My Name Is Rachel Corrie

Surprisingly few people on the left have heard of Rachel Corrie. Rachel was a peace activist uncompromisingly committed to her ideals who died for her convictions. It is now the third anniversary of her murder in Gaza, Palestine.

Rachel was a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). She joined this direct action network of young activists in order to lend support to the Palestinian cause. As a member if the ISM, she participated onsite in a monitoring and obstruction exercise targeting the illegal clearing of land by Israeli forces. On March 16, 2003 Rachel tried to stop a Caterpillar bulldozer operated by Israeli security forces from smashing the house of a politically active Palestinian doctor (in Rafah, Gaza). Eyewitness Tom Dale describes the event as follows:

The bulldozer drove toward Rachel slowly, gathering earth in its scoop as it went. She knelt there, she did not move. The bulldozer reached her and she began to stand up, climbing onto the mound of earth. She appeared to be looking into the cockpit. The bulldozer continued to push Rachel, so she slipped down the mound of earth, turning as she went. Her faced showed she was panicking and it was clear she was in danger of being overwhelmed.

All the activists were screaming at the bulldozer to stop and gesturing to the crew about Rachel's presence. We were in clear view as Rachel had been, they continued. They pushed Rachel, first beneath the scoop, then beneath the blade, then continued till her body was beneath the cockpit. 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.

I ran for an ambulance, she was gasping and her face was covered in blood from a gash cutting her face from lip to cheek. She was showing signs of brain hemorrhaging. She died in the ambulance a few minutes later of massive internal injuries. She was a brilliant, bright and amazing person, immensely brave and committed. She is gone and I cannot believe it.

The Nation's Philip Weiss reported this week in his article To Hot for New York on a book which is currently available called "My Name is Rachel Corrie." The book is a play, which has yet to premiere in New York for unclear reasons, but American Jewish unease over the recent Hamas victory was cited. Weiss describes the book as "[a] self-portrait of a sensitive woman struggling to find her purpose, and a polemic on the horrors of Israeli occupation."

Apparently not available from the corporate (apolitical?) juggernaut Amazon, anyone interested in getting a copy of the play can purchase it from the union friendly Powell’s Books or you can get a copy of Rachel's Letters on which the play is based from AK Press. (Correction: Powell's, Amazon, and other American booksellers have the screenplay "My Name is Rachel Corrie" available for pre-order, it should be released in April, 2006).

I would recommend that anyone participating in anti-war movements or protests consider linking the tragedy of Rachel's murder with the generalized message against all war and specifically the Global War on Terror (GWOT). Rachel died fighting against state terror (systematic destruction of homes and lives). The youth of America who entered the Armed Forces to escape poverty and find purpose, and the youth of Iraq fighting for the freedom of their country against imperialism are killing, dying and being maimed in the same way. As Karl Marx brilliantly wrote "we must make the frozen conditions dance by singing to their own melody," namely that the GWOT is not a Global War on Terror, but a Global War of Terror.

The late, great Phil Ochs sings in "I Ain't Marching Anymore" that "It's always the old who lead us into war, and always the young who die." I believe that Rachel's story is the epitome of this sentiment.

Rachel reminds us that the fight against the evil of capitalist imperialism is not one that we can take lightly nor do at our own convenience. Through solidarity, which is the reflective love and respect of our fellow men and women regardless of differences, we can achieve peace and prosperity for all.

And yes, like Rachel, we have to be willing to be martyrs in this struggle.

Links & References:

• Rachel Corrie Memorial Site
  
• EI: Eyewitness Accounts
  
• The Nation: Too Hot for New York
• Update: Poem to Rachel, Mary La Rosa, Binghamton NY
  

Why Jews Must Speak Up on Palestine

Jonathan Tasini had a good post related to the Rachel Corrie issue, over at The Huffington Post. Titled "Why Jews Must Speak Up on Palestine" which starts as follows:

Yesterday, I spoke at an event in New York City called Rachel's Words. Two years ago, Rachel Corrie, a human rights activist, was crushed to death by an Israeli Army bulldozer as she tried to protect the home of a Palestinian pharmacist from demolition in Rafah, Gaza Strip. She was 23. A play based on her writing, "My Name is Rachel Corrie" was scheduled to open yesterday in New York City but it's debut was postponed indefinitely, in all likelihood because of the controversy it would cause in a city with such a large Jewish audience.

As a Jew who lived in Israel for seven years and whose family still lives there and has deep roots going back more than 80 years, it breaks my heart that there is a refusal to grapple with an almost untouchable topic in our country: why does the United States have such a one-sided policy in the Israel-Palestine conflict? And it's the reason I agreed to speak at the event which honored Rachel's life and her beliefs.

More...

It is unfortunate that so many right wingers and others equate Zionism with general Jewish or American interests. Any critique of Zionist policy is often greeted with the usual litany of being anti-Semetic or pro-terrorist, both of which are completely incorrect. I am happy to see that Tasini has stepped forward to call for greater Jewish and Palestinian solidarity and happy that Rachel Corrie's sacrifice is acting as a catalyst.

Rachel Corrie with Palestinian Children

I found this picture of Rachel Corrie which seems to be making the circuit of the right wing sites to show why they think she is a terrorist. Here we see her angrily burning a piece of paper which appears to be a hand-drawn flag. I don't understand why the righ wingers get so angry about this sort of thing (they say she is burning an American flag) while ignoring the fact that many of the children surrounding Rachel were likely killed by occupation forces since this picture was taken. What is more important - a bit of paper, or human lives lived with dignity and free of fear?

I make an appeal to all people to bring an end to war and injustice through solidarity and understanding. We must come together in the spirit of true internationalism and replace imperialism (including Zionist imperialism) with socialist principles of direct democracy, cooperation, understanding, anti-racism and anti-sexism.

Tags:
Rachel+Corrie, Rachel, Corrie, Palestine, Gaza, War, Protest, Solidarity, Zionism, Jewish, Israel

Rachel Corrie Boarded

The Irish aid ship MV Rachel Corrie, named after the young American idealist who was killed by Israeli forces in 2003 (Rachel Corrie was crushed by a bulldozer operated by the IDF which was destroying homes in Gaza), was boarded by Israel's military and taken over at 9am GMT this morning. As reported by the International Solidarity Network:

Just before 9am GMT this morning, the Israeli military forcibly seized the Irish-owned humanitarian relief ship, the MV Rachel Corrie, from delivering over 1000 tons of medical and construction supplies to besieged Gaza. For the second time in less then a week, Israeli naval commandos stormed an unarmed aid ship, brutally taking its passengers hostage and towing the ship toward Ashdod port in Southern Israel.

05-Jun-2010. International Solidarity Network (ISN)

Helen Thomas, 89 year hold White House correspondent for the UPI, and apparently the only main-stream American journalist with balls, had this exchange with Robert Gibbs in relation to the massacre of civilians by Israeli forces earlier in the week aboard the Mavi Marmara:

ROBERT GIBBS: The Security Council deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries resulting from the use of force during the Israeli military operation in international waters against the convoy sailing to Gaza. The Council, in this context, condemns those acts which resulted in the loss of at least ten civilians and many wounded, and expresses its condolences to their families. The Security Council requests the immediate release of the ships as well as civilians held by Israel.

REPORTER: So that would seem to cover President Obama’s personal feelings, while some of the allies are looking for a stronger statement from him directly.

ROBERT GIBBS: Well, again, I—this is supported not just by the United States but by the international community.

REPORTER: In light of what happened with the Gaza aid flotilla, is the President considering at least backing international calls to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip by the Israeli forces?

ROBERT GIBBS: No. Well, look, obviously, as we have said before, we are concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and continue to work with the Israelis and international partners in order to improve those conditions. And as the UN Security Council statement says, obviously it’s an untenable situation.

HELEN THOMAS: Our initial reaction to this flotilla massacre, deliberate massacre, an international crime, was pitiful. What do you mean you regret when something should be so strongly condemned? And if any other nation in the world had done it, we would have been up in arms. What is this sacrosanct, iron-clad relationship, where a country that deliberately kills people—

ROBERT GIBBS: Well, again, Helen, I—

HELEN THOMAS: —and boycotts, and we aid and abet the boycott?

ROBERT GIBBS: Well, look, I think the initial reaction, regretted the loss of life, as we tried and still continue to try to gather the relevant—

HELEN THOMAS: Regret won’t bring them back.

ROBERT GIBBS: Nothing can bring them back, Helen. We know that for sure, because I think if you could, that wouldn’t be up for debate. We are—we believe that a credible and transparent investigation has to look into the facts. And as I said earlier, we’re open to international participation in that investigation.

HELEN THOMAS: Why did you think of it so late?

ROBERT GIBBS: Why did we think of...?

HELEN THOMAS: Why didn’t you initially condemn it?

ROBERT GIBBS: Again, I think the statements that we released speak directly to that.

Hurray for Helen Thomas. Gibbs on the other hand, as is usual for him, stumbled and mumbled through this conversation with the backbone of a jellyfish. Ridiculously enough, he even made a policy point saying that, if we could resurrect the slain civilians, "that wouldn't be up for debate"; bold stuff...

Meanwhile, eyewitness accounts from civilians on board the attacked ship are supporting the early reports, broadcast by satellite from the Mavi Marmara. The basic storyline is as follows:

1. The nighttime assault began with helicopters firing into a crowd on the deck
2. At least one civilian was killed and many others wounded
3. Passengers on the Mavi Marmara raised a white flag
4. The helicopters continued firing upon the people
5. Panic stricken, the people began picking up pipes and sticks
6. Commandos began to descend from the helicopters, firing upon the people with impunity
7. Ultimately the people were subdued and the violence ceased
8. No weapons were found on board
   

Estimates are now that one person was killed per minute. From an eye witness account:

Israeli commandos shot passengers at the rate of one a minute during the bloody raid on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza, a Briton on board the main vessel has said.

Ismail Patel, chairman of Leicester-based Palestinian rights group Friends of Al Aqsa, said one of the nine people killed during the assault was shot just two feet in front of him.

He said the commandos had a "shoot to kill" policy during the initial phase of the attack on the Mavi Marmara, with live rounds being fired on the vessel from a helicopter hovering above.

Mr Patel, who has now returned to Briton after attending the funerals of his shipmates in Turkey, told a press conference in Westminster the gunfire on the vessel lasted around an hour.

Despite Israeli claims of armed resistance, Mr Patel said those on board acted in self-defence using whatever was at hand.

His voice choked with emotion, Mr Patel said: "We now can calculate that they shot one person every minute.

"One person was shot every minute. There were nine fatalities, over 48 people with gunshot wounds, six are unaccounted for."

04-Jun-2010. Roberts, Adrian. One killed every minute Morning Star.

Israel is now claiming the peaceful boarding of the Rachel Corrie was executed in the same manner, with far different results, as the Mavi Marmara. However, there are many differences.

First and foremost, the ship was detained and boarded in broad daylight. Secondly, there were far fewer passengers aboard, and third, no shots were fired during the assault.

Similar to the previous incident, Israeli naval commandos did storm the ship and physically brutalize the passengers in international waters, an act of piracy under international law.