A Tale of Two Rachels

Rachel Corrie was an American woman who was killed in Gaza in 2003 and was subsequently canonized by the anti-Israel Left. Here is a description of the circumstances, from Commentary:

The twenty-three-year-old American from Olympia, Washington, died in Gaza in March 2003 when, as a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), she tried to obstruct an IDF bulldozer that, according to the IDF, was destroying rocket launchers in the overgrown brush near a Palestinian home.

An official Israeli investigation concluded that her death was an accident. The driver, in the 10 foot-high bulldozer with its limited visual field, could not see Corrie, who was hidden by a mound of dirt or standing in a trench in the military security zone. The Israeli autopsy report determined that she had been killed by a blow to the head from debris probably dislodged by the bulldozer.

Ms. Corrie's death was a tragedy to be sure, but it is the kind of thing that can happen when you get in front of a moving bulldozer. Because the bulldozer was operated by the Israel Defense Force and she was a member of a pro-Palestinian organization (allied with Hamas and Islamic Jihad), she achieved international status as a martyr. Her journals have been published (Let Me Stand Alone: The Journals of Rachel Corrie) and a play based on those journals (My Name is Rachel Corrie) was staged at the Royal Court Theatre in London. Numerous website shrines exist.

Some slaughtered Rachels are not so important. Powerline directs our attention to this post at TomGrossMedia, in 2005:

In Britain, where the play is being staged, how many people even know the name of Rachel Thaler, a British citizen who was murdered by a Palestinian suicide bomber in an Israeli shopping mall at the age of 16?

"Not a single British journalist has ever interviewed me or mentioned Rachel's death," her mother Ginette Thaler told me three and a half years after her murder. Below, an article of mine published in the weekly British magazine, The Spectator, explores these phenomena and also marks the first time Rachel Thaler's name has been mentioned in the mainstream British media.

When an American citizen is killed by an Israeli bulldozer, that is an international scandal. When a British citizen is killed by a Palestinian bomber, that isn't news even in Britain.

We shouldn't be surprised. When grand lady of the American Press Helen Thomas was asked about Israel, she had this to say:

"Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine. Remember, these people are occupied and it's their land. Not Germany. Not Poland."

When the questioner, who knew he's caught a live one, asked what Jews should do, Thomas didn't miss a beat, saying "They go home. Poland. Germany. And America and everywhere else."

Of course, Thomas later apologized. She should have. She committed an intolerable sin: saying what the International Left really thinks about the Jews.

Comments

[BillW]

In my work as a manufacturing consultant I spent some time in Hungary working with a factory owner who had started his career under Soviet rule and retired twenty years after the liberation of his country. Hungary has had one corrupt administration after another since the liberation and the economy of Hungary is in many ways worse now than it was under the Russians. I asked the factory owner if he was better off in the old days and he looked at me as if I were a raving lunatic – “Of course not,” he said, “I’m free.” And in that moment I clearly understood how much Americans take our freedom for granted.

People like Helen Thomas understand Israel and the Middle East in theory from the comfort of her Washington town house. Jane Fonda learned communism from her salon in Paris and her mansion in Beverly Hills. Frequent commenter Donald understands Iraq from his home in Pierre. Liberals in general understand the theoretical evil of the likes of Bush, Cheney, Nixon and Netanyahu from the coziness of college campuses and the affluence of their apartments in New York and bungalows in California. Their actual exposure to the demonstrated evil of the likes of Pol Pot, the Soviet dictatorship, Sadam Hussein and modern terrorist regimes is limited to the guided tour experience of a Rachel Corrie in Palestine or a Jane Fonda in Viet Nam … much like my dropping into Hungary for a week or so … having no idea what life is really like under oppressive, truly evil people.

I talked to a die-hard Bush/Cheney bashing liberal for quite a while a few weeks back as we both waited for Walmart to put new tires on out cars. Typically, he was long on the ‘Cheney and Bush are war criminals’ rant, yet had no idea who Chemical Ali was, and was completely unaware of the gassing deaths of over 40,000 Kurds and even more Shieites under Sadam Hussein’. Like most liberals, he had no idea of just how naïve – and stupid – he sounds with such fervent belief in a theory of evil, and such complete ignorance of the reality of evil. They sound as dumb as I did in asking that Hungarian guy if he were better off under the Russians simply because he made more money then.

[Donald Pay]

BillW doesn't know where I live, which is probably a good thing. I moved from Pierre in 1988.

I'm not sure where BillW gets his understanding of my view of the world. Maybe BillW doesn't remember, but Saddam Hussein was our guy all through the Reagan years and through two years of the Bush 41 presidency. We helped him build the military capability that allowed him to gas the Kurds and commit ecocide against the Shieites. Whether operatives within the Reagan and Bush administrations actually approved of this genocide, I don't know, but when you are an ally with evil, you are yourself evil. I opposed Reagan's "tilt toward Iraq." Did you?

I have a lot of sympathy for the Palestinian people, but they are led by evil leaders. In Gaza, remember, they elected these evil leaders in an election pushed by Bush 43, who subsequently had a hard time distancing himself from the evil results of his policies. Whether that makes Bush 43 evil, I don't know. It's either that or dumb.

[BillW]

I'm sorry for the mistake Donald. Which part of the world is it that you have experienced that has given you your insight?

My recollection is that we backed Iraq as the lesser of two evils in their war with Iran. Can you provide any evidence that the United states knowingly assisted him in gassing the Kurds or the Shieites? Or is the Bush is either "evil or dum"b merely more of the name calling in lieu of data and knowledge?

[impressed]

Thank you for providing a sane analysis. I don't understand why so many Jews are part of the rabid left when the left clearly wants to destroy Israel and can hardly contain their anti-semitism.

[BillW]

Impressed

Some folks believe that the modern generation of Jews - especially American Jews - are too far removed from the days of the holocaust and don't feel the loyalty to Israel the previous generations felt. Not only do Jewish folks generally vote Democrat - despite it being against Israeli interests - their donations to Israel are down from the past.

It is ironic that the Israel - Palestine issue is such an American problem, and both the Brits and the UN are almost non-existant. The British and the UN have their greasy fingerprints all over the creation of the mess, and the US was not a strong proponent of the establishment of Israel as an independent state to begin with. The burden of being the super-power, I suppose.

[Donald Pay]

Regarding the US support for Iraq, read and be educated:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_support_for_Iraq_during_the_Iran–Iraq_war

[SteveB]

"We helped him build the military capability that allowed him to gas the Kurds and commit ecocide against the Shieites"... BillW

Not this garbage, again....

Bill, get your facts straight, for God's sake.

Between 1960 and 2002 we provided almost no weapons to Iraq. In terms of dollars, we provided fewer weapons than did Denmark. Who DID help Hussein "build the military capability that allowed him to gas the Kurds and commit ecocide against the Shieites"?

Why, those peace loving French, Russian and Chinese, of course. Almost EVERY country in western and central Europe provided more weapons to Hussein than did the US.

Please go to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute website

http://www.sipri.org/

and "arm" yourself with some facts about who actually armed Iraq, before driveling on about how "America armed Saddam".

[Miranda]

SteveB: I think it was actually Donald who said that. You and BillW appear to be on the same page and I am with you.

Interestingly, Ari Fleischer is now calling for Helen Thomas to lose her job over her comments. Although I respect Fleischer, I think Thomas should keep her position. Dr. Blanchard observes that she has said what the international left really thinks of Israel. And indeed, Thomas has done this on a whole host of issues. Thomas regularly says what other liberals often only think. What could be better for conservatives?

[Miranda]

Ack, sorry! Didn't refresh to see the correction before posting.

[William]

Miranda,

I think all of us on on the same page, except for Donald who's reading another book altogether... - lol

[aunt mae]

Please stick to the facts when you blog. This simple rule will help us all. acFrom the Rachel Corrie family:

According to the U.S. Department of State, on March 17, 2003, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promised President Bush a
“thorough, credible, and transparent” investigation into Rachel Corrie’s killing. After an investigation in 2003, the Israeli
military concluded that the two soldiers in the D9R Caterpillar bulldozer that killed Rachel Corrie did not see her, though
eyewitnesses indicate that she was clearly visible. The case was closed, no charges were brought, and the Israeli Government
declined to release their report to the U.S. Government. On June 11, 2004, in response to inquiries from the Corrie family,Lawrence B. Wilkerson, Chief of Staff to Colin Powell at the U.S. Department of State, wrote of the IDF report, “Your ultimatequestion, however, is a valid one, i.e., whether or not we view that report to have reflected an investigation that was ‘thorough,
credible, and transparent.’ I can answer your question without equivocation. No, we do not consider it so.” On March 17,2005, in testimony before members of Congress, this position was reiterated by Michael G. Kozak, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the Department of State.

Read Human Rights Watch's study: "Promoting Impunity..."

Then Google :Rachel Corrie, Tom Hurndall, James Miller, Brian Avery, Tristan Anderson, Shaden Abu Hijleh....all begged for a credible investigation and only the Hurndall family because the British assisted them were able to finally get a more comprehensive look at the event.

Israeli military is unable or unwilling to accomplish credible investigations.
Read www.rachelcorriefoundation.org especially "trial updates"

[aunt mae]

Wow, wasn't the Rachel Corrie with those brave Irish on board.....beautiful?o
When I hear the Irish toot their horns I just want to dance.

P.S. Rachel Corrie loved to dance to the music of Pat Benetar.

[BillW]

Wasn't Rachel Corrie deliberately standing in front of a working bulldozer? My mother taught me not to play in the street when I was about 3. The "fault" strikes me as pretty clear. I don't understand how someone deciding to stand in front of working earth moving equipment can blame anyone else for the most likely result. Did she think the Israeli military was obligated to stop their activities becasue some American girl unilateraly decided she had veto power over Israeli foreign policy? Protesters in general seem to have dreamed up the idea that the world has to stop and honor their protest, which is a "right" that has no basis in either law or logic.

[aunt mae]

Actually, the military does have very strict rules against running over civilians
Yes, when the Israeli military decided to move off of the Philadelphi Route(the military security route that runs along the border of Gaza and Egypt) they moved o out of territory that per Oslo Accords of which they had control. Even if they had been on the Philadelphi Route they would have been required to stop if they came upon an unarmed civilian.....but they were right in front of a home with children
in. The first question you should ask yourself is are you open minded enough toin
want the truth or do you protect Israel at all costs. The second question is what were the Israelis thinking bulldozing so close to a home? Don't say there were tunnels because this family later traveled to Tel Aviv and to America....

[Donald Pay]

Yeah, and there was a brave young man who "deliberately" stood up to the Chinese tanks. What was he thinking. And there were many who stood up to Soviet-style repression, and millions stood against Nazi domination. And many of those people died. But BillW thinks it was all the victims fault. And, of course, blacks and other minorities in the great old USof A, who were warned by people like BillW that that rope was meant for them, should have know better than to protest. To BillW they were deluded, but maybe they must have thought that the world has to stop being a bit less unjust. Yeah, these dead people who history usually gets around to calling heros, but who BillW scoffs at, can't understand that if they are brave, and stand up to tyranny, they may pay the ultimate price. Boy, BillW, you are some piece of work.

[Donald Pay]

And, one more, BillW. What about the fool named Jesus? Let's hear how He was deluded because he died for an idiot like you who seems to not care a bit about his fellow human beings who take courageous stands against what they see as injustice.

[BillW]

Douglas,

Last week you argued, "2000 year old enemies are the consequence of Judeo-Christian (Abrahamic?) religion injected into politics and separated from any kind of rational ethical reasoning." This week you are wrapping yourself in Jesus' cloak to support your silly positions. belittling Christianility one week, and singing its praises the next when it is convenient ... what gives?

Aunt Mae & Donald - your well-intended but sadly naive and ill-informed heroine dies in support of of a terrorist state. You can try as you will to identify her and yourselves with persecuted Jews, Christians and slaves, but Hamas is nothing but a gang of thugs who wantonly murder innocent women and chldren in an effort to grab wealth and power, and that is who Mr Corrie died supporting. Your comments are a grave insult to the 400,000 American soliders from the "great old USofA" who died freeing the slaves, and the 250,000 soldiers from the "great old USofA" who died defeting Nazi cruelty. And it insults the thousands of soldiers from the "great old USofA" who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting the same Iranian and Syrian backed terrorist regimes you and Ms Corrie so passionately defend.

[Donald Pay]

I don't know where you got your information, because I've never supported Hamas. They are a gang of thugs. Why did Bush policies boost them into power in Gaza? Why did Reagan support Saddam's military in Iraq. Why did Reagan support bin Laden in Afghanistan? These are evil people. My definition of evil people doesn't just begin and end with the people your side supported. When Israel does evil, it is evil not to condemn it.

[BillW]

"Why did Bush policies boost them into power in Gaza?"

Please cite the evidence supporting this. In fact, both Bush 1 and 2 were staunch allies of Israel.

"Why did Reagan support Saddam's military in Iraq."

Lesser of two evils theory - he supported Iraq to counter-balance Iran who you might recall was holding the American Embassy staff hostage when he took office, and was rightly seen as a major threat to the stability of the middle east - still are, for that matter.

"Why did Reagan support bin Laden in Afghanistan?"

Same lesser of two evils idea - we assisted the Afghans to bring about the demise of the Soviet Union - you remember them - the nuclear power pledged to destroy the United States.

[KB]

Aunt Mae: a few things. First, have you ever noticed that, when Spiderman shows up, your nephew Peter always mysteriously disappears? Just asking.

Second: It is difficult to say that one should never make an alliance with evil people. The U.S. Soviet Alliance in WWII might be questioned, but it was surely defensible. Similarly, supporting Iraq against Iran might have been the right move at the time. Politics is hardball. I am taking no position here on who supported whom with how much, except to agree with Bill that Saddam always got more support from Europe than from us.

Third: Israel is far more honest in accounting for itself than any of its neighbors, but you are right to wonder if it can be relied upon to investigate itself in such an incident as the death of Rachel Corrie. But who could be relied upon to do so? The U.N.? Maybe Libya can head the team. Did eyewitnesses say that the driver saw Ms. Corrie before he pushed rubble into her? Were they other members of Ms. Corrie's ISM? We know what they would say.

Donald: I think you raise a very good question. D those of us who admire the Chinese man who stood in the way of tanks on their way to Tienanmen Square have to admire Rachel Corrie? I say no, for several reasons. The Chinese tanks were on their way to murder the college students who represented a genuine peace and freedom movement. Ms. Corrie was allied with people who take their enemies out of hospital beds and throw them off roofs. They represent neither freedom nor democracy. Ms. Corrie was killed by a bulldozer, not a tank. It was in the business of clearing away hiding places for weapons. Israel ain't perfect, but it is better by far than its enemies, and better by far than the Chinese.

Aunt Mae is correct that, generally speaking, military vehicles should not run over civilians. This does not mean, however, that civilians have a veto over military operations that they can exercise by deliberately standing in the way of military vehicles. That is what the Tienanmen tanks guy and Rachel Corrie were both trying to do. To that extent, both were offering themselves as martyrs. But the tank buy was standing in the middle of a road, clearly visible to the tank. The fact that Ms. Corrie was killed by rubble moved by the bulldozer means that she was in a much more compromised position.

[Zaman]

MRW and Chu, If there is any group I feel anger and frustration tarwod it is the U.S. Congress. These people are supposed to be the thinkers and diplomats. I am convinced that many, many of them know exactly what is happening and has been happening to the Palestinian people for a long time,while the American people did not. But as many have noted, change is in the air. Just like the soldiers in the APC, Congress is guilty of averting their eyes. Looking down at their feet. We have a few wonderful, clear-thinking congressional representatives who know that this does not smell right. Rachel or Occupation.But some of the big names:Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, John Kerry, Tom Harken, Dick Lugaretc. They are all smart people. Ask any one of them if they have ever walked across the cattle chute type border crossing into Rafah and I suspect their face will get bright red and anger will well up. They prefer that question to not be asked.I don't know how Congress lives with themselves either and I intrepret Vice President Biden's statement yesterday to extend farther than the American Military. I interpret it to reflect that this is also dangerous for the American Congress. At some future date. the American public is going to wake up and realize that this bulldozer was okayed for purchase by the U.S. Congress with oversight to all the organizations that are involved. And, it is not just bulldozers that they are sending . Every single Senator that I mentioned has been made aware that a U.S. funded bulldozer committed a human rights violation. They can avert their eyes as they did in the banking scam or they can stand up and do the right thing. I believe that Vice President Biden understands this.

[Rakesh]

that he is retiring bceuase he has very young children, I believe twins. However, his progression on this issue should be a sign of message of hope to all of us. He has just returned from his third trip to Gaza and now wants to return to testify under oath in an Israeli court on the Corrie case autopsy issue. Amazing. Hats off to Brian Baird.Fact: The Corries did not want an autopsy. The IDF wanted an autospy and Cindy and Craig were told that Rachel's body would not be released unless they agreed to one. They agreed with conditions. The IDF took their signed fax to the Israeli court and the autopsy was allowed by Israeli court order with those conditions.In the Conclusions to the Legal Opinion on the Final Military Police Report it states: An autopsy of the deceased, with the approval of her family and in the presence of a U.S. consular representative, These conlusions were shared with the State Department and with interested members of Congress.One problem. As Sarah Simpson relates on Democracy Now, the Israeli court ordered condition was violated. There was no American official present. However, Brian Baird and the Corries were not apprised of this fact for several years after the fact.As Rachel's aunt, you can see I follow this case very closely.

[Behrije]

. Sarah states that she wants this to stop. For Israelis, for Palestinians, for Internationals.But, wiihtn that puzzle one piece is also. justice and truth.Fact: the second person in the dozer had as his responsiblility observing the land for obstacles and directing the driver. He sat higher than the driver so had increased sight. The company commander, along withfour other soldiers in the APC had the responsibility to position themselves for observation. There were a lot of eyes with documented responsibiliy that were averted that day. And finally, five minutes before she was killed there was a change in orders that occurred. That change came from off the demolition area i.e. from up the chain of command. This was documented from the reading of the Final Military Report by U. S. government official Richard LeBaron. The U.S. government is well aware of the change in orders that day. Five minutes later Rachel was dead. The LeBaron Memorandum was shared with many members of Congress.Coiincidentally, the Pascal video that Rachel's sister ,Sarah, has spoken of (her request for the full six hour color video with audio) -the extremely short sketchy version provided to the state department -does show the camera panning away during the five minutes prior to Rachel's death.

[Rosaura]

There was a small piece in the Seattle Times and a relatively bad piece in the Washington Post. The Post artlice was a piece by Allyn Fisher, a Reuter's correspondent in Jerusalem. She got the date of Rachel's death wrong and the number of activists testifying wrong. She noted Steven Plaut's screed on Cindy and Craig Corrie being a two person anti-Israel swat team. I believe she was using this in her color piece to support her argument that the Israeli public is behind the military on this suit.Reuters assured me that it had sent out a correction on the basic facts but as of yesterday the Washington Post stated that they had not received any corrections.They supported the slant of the piece.Note that a Reuter's cameraman, Fadel Shana, was murdered by the IDF in the Gaza Strip in 2008 and Editor-in Chief David Schlesinger voiced grave concerns with the Israeli investigation . Fadel was 23 years old as was Rachel.Interesting to me that the Washington Post picked up the piece. When one walks into Congressional offices some have the Post available for reading.

[Angela]

From www.rachelcorriefoundation.org: (trial synopsis) The cooutrrom was filled with local and international reporters, human rights observers and three representatives from the U.S. Embassy, including Consul General Andrew Parker. Last night, the Corrie family met with Parker and senior members of Vice President Joseph Biden’s staff in Jerusalem. Antony Blinken, the Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President, reconfirmed the long-standing U.S. Government position that there has not been a thorough, credible, and transparent investigation into Rachel’s case. They reiterated the U.S.Government’s endorsement of pursuing justice for Rachel through the Israeli court system. Embassy staff will continue to attend the trial. Thank you, President Obama and Vice President Biden.

[Lukequan]

You know, I have just realized that the term used by eryneove, myself included, is a racist term. That term is Middle East . The term has its origins in the British empire that saw it fit to divide the world and name regions based on their proximity to the motherland, England. Thus, we have the Near East, the Middle East and the Far East. But the world, doesn't revolve around England, especially not a former imperial power, no more than Columbus discovered America. He didn't discover it, it wasn't lost. The Native Americans living on this continent certainly did not breath a sigh of relief when they saw Columbus's ships at their shores: Oh goody, we have been discovered .