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Sunday, 22 March 2015

WHY DOES ISRAEL HATE RACHEL CORRIE?

March 21, 2015 By 
By Ahmed Ali
Why does Israel hate Rachel Corrie?
In March 2003, Rachel Corrie, a young American woman who had traveled to Gaza to try to prevent the Israelis from destroying Palestinian homes, stood in front of an Israeli Caterpillar bulldozer to force the driver to stop.
But he drove over her. And then drove over her. When her friends ran to her help, she said: ‘My back is broken.’ And she died. Robert Fisk
Rachel Corrie’s Stance with Justice:
A reflective safety Vest. A loudspeaker. Blonde hair and white skin. And an American accent. Nothing could have prevented Rachel Corrie from being murdered by the Israeli bulldozer. For the Israeli soldier, Rachel was standing with the wrong people, for the wrong cause. And thus she deserved to be killed.
Rachel came to Palestine with a message of peace. She was not suicidal. She never thought that that would be her end. She was only trying to defend Palestinian houses from being destroyed and hundreds of Palestinians from being displaced. Rachel Corrie came to talk to the Israeli soldiers, to make them change their minds. None of her pleas found attentive ears. On the contrary, her very presence was provocative. Rachel’s stance with the oppressed seems to have driven the soldiers crazy.
The Israeli driver of the Caterpillar bulldozer drove over Rachel’s fragile body. And he drove over her again in a style that showed that the crime was premeditated. None of the soldiers present seemed to care. It was like they finally vented their spite on the pro-Palestinian American activist.
Killing with impunity:
There is a culture of impunity in the Israeli army. No one has seen or experienced this like the occupied Palestinian people. We have seen in so many occasions, crimes and massacres perpetrated by the Israeli army. The death of Rachel and the deaths of thousands of Palestinians remain uninvestigated. And on the very few occasions a case is brought to the Israeli military court, the verdict is usually worse than the crime itself. Laughably worse.
In 2004, for example, schoolgirl Iman Al-Hams, 13, from Rafahwas shot 17 times. When the case was investigated, the Israeli soldier who murdered Iman expressed no regret over his crime and emphatically said he would have done the same even if the girl was a 3-year-old.
Later a military tribunal acquitted the murderer, named as Captain R., clearing him of all the charges against him AND later he was promoted and compensated for the cost of his defense and time spent in jail.
Broken Legal System:
The Corries, Craig and Cindy, filed a case in 2005 to hold Israel responsible for the killing of Rachel. Expectedly, the Israeli court panel advocated the “combat activities exception” principle that states Israeli forces cannot be held liable for damages of activities occurring in a war zone.
The judge found no fault in the military investigation that cleared the Israeli army of responsibility for Rachel’s death, claiming the driver did not see or hear her. Rachel Corrie was fully visible, her voice over the loudspeaker clearly audible. The bulldozer’s driver meant to crush her. The appeal was dismissed.
The court ruling came as no shock to anyone. The family affirmed the judge ignored contradictory evidence by key state witnesses, adding: “Regretfully, when reading the ruling, one gets the impression that the court of first instance set for itself the final goal of rejecting the lawsuit.”
“Our family’s legal options in Israel are nearly exhausted, but our search for justice for Rachel goes forward,” stated the Corrie family.
Accusing Israel’s legal system of complicity, Rachel’s parents reiterated their insistence on justice on the 12th anniversary of Rachel’s death:
“The facts uncovered in our legal effort in Israel, and the clear evidence of the Israeli court’s complicity with the occupation revealed in the outcome, lay important legal groundwork for the future.”
The same old story:
The Corries’ remarks are reminiscent of Tom Hurndall’s mother Jocelyn Hurndall,
“It seems that life is cheap in the occupied territories. Different value attached to life depends on whether the victim happens to be Israeli, international or Palestinian.”
Tom Hurndall was also murdered by the Israeli army.
Demonizing Rachel Corrie:
Israel’s racially prejudiced justice system is always helped by organized and systematic campaigns to demonize whoever they mark as Anti-Semite aka Pro-Palestinian. Israelis and pro-Israelis have waged a war against Rachel Corrie describing her as “terrorist, fool, idiot, suicidal, Hamas” … among many other things.
A simple preview of Pro-Israel’s twitter accounts can reveal the extent to which Israel is willing to go to slander anyone who stands with Palestine:
Ben Af Rothenberg‏ @RisingRedStorm
next time put #RachelCorrie in front of 1. She got what she deserved
Ben Af Rothenberg‏@RisingRedStorm
#RachelCorrie was 1 foolish chick. Who jumps in front of a bulldozer. She had mental issues & why USA won’t back her & her fam up
Ben Af Rothenberg‏@RisingRedStorm
funny how USA agrees their citizen #RachelCorrie was helping Hamas MB. 2 bad. Good riddance.
ASoldiersMother‏@ASoldiersMother
If you walk in front of a bulldozer and the driver can’t see you, you are probably going to get hurt #IDIOT #RACHELCORRIE
Ora Levitt‏@IDFsoldiergirl
#rachelcorrie was an idiot bitch who shouldn’t have interfered with Israel s affairs. Human shields are idiots! #flotilla #Israel
Ora Levitt‏@IDFsoldiergirl
dumb bitch. #Israel #rachelcorrie defending a human shield for Hamas
This smearing campaign intends to wash the blood off Israel’s blood-soaked hands and present Rachel as a guilty terrorist who deserved to die. If Rachel’s death was an accident, we still have to ask why this hate from Israel’s supporters, the majority of whom are paid social media activists?
For Israel, if you stand with Justice, you deserve death:
We have seen that inhumanely appalling behavior even with American activist Kayla Mueller, who was held by and died in ISIS captivity. The Electronic Intifada reported that “supporters of Israel are expressing joy over the death of 26-year-old humanitarian aid worker and sometime Palestine solidarity activist Kayla Mueller.”
Rania Khaled concluded her Electronic Intifada investigation saying:
Between the Zionist backlash against Mueller, the outlets erasing her Palestine activism and those using her death to advance their own agendas, there is one constant: Mueller’s support for Palestinians against Israeli oppression is a taboo that must be ignored, obscured or ridiculed.
Palestine remembers:
For Palestinians, however, Rachel Corrie will always remain an icon of love, peace and humanity. Her name is frequently remembered among Palestinians. And every year on March, 16th, Palestinians and pro-Palestinians all over the world mark the untimely and tragic death of a fine lady whose only crime was calling for an end to oppression and injustice. Justice for Rachel is a must that we Palestinians will always aspire to.
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian 
  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!
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