Craig and Cindy Corrie

Cindy and I are very pleased to see that the third annual Rachel Corrie Memorial Ramadan Football Tournament will be held again this August, insha’Allah.

The organizers – Rachel’s friends, who are now our friends – deserve all the support we can give them as they bring players and fans to Unity Field for friendly games of soccer. Last September, we were delayed for two days at the Gaza-Egyptian border and missed the final game of the 2009 tournament; but we had the pleasure of joining in the stands for the closing youth day festivities. Of all the ways to break the siege, sending in a bit of fun that fosters community may be one of the most important.

Please join our family in supporting the 2010 Rachel Corrie Memorial Ramadan Football Tournament.

You can support the Tournament with an online donation here.

Or send your tax-deductible check, made out to “Rachel Corrie Foundation” to:

Rachel Corrie Foundation
203 East Fourth Ave., Suite 307
Olympia, WA 98501
(Please indicate “Soccer Tournament” in the memo line.)

- Craig Corrie, for Rachel’s family

From the organizers
It’s that time of year again. Ramadan is right around the corner and that means the folks in Rafah, Gaza are busy planning the 2010 Rachel Corrie Ramadan Soccer Tournament!

Join us as we reach over the high walls surrounding Gaza and break the siege by supporting this great community-developed Ramadan event.

Magan Wiles portrays Rachel Corrie

St. Louis’ Blue Rose Stage Collective launched their staging of My Name Is Rachel Corrie to excellent reviews. The group performs the play Thursday July 15 – Saturday July 17 with discussions following each performance. For more information, contact the Collective: 314-779-4148, bluerosestage@gmail.com.

“My Name is Rachel Corrie,” which makes its St. Louis debut with the new troupe Blue Rose Stage Collective, is neither boring nor preachy. It’s the rare one-actor show that manages to be engaging and thought-provoking from start to finish.
- Gabe Hartwig, St. Louis Today

Whether your political views favor one side or the other in the continuing conflict between Israel and Palestine, you’re sure to find Blue Rose Stage Collective’s debut presentation of My Name is Rachel Corrie to be a provocative and compelling piece of theatre.
- Broadway World, St. Louis

Mary Fitzgerald | Irish Times

The parents of Rachel Corrie, the US activist killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza in 2003, have paid tribute to those who attempted to break Israel’s naval blockade on a ship named after their daughter.

Activists, including several from Ireland, who last month set sail for Gaza onboard the aid-laden MV Rachel Corrie , were today returning to their home countries after Israeli forces intercepted the vessel on Saturday and towed it to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

Those onboard the Irish-owned ship had earlier rejected a proposal to discharge the cargo at Ashdod, and insisted they would continue on to Gaza. Days before, an Israeli commando raid on an aid flotilla sailing ahead of the vessel had resulted in the deaths of nine activists.

Cindy Corrie said those on board the MV Rachel Corrie were “courageous” in their determination to continue their journey. “They hold such a warm place in my heart because I have seen the work that they do, I know how important it is, and what amazing individuals they are. I feel so connected to their efforts,” she told The Irish Times .

“I applaud them for not agreeing to turn the boat into Ashdod port, because clearly the intention of their efforts is not just to bring humanitarian aid – while that aid is tremendously important – but also to challenge this ongoing, illegal siege of Gaza.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 4, 2010

In the past four days, details about the attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla have emerged.

We now know that 9 civilians were killed in the attack – 8 Turkish nationals and 1 American citizen of Turkish descent. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of those killed. From the depths of our own experience, we feel the pain you are in.

In a response to the incident, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) called for “a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards.”

We are dismayed that, largely due to US influence, the call was not for an independent investigation. With the cases of our daughter Rachel Corrie, crushed by an IDF Caterpillar bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in 2003, and US citizens Brian Avery and Tristan Anderson, both severely injured by the IDF in the West Bank in 2003 and 2009, respectively, Israel clearly demonstrated a failure to investigate itself adequately.

Additionally, the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead, in whichthe Israeli military exonerated itself of any wrongdoing, appears to confirm our own experience.

We call on the United Nations Security Council, and particularly on the United States Government, to demand a credible, transparent, thorough independent investigation into the attack on the flotilla.

TESCDivest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On June 2, 2010, students at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, made history by passing two resolutions supporting human rights, upholding international law, and promoting a just peace in the Palestine/Israel conflict.

1. The first resolution calls for The Evergreen State College Foundation to divest from companies that profit from Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine, as part of instituting a socially responsible investment policy.

2. The second resolution calls on the College to ban the use of Caterpillar, Inc. equipment from campus.

While other US colleges have passed similar divestment resolutions, these are the first of such resolutions passed by direct vote by an entire student body. Additionally, the student government unanimously passed its own resolution strongly supportive of the measures.

Divestment has been a popular tool employed at college campuses nationwide to protest South African apartheid and other human rights abuses around the world. It was only natural that divestment would be used to work toward an end to the oldest existing military occupation, Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine—and to target the corporations that profit from the illegal occupation.

The second resolution targets the Caterpillar Corporation, which is responsible for knowingly selling equipment for war crimes and military use against a civilian population, despite calls to cease sales by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other human rights organizations. Israeli military officials have acknowledged that Caterpillar is a “key weapon” in its continuing occupation of Palestine. Activists worldwide have waged a campaign for several years to hold Caterpillar accountable.