Dear Friends,

On the third anniversary of Rachel’s killing in Gaza, here are three things that we urge you to consider doing today, or as soon as possible:

From New York:

“The “Rachel’s Words” initiative is made up of a broad spectrum of groups and individuals who believe that Rachel’s words and her message of human rights and justice should be heard. We hope that Rachel’s Words will open the door for other equally important and silenced voices. We resist the pervasive climate of fear and challenge to free speech that is increasingly prevalent in our society. Rachel wrote about issues that concern us all. People must have the opportunity to hear her message and decide for themselves what they think. Nobody’s agenda should stand in the way of that.”

By Andrew Ford Lyons
Orginally in The Palestine Chronicle

How quickly we backslide: In June of 1937 the federal government slapped chains and a padlock onto the doors of Maxine Elliot Theatre in New York. It was an attempt to halt a performance of “The Cradle Will Rock,” a Marc Blizstein musical the feds found far too full of dangerous ideas for public consumption. The show’s director, Orson Welles, rushed back from Washington, D.C., on opening day after a failed attempt to convince the government to lift its ban. He found about 600 people waiting to see the performance idling in front of the theater, along with his cast.

On March 16, 2003, Rachel Corrie died in Rafah, in Gaza, Palestine; she was defending the home of the Nasrallah family. Rachel, a student here at Evergreen, left her Olympia home to be part of the international movement that has been working for a just peace in Israel and Palestine.

From the New York Times – Though an Off Broadway production of “My Name Is Rachel Corrie” was postponed this week because of concerns about its political content, the sold-out production at the Royal Court Theater in London will move to the West End. Pieced together from Ms. Corrie’s journals and e-mail messages, the solo show by Alan Rickman and Katherine Viner about Ms. Corrie, an American demonstrator killed by an Israeli bulldozer while trying to stop the destruction of a Palestinian home, will open at the Playhouse Theater for 36 performances, from March 28 through May 7.