing). What should it do about the assault with a tear gas CANISTER on apartheid-wall protester Tristan Anderson who has been comatose for nearly a year & is unlikely to live (N.B. Israel has refused to pay for his medical care, calling him a war criminal for participating in a non-violent protest!)? If the U.S. had retaliated by practicing 1000 eyes for 1, I wonder how many Israelis would have died/been maimed for the
assaults on these two Americans.
Bless you, Corries, for bringing this suit and forcing Israel to come for a time at least out of the slimy place it built to hide its crimes against humanity.
". . . is there such a thing as 150%?"
There is no limit on grief for people who possess the qualities that you list.
Rachel Corrie was an angel and your post is very well written.
q
The crime of running over Rachel was done during the crime of demolishing the home. Israel is guilty of crime after crime and in getting away with it, Israel tries to defend each crime as though the are isolated events, when the combined effect of the crimes is ethnic cleansing.
The Nazis got away with it for a long time, too, and the Afrikaners even longer. But not forever.
To the list of foreigners killed by the IDF you can add all those killed in Lebanon, including Canadian civilians and the 4 Nato observers:
"UN officer reported Israeli war crimes before deadly bombing: widow
CALGARY (CBC) - A United Nations military observer sent e-mails home to Canada reporting that Israel was bombing schools and waging "a campaign of terror against the Lebanese people" shortly before he was killed by an Israeli bomb in Lebanon, said his widow.
Maj. Paeta Hess-von Kruedener of Kingston, Ont., a member of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, was one of four UN military observers who died when the Israeli Defence Forces bombed a marked United Nations post on July 25, 2006.
Cynthia Hess-von Kruedener said her husband's mission was to report on the hostilities in the area and she believes that is why Israeli forces attacked the Israeli United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) post, despite Israel's claims that the bombing was accidental.
"Obviously they were unhappy with what they were observing. Maybe that post was in the way as well," she said. "I know my husband was reporting war crimes. And I guess they don't want to deal with that." "
The Israeli propaganda machine is out in full force:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/for-israel-every-traveller-is-an-ambassador/article1479056/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/getting-the-big-picture-on-a-not-so-small-country/article1479074/
No doubt the NY Times et al are at it too.
International crimes, like the murder of our Rachel, by israhell are far reaching and clearly shows a complete lack of human rights, and respect for soverign laws by that pathetic kittly litter box of a home grown zionist prison.
Unknown to the US MSM, Israhell has been conducting night raids on Palestinian homes in which armed IDF soldiers round up young boys and girls. They take these scared little kids away from their parents, interrogate them violently, strip them, force them to sign false confessions, and incarcerate them for indefinite lengths of time; sometimes for years.
Israhell "collects" approximately 700 Palestinian children each year. There are currently 318 Palestinian children incarcerated by Israel.
And the US gives these bastards $7 million a day for child abuse? And by the way, the tractor that ran her over was made in the US for israhell by Caterpillar.
Today the United States witnessed another terrorist attack in Littleton, Colorado near Columbine the MSM will not call it a terrorist attack just like they avoided calling the plane flying into the IRS building a terrorist attack.....just like they refused to call the murder of 27 Afghan civilians murder.
I heard a CNN reporter repeat a government official's response to the murder of those 27 Afghan Civilians, "Those kinds of things just happen." I thought, "That is the most callous comment I have heard." Then I remembered Madeline Albright's comment about the 500,0000 children who had died in Irag because of the sanctions.....it was something similar to "Those kinds of things just happen."
Rachel Corrie was intentionally run over.....and that was "Murder in the first degree".....
There were 3,000 people murdered on September 11, 2001. There was no investigation and all evidence was destroyed. Except for the dust which when collected and examined had traces of nano-thermite.
Maybe it is time for Americans to wake up to the fact that their government supports the murder of innocent unarmed civilians.......whether it is one U.S. citizen or 3,000 citizens or whether it is over 1 million Iraqis or Afghans.
I hope the Corries do not accept an "Out of Court" settlement and bring their suit to the International Court in the Hague.......
"Then I remembered Madeline Albright's comment about the 500,0000 children who had died in Irag because of the sanctions"
"Aside from the 200,000 Iraqis slaughtered during the Gulf War, an additional 1.5 million civilians have died since 1991 as a result of the sanctions, according to UNICEF reports and the Red Cross, many from what normally would be treatable and curable illnesses. Of these victims, 600,000 are children under 5 years of age. Maternal mortality rates have more than doubled, and 70 percent of Iraqi women suffer from anemia. Given the tons of depleted uranium used during the Allied attacks, cancer rates have skyrocketed: the childhood leukemia rate is now the highest in the world. Most of the leukemia increase is in southern Iraq where the bombing was heaviest." - Michael Parenti(Defying the Sanctions: A Flight to Iraq,January2001)
"Maybe it is time for Americans to wake up......."
Maybe???
"I hope the Corries do not accept an "Out of Court" settlement and bring their suit to the International Court in the Hague......."
They can't bring suit as individuals at the ICC. No one can. It is for states. Also Israel is not a signatory of the Rome Treaty so their citizens can't be prosecuted unless it is turned over by the General Assembly with a recommendation to the Security Council that the matter be pursued. Since the US has veto power, this will not happen.
The ICC is simply not the answer to many questions folks.
To her whole family and many friends I am not about to ever forget that criminal State's barbarism. I just hop the court case doesn't end in quiet compensation and neglects the cause for which that young gave her efforts to expose in its unremitting brutality towards others native to the land in Palestine and the wider abroad. Go please for the throat and make sure as citizens of that monstrous sponsor through its courts. I have little but would gladly contribute to any real and genuine effort to grab this State and its disgraceful sponsors by the neck. So sad an indictment on the USA that it claims to hold its highest duty as being protection of its citizens. It comes as no surprise that the selectivity doesn't include true a beautiful young woman that had courage and conviction in defence of innocent men women and children in a strange land. May your family never ever cease to look for criminal convictions for murder. May it find justice is alive and well whatever the may they be encouraged and supported to the end to achieve something that effects the living breathing populace under a most racist, brutal and colonial regime which perpetrates to-day ongoing genocide with a disgusting flavour. Drive those responsible at home in particular, to cower in shame and fear of legitimate retribution. The United States of America was a dream. Rachael Corrie epitomises what is good about that dream. Her death contributes to humanity. She was murdered and may she rest in peace for all time when those in power are called to account. Stay angry about injustice and get more resolved to bring her story to a wide and receptive public. She never died. She is alive and well.
That young lady and her family deserve more publicity now.
They deserve to follow her home. She tried to expose something horrible. May they stay the course till the end of time to respond to her blood and her innocence. She belongs in the land of the Brave. Her government and her country is a disgrace to mankind for its hubris and its cowardliness as the dollar became its God and The Jews who are Zionists took the reins with their nutty psudo-religious Christian freaks.
I wonder what was in the head of the headline writer who wrote the text for the link to this article. A human shield is someone who is forced to stand near a combatant to deter fire, as in hostages seized by a gunman or a civilian grabbed by a soldier in order to protect the soldier. In contrast, Rachel Corrie was acting in the tradition of Gandhi and Martin Luther King by using her body to try to stop an injustice. It seems that by calling her a 'human shield', someone is trying to make her unconscionable murder seem more understandable. I think someone at Common Dreams needs to look at what happened in the link and take remedial action.
In Peace
I think the term was used by analogy.
It was a sad day then, it is a sad day still. The world is run by a group of people, probably Zionist approved, including our own government. It is suspect at this point that all the conspiracy theories in the world don't even come close to the worst real conspiracy of all; "They" are here, "they" are evil, and "they" will murder us, anyone of us, in any manner "they" choose. It is possible that all the MSM cries, all the yappings of health care reform, the Hollywood sillies and whatever Obummer of the week, is just a ruse to keep us all from looking deeper longer further. I don't even think The Nation nor The Progressive has the balls nor the finances to do the research and follow the money, connect the dots. It's going to take a super dyslexic computer to figure it all out. And I don't think we are going to like the reality.
But hey, some are even being sidetracked by the concepts lied about the 2012 hoopala. There is no planetary alignment, no coded messages for the end of the world. There could be a really awesome message coming from aliens or a realization by the masses that the world is in big trouble spiritually. But we already know that. Well, a few anyway. I pray daily for the hundredth monkey.
CSIS
BTW..she was a human sheild. She was acting in the defense of, (ie: Soldiering herself) in a war zone protecting, civilians from being harmed. This hair splitting of labels makes me want to scream 'stupid' at some of you. Get real.
I pray that the Corrie family gets true justice, a huge comp, and the world has Israel served up for a pig roast.
I see that the talkbackers have so far stayed away from this thread.
Decency or embarrassment?
When they ever shown the slightest hint of decency?
q
RE: "I see that the talkbackers have so far stayed away from this thread. Decency or embarrassment?" - quickstepper
MY COMMENT: Decency or embarrassment on the part of Israel's defenders/enablers? Surely you jest! They have NO shame.
this barbaric state of 7 million with 880 thermonuclear weapons began killing at its birth, starting with u.n. peacemaker count folk bernadotte, murdered by ben gurion's valet on september 2, 1948. shot through the heart 7 times by ben gurion's valet, the count never lived to see the day that a single person met justice for his death. neither will we, since the jewish state elected to legislate a statute of limitations for his murderers, many of whom have streets in tel aviv named after them. oh, they all admitted their parts in the conspiracy, but only when it became too late for anyone to prosecute them for their crime.
Have we all forgotten the USS Liberty?
LETTO...Where is your zionist spin on this????
Please, don't call this person out of his cave. It's been remarkably peaceful so far.
His cohort "amused-to-death" has taken his place....or maybe it is him/her...
-"A Palestinian doctor from Gaza, Ahmed Abu Nakira, who treated Corrie after she was injured and later confirmed her death, has not been given permission by the Israeli authorities to leave Gaza to attend."
From what I can gather, the Israeli courts are of even lower quality than American ones. And when they do side against the occupation forces, for example when they have ordered soldiers not to tie Palestinians to the front of their tanks or to not hold Palestinians in front of them as human shields when they break down doors and enter homes, the court rulings are ignored.
as an anti-zionist woman of jewish descent, i am truly and deeply inspired by rachel corrie. her spirit lives on, and justice will ultimately be served. my heart goes out to her family, and to her kind, brave, and selfless soul.
one way people can support the corrie family is by visiting the rachel corrie foundation's website...
craig and cindy's devotion to peace and social justice issues in light of their loss is indescribable, heart wrenching and amazing.
The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/
may we find a way to force our government to address the legitimate grievances of the palestinian people. the actions of the israeli government are an abomination, US military/economic aid makes the tax payers of the united states complicit in human rights violations. boycott israeli companies. support a ban of all military aide and economic assistance to israel until the palestinian people are treated with the dignity and sovereignty they deserve.
...peace...
"The Israeli government paid an undisclosed sum in compensation to Hook's family."/"Last year Israel paid about £1.5m in damages to Miller's family."
Hush money out of petty cash from one of the richest countries in the world that, nevertheless, we gift with billions of $$ annually.
I think Zionistia (a term I prefer to "Israel") would be more accurately characterised as the most well-provided remittance state in the world: their riches come, directly and indirectly, from our pockets. Without our support payments and non-cash benefits, their economy might be more like, oh, Zimbabwe's.
We all need to boycott their socks off.