Supporters of the Olympia Food Co-op outside Thurston County Superior Court.

On February 27th a Washington State judge dismissed the case against current and former board members of the Olympia Food Co-op for their decision to boycott Israeli goods, calling the lawsuit a SLAPP – Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation. To a full courtroom of Co-op supporters he said that he would award the defendants attorneys’ fees, costs, and sanctions.

“We are pleased the Court found this case to be what it is – an attempt to chill free speech on a matter of public concern. This sends a message to those trying to silence support of Palestinian human rights to think twice before they bring a lawsuit,” said Maria LaHood, a senior staff attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights.

The Israeli army continues its military attacks against the Gaza Strip. The attacks started Friday, March 10 at 5:30pm. I heard the first terrible explosion as I drove back to Gaza City from Khan Younis. There was a lot of smoke, shattered windows, and a fire in this blue car that was targeted by a missile from an Israeli drone. These offensive acts, though supposedly targeting Palestinian armed resistance men, are illegal according to international law. Every human is entitled a trial.

As usual, the entire civilian population including women and children, pays the highest price and bears the brunt of this terrible situation. Already several children have been killed, one was on his way to school when he was hit by shrapnel.

Our concern is not just the attacks but also the lack of medications and supplies. If Israel continues this operation, the number of causalities will increase. The toll is 16 dead and 30 injured until this minute.

(This article is written by Dr. Mona ElFarra, and was originally published on the blog “From Gaza, With Love“. Read the full article here…)

We are so honored and amazed at the numerous requests we receive from people throughout the world wanting to honor Rachel’s stand on March 16th and beyond. Here are a just a few ways her memory lives on:

• Here in Olympia we are continuing our annual memorial tradition with a community gathering entitled ”Gaza On My Mind” with a potluck, speakers who have recently traveled to Gaza, music and dancing.
• In Washington D.C., Ray McGovern, retired CIA officer, will be holding a poster of Rachel Corrie and speaking at a before-the-White-House noon-time prayer and reflection on Friday the 16th.
• In Iowa, the Des Moines Catholic Worker has dedicated one of their homes the ‘Rachel Corrie House’ and is now actively working to start up and maintain a year-round presence in occupied Palestine by sending one community member every three months to the Middle East to volunteer with the nonviolent protective accompaniment organization that Rachel worked for, the International Solidarity Movement.
• In Wisconsin, the Madison Rafah Sister City Project is holding it’s annual Rachel Corrie Commemorative Benefit Dinner to fund a water filtration system for the Al-Shuka Girls Preparatory School in Rafah, Palestine.
• In Tokat and Sakarya, Turkey they are continuing the ‘International Day of Conscience” that began in Rachel’s memory with events and a demonstration, carrying posters of Rachel, against all occupations.

Please send us an e-mail at info@rachelcorriefoundation.org to let us know what you are doing in Rachel’s memory.

The following ad was placed in the Ashland and Medford Oregon newspapers on March 16, 2012, commemorating the ninth anniversary of Rachel’s stand in Gaza.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

Dear Friends,

It has been nine years today since our daughter Rachel was crushed to death under an Israeli driven, U.S. funded and built, Caterpillar D9 bulldozer in Gaza.  In March 2003, the news was full of talk of war with Iraq – a preemptive war to protect the west, particularly the U.S. and Israel, from the weapons of mass destruction then alleged to have been amassed by Saddam Hussein.  When Rachel traveled to Gaza that year, the world was not watching. According to Human Rights Watch, from September 2000 until September 2004, 1,600 Palestinian homes in the city of Rafah were destroyed by the Israeli military as it occupied the Gaza Strip.  One-tenth of the population lost their homes.  Rachel chose to be in Gaza when the ground attack against Iraq broke out.  She feared an escalation of the violence and a tightening of the isolation against people there, as the world looked to the northeast and watched the carnage in Iraq.  It did not happen as immediately as some expected, but with the Israeli military attack on Gaza of November 2008 through January 2009, the violence became overwhelming, and the tightening of the seige initiated in 2006 by Israel to remove Hamas, made the isolation nearly complete.