By Cindy Corrie

Our family’s civil lawsuit in Israel in the case of our daughter Rachel opened March 10th with testimony from four international eyewitnesses, an autopsy doctor, an expert on heavy machinery, and a military police investigator. On March 24th, the trial recessed while the State identified military personnel to testify and the court broke for summer vacation. Proceedings resumed in Haifa District Court September 5th with five sessions spread over two months, the last being November 4th. Nine members of the Israeli military (including the driver and commander of the bulldozer that killed Rachel) testified for the Israeli Ministry of Defense. A Company Commander, Deputy Battalion Commander, and a Battalion Commander are among six to testify when the trial resumes. Because of an attorneys’ strike in the State Prosecutor’s Office, previously scheduled December court dates are now in question.

There are numerous revealing dimensions to this trial, but the spotlight on conduct of Israeli military investigations – both internal operational inquiries and those by military police – may be the most relevant to broader issues. Our attorney Hussein abu Hussein commented,

This civil trial is an important step to hold accountable not only those who failed to protect Rachel’s life but also the flawed system of military investigations which is neither impartial nor thorough.

Craig and Cindy Corrie

Dear Friends,

For the Rachel Corrie Foundation, 2010 has been marked by courageous pursuits of accountability. This work is supported by an expanding network of individuals and organizations standing together for justice, non-violence, and universal human rights in the Middle East. As we evaluate and look forward, we ask for your help.

On a personal level, the trial in Israel in Rachel’s case has been all-consuming. It is significant – because, as a civil case, it addresses the collective responsibility of the Israeli Ministry of Defense and State, rather than actions of strictly one or two lower-ranked soldiers. The Rachel Corrie Foundation continues to communicate and educate about the human rights implications of this legal effort.

In May and beyond, we followed the bold path of the Gaza flotilla, the Israeli military attack on the Mavi Marmara, and the determined journeys of the MV Rachel Corrie and Irene (the Jewish Gaza Boat) that followed. At great personal risk, courageous seafarers refused to accept the continuing intransigence of the Israeli Government toward Gaza and the unwillingness or inability of the U.S. and other world powers to improve the situation. From the week following the Mavi Marmara attack until after the MV Rachel Corrie sailed, we provided over 26 local, national, and international news interviews illuminating the Israeli blockade and siege of Gaza that drove the flotilla activists to sea. Based on our own experience and on the U.S.

The White House

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2010

Voice behind screen says soldiers don’t stop work

Haifa, Israel – The bulldozer driver who struck and killed Rachel Corrie in March 2003, in Rafah, Gaza, testified for the first time Thursday in the civil lawsuit filed by the Corrie family against the state of Israel, but did so under extraordinary protective measures that continue to underscore the lack of transparency in the investigation as well as the trial process.

The driver, Y.P., whose name was not released, is a 38-year-old Russian immigrant who came to Israel in 1995. He was the sole witness for the day and gave his testimony over four hours behind a makeshift partition, a measure the state claimed was necessary to protect his security. Attorneys for the Corries requested that the family be allowed to see the driver even if the public could not, but their appeals were denied.

Download this press release: English (pdf, 171.35 kB), Français (pdf, 176.13 kB)

“We were disappointed not to see the whole human being,” said Cindy Corrie, Rachel’s mother. “It is a personal affront that the state’s attorneys and Israeli government, on the basis of security, chose to keep our family from seeing the witness.”

Scores of journalists, human rights observers and members of the public were shut out of the proceedings Thursday. The courtroom has only two long rows of seats, nearly half of which were held for the first time by observers apparently from the State Attorney’s office and Ministry of Defense.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2010



Extraordinary state secrecy motion is granted

Witnesses in Corrie trial to testify behind a screen.

Haifa, Israel – The Haifa District Court on Thursday granted a government request to allow soldiers to testify behind a screen in the lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza.

The order includes the driver of the bulldozer that killed Rachel, who is slated to testify later this month. However, Judge Oded Gershon ruled that both the commander of the unit and the second soldier in the bulldozer that hit Rachel would testify in plain view, because their faces were already publicly known.

Download this press release: العربية (pdf, 167.12 kB), English (pdf, 171.59 kB), Français (pdf, 173.41 kB), עִבְרִית (pdf, 154.62 kB)

Rachel Corrie, an American human rights defender from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003, by a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer while nonviolently protesting the demolition of Palestinian homes.

In asking for the highly unusual protective measures, state attorneys argued that they were necessary to protect the soldiers’ safety and prevent their images from being circulated. They based the request on an overbroad security certificate issued by Defense Minister Ehud Barak in 2008, but did not provide concrete evidence to substantiate their concerns for the soldiers’ safety or security.

Haifa, Israel – On Sunday, September 5th, the Haifa District Court will resume hearing testimonies in a civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza. Rachel Corrie, an American student activist and human rights defender from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003, by a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer while nonviolently protesting Palestinian home demolitions with fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). The second phase of the trial is expected to shed more light on the circumstances of her death and the Israeli government failure to conduct a thorough, credible and transparent investigation into her killing.

Download this press release: العربية (pdf, 91.17 kB), English (pdf, 49.42 kB), Español (pdf, 59.41 kB), Français (pdf, 57.65 kB), עִבְרִית (pdf, 83.47 kB)

Thirteen affidavits have been submitted by the State, including those from both the driver and commander in the bulldozer that ran over Corrie, and from other military personnel involved.

“As the trial in the killing of our daughter Rachel resumes in Haifa, we look forward to hearing from the State’s witnesses,” said Rachel’s father, Craig Corrie. “For seven years our family has asked the Government of Israel to provide a complete, credible, and truthful explanation for the killing of our daughter. We hope and demand they will take this opportunity to provide one.”