19th March 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus , Occupied Palestine
Team Nablus
On March 16th 2013, the International Solidarity Movement was joined by the International Women’s Peace Service and the Tanweer Center in commemorating the death of Rachel Corrie – an American peace activist and former member of the ISM. Tree planting with Rachel Corrie posters in Asira al Qibliya
Rachel was killed in 2003 in Rafah in the south Gaza strip, crushed by an Israeli military bulldozer while trying to protect a home from demolition. The group gathered in Duar Squar,e in the heart of Nablus, where powerful speeches were given by Wael, director of Tanweer Center, and Dr. Sa’ed Abu Hijlehm, a professor at An-Najah University, conveying a deep respect for Rachel as well as other internationals who have been killed while working in solidarity with Palestinians to end Israel’s occupation of the West Bank; Tom Hurndall and Vittorio Arrigoini. The group released a mass of balloons with the photos of Vittorio, Tom and Rachel attached into the downtown center of Nablus.
Three days prior, ISM activists joined villagers from Asira to plant olive trees with accompanying pictures of Rachel.
Pertinent to President Obama’s impending visit to the West Bank, Rachel’s death is significant as it relates to the ongoing U.S funding of Israel’s occupation. The bulldozer that crushed Corrie was manufactured by Caterpillar Inc. and purchased through a subsidized US aid to Israel program.
Balloons carrying pictures of Rachel Corrie, Tom Hunrdnall, Vittorio Arrigoni and Arafat Jaradat are released into the sky in Nablus city centre
16th March 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Occupied Palestine
American activist Rachel Corrie was killed in Gaza ten years ago today.
The International Solidarity Movement write this message in her memory.
Rachel, a 23 year old woman from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer on the 16th March 2003, whilst protesting non-violently against the demolition of a Palestinian house by Israeli forces. As an activist she spoke out about the injustices that she saw in Gaza.
“I feel like I’m witnessing the systematic destruction of a people’s ability to survive. It’s horrifying… 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.”
She is remembered with love still by Palestinians and new generations of ISM volunteers – for many of whom, Rachel’s untimely death was an inspiration to become more involved in the struggle for freedom for Palestine. We honour her memory and what she was standing for, whilst she stood in front of that bulldozer ten years ago today.
The International Solidarity Movement continues to work for justice, peace and freedom for Palestine – where the occupation still strongly resembles Rachel’s words in the video below.
Our thoughts today are with Rachel’s family, and as we’re sure Rachel would have wanted, also with all the Palestinian families who have lost a loved one to the Israeli occupation.
12th March 2013 International Solidarity Movement, Occupied Palestine
By Lisa Marchant
Olive tree with image of Rachel Corrie being planted in Asira (Photo by ISM)
Farmers peacefully planting olive trees in the land of Asira al Qiblya were today disrupted by Israeli soldiers who halted the planting. The presence of Palestinians on their own land also attracted the attention of illegal settlers from the nearby settlement of Yizhar, leading to them attacking Palestinians farmers and volunteers, throwing and catapulting stones. The army moved immediately to protect the attackers, shooting tear gas and rubber bullets at Palestinians.
The olive trees were being planted in the vicinity of an Israeli military tower, recently built on a hill above Asira al Qiblya. Because of this, soldiers hassled farmers throughout the day, with an escalation of hostility mid-morning, when around 20 soldiers approached and demanded that farmers should stop planting trees and leave the land, despite the fact that the Palestinian owner of the land notified them that he wished to continue farming. The commander advised that the village should contact the Israeli district coordination office (DCO) to request permission – if permission was granted, he intimated, then the farmers would be allowed to access their land unhindered.
However, the villagers of Asira al Qiblya know this not to be the case. Just last week, access was requested and granted for three days through the DCO – despite this, a shepherd grazing his herd on the land during this “permitted time” was ordered to leave the land and was severely beaten by soldiers. It is clear that the outcome for villagers is the same whether permission is granted by Israel or not.
After a long confrontation with soldiers, farmers moved further down the hill to continue planting in an area arbitrarily deemed acceptable by the Israeli commander. At this point, around twenty masked settlers from Yizhar arrived and proceeded to attack the farmers from their vantage point higher up the hill – throwing stones by hand and with slingshots. Yizhar settlement is widely considered one of the most violent settlements in the West Bank, and all villages in its vicinity face regular attacks.
Yizhar settlers attacking farmers (Photo by IWPS)
Palestinian youths moved to fend off the settler attack, but the Israeli army intervened on behalf of the attackers, shooting tear gas and rubber bullets at the villagers of Asira, until both the Palestinian villagers and settlers left the area. No injuries or arrests were reported.
At the end of the day only around ten olive trees had been planted due to interruptions from the army and settlers – farmers were also not optimistic that the young trees would be allowed to remain on their land and suspected that either the army or settlers would destroy them. However, they refuse to relinquish access to their land despite these setbacks and will continue planting trees in the area.
The olive trees planted today were donated by the International Solidarity Movement to replace Palestinian trees destroyed by Israeli forces and settlers during previous years – a common occurrence throughout the year. They were planted in memory of ISM activist Rachel Corrie as the tenth anniversary of her death approaches. She was crushed to death with an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza in 2003 whilst protesting non-violently in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Cindy and Craig Corrie talk about their struggle for accountability for Rachel’s death
Abby Martin speaks with Cindy and Craig Corrie, parents of slain activist Rachel Corrie, about their case against the Israeli government and their fight for social justice worldwide through the Rachel Corrie Foundation.
Urge the U.S. Government to Investigate Israel’s Attacks on Rachel and Others
RachelCorrie
Rachel Corrie was a U.S. citizen and a human rights defender committed to ending Israel’s illegal demolition of Palestinian homes. According to the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions,Israel has demolished an estimated 27,000 Palestinian structures in Occupied Palestinian Territory since 1967.
Rachel was killed by the Israeli military with a U.S.-taxpayer funded Caterpillar D9 bulldozer on March 16, 2003, in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, while seeking to protect the home of a Palestinian family from demolition.
In August 2012, a civil case in Israeli court against the Israeli military filed by the Corrie family concluded with the presiding judge not only absolving the State of Israel of any liability, but also blaming Rachel for her own death. This is unacceptable.
The U.S. government has long maintained that the Israeli military’s investigation into Rachel’s death was not thorough, credible, and transparent. The Israeli court’s verdict has only reinforced the fact that Israel is incapable of investigating and holding itself accountable for killing Rachel and severely injuring and killing other U.S. human rights defenders.
Recently, member groups around the country took action during the Rachel Corrie Week of Actionsurrounding the verdict, focused on building the We Divest Campaign, which calls on financial giant TIAA-CREF to divest from companies involved in the Israeli occupation, including Caterpillar.On Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, activists from member group Hilton Head for Peace held a vigil to honor Rachel’s life and work for justice.In Oak Creek, Wisconsin, member group Friends of Palestine demonstrated and performed street theatre at Caterpillar’s Mining Operations Headquarter.
Other activists and member groups in Honolulu, HI; Boca Raton, FL; Houston, TX; Phoenix, AZ; Philadelphia, PA; St. Louis, MO; Eureka, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, CA; and Chicago, IL held other actions around the country outside of Caterpillar dealerships, an Israeli Consulate, TIAA-CREF offices. US Campaign members joinred others in Washington, D.C. in a demonstration outside the State Department. You can see photos of many of the actions here.Other U.S. activists focused on social media. On the day of the verdict and the day after, #RachelCorrie and #divest4justice trended among the top ten most popular hashtags. And more than one hundred individuals worldwide posted photos in solidarity with Rachel and her family on this Tumblr blog.
Click here for a terrific round-up of the international Week of Action by Rochelle Gause of the Rachel Corrie Foundation, which ends with these poignant words:
“I don’t think that Rachel should have moved. I think we should all have been standing there with her,” said Cindy Corrie in response to Judge Gershon’s comment that Rachel should have moved out of the way of the Caterpillar bulldozer. Rachel wrote from Gaza, “The international media and our government are not going to tell us that we are effective, important, justified in our work, courageous, intelligent, valuable. We have to do that for each other, and one way we can do that is by continuing our work, visibly.” May we continue to take Rachel’s words to heart, find ways to successfully mobilize ourselves, strengthen our networks, utilize new forms of communicating to affirm the just cause of the Palestinian people and stand with the movement for universal human rights in Palestine and Israel.
Together we’ll deliver the petition to the State Department next month. Help us reach our goal of 10,000 signatures by signing right nowand spreading the word!
