SEATTLE TIMES Op-Ed: by Cindy Corrie
September 29, 2012
Link to full article at the Seattle Times
The wrongful death lawsuit for Rachel Corrie was not a solution, but rather a symptom of a broken system of accountability within Israel and the U.S. government, writes guest columnist Cindy Corrie.
Oral Response to Verdict from the Press Conference at the Colony Hotel, Haifa, Israel.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/48665274[/vimeo]
(Haifa, Israel – August 28, 2012)
My name is Cindy Corrie. My family has asked me to make a few comments to you before we open it up to questions and at that time you will be able to hear from all of us.
First of all, we all want to thank our friends and supporters, who are here in Israel, in the West Bank, in Gaza, at home in Olympia, Washington, across the United States, and across the world. You all know who you are. You have held us in your hearts for all these years and have helped us in so many different ways. And, we would not be here without that support.
Our family wants to especially thank our legal team, headed by Hussein abu Hussein, and all who have supported us in the many different efforts to get us to this point here today. The commitment, the knowledge, the generosity, the kindness, and the patience that has been extended to us in this process by all of you, is immeasurably important to us and will never be forgotten.
Friends,
We in Washington State have opportunity this Sunday, April 15th, 1-2 PM, to bring positions on Israel/Palestine forward at the 2012 Washington State Democratic precinct caucuses – meetings of those who live in the same voting area or precinct. At these local gatherings, held statewide, participants at the grassroots level participate in nominating the party’s presidential candidate and collect and forward resolutions to be used in drafting the party platform.
Tomorrow, we in Washington State can go to our local caucus and present resolutions on Israel/Palestine for discussion and to be moved forward to future party meetings. This is an opportunity to bring the issue of Israel/Palestine to our neighbors – and to more than the “choir.” Caucuses provide the additional possibility of being elected as delegates to the Legislative District Caucuses (April 28th) and County Conventions (April 29th) where resolutions forwarded from the Precinct Caucuses will first be acted upon.
Anyone can attend their local precinct caucuses and participate in platform and resolution discussions. To vote for candidates and delegates, one must be a registered voter in the precinct and sign a form declaring to be a Democrat. You may register to vote at the caucus and vote in meetings on the same day. Persons eighteen years-of-age on or before November 6, 2012, are eligible to vote in the caucuses. Visit this website for an FAQ about the Washington State precinct caucuses and for the resolution template. Find your local precinct caucus location.
For resolution models, see those on Israel/Palestine that passed through Iowa caucuses earlier this year that can be modified for the Washington State Democrats resolution template.
We would love to know something of your caucus experience. Take a resolution that supports justice in Israel/Palestine to your precinct caucus! Then, report your experience back to Austin at [email protected]. Include any resolutions on Israel/Palestine submitted, the language of the resolution, and your experience bringing it forward.
Many thanks!
Cindy Corrie
P.S. Let your Washington State friends know about this opportunity.
US Aid to Israel be Suspended Pending Compliance with US and International Law.
Whereas US supports Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian land with $3 billion annually
Whereas this biased support sustains the illegal Israeli occupation and engenders hostility toward the US in the Arab world
Whereas the $3 billion could better be used to support US domestic needs
Whereas this aid violates the US Arms Export Control Act –which prohibits the use of US weapons against civilians
Whereas this aid violates the US Foreign Assistance Act – which prohibits assistance to any country which “engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.”
Whereas the US governments, and international human rights groups have documented repeated human rights abuses and use of US weapons on civilians
Be it resolved that US suspend military aid to Israel until Israel comes into compliance with international laws and US trade and assistance laws.
Whereas the US is in fiscal crisis; and
Whereas the US sends $3 billion a year to support Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine;
We support the reduction of financial support that the US sends to Israel.
We support the establishment and recognition of a contiguous,viable Palestinian state along the 1967 borders.
We support the health and welfare of the people of Gaza and demand that Israel end its illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip.
We support the destruction of the Separation Barrier that separates Palestinians from their families, their jobs, their schools and their livelihoods.
In the Israel/Palestine conflict, we support …
We oppose…
Israel/Palestine Conflict
We support:
We oppose:
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.
In 2003, Rachel wrote: “I went to a rally a few days ago in Khan Younis in solidarity with the people of Iraq. Many analogies were made about the continuing suffering of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation and the upcoming occupation of Iraq by the United States – not the war itself – but the certain aftermath of the war. If people aren’t already thinking about the consequences of this war for the people of the entire region then I hope they will start.”
Now, in 2012, we listen to similar news – calls for bombing Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. The preemptive war has already begun with the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists. Our government tells us sanctions against Iran will pressure their government to abandon any program to develop these weapons, but experience tells us sanctions only increase the defensiveness of repressive regimes and tighten their control over their populations.
The news from our politicians is discouraging and even frightening, but in the meeting places and streets in our communities, we are making the kind of change that Rachel envisioned. It is happening in Olympia with continuing support for the Olympia Food Co-op’s boycott of Israeli products until the rights of Palestinians are addressed. Throughout Puget Sound this week, we have successfully challenged efforts by the Israeli government to use members of the Israeli gay community to distract from the continuing oppression of Palestinian people. Churches in our region are conversing about divestment from corporations like Caterpillar Inc. for their refusal to address their continuing participation in human rights abuses and the illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
In 2002, Rachel wrote, “I think it’s important for people who oppose war and repression to speak about who we are as a community in addition to speaking about war and racism and injustice. We are not outside. I think it’s important that human rights and resistance to oppression be included in the way we define ourselves as a community…”
As the threat of war with Iran, the disintegration of the situation in Afghanistan, and the bombing of Gaza continue, the work we are all doing in our hometowns at the grassroots level is powerful and critical. Today, as we remember Rachel’s stand nine years ago, we encourage our friends across the country and world to strengthen your own communities, educate, educate, educate, support each other in taking action, and walk with peace, love, and forgiveness in your hearts as you work for change.
Cindy and Craig Corrie
March 16, 2012
Thank you for your help in keeping Rachel’s memory alive and for supporting our efforts to continue the work that she began. Please support the Rachel Corrie Foundation with your tax deductible contribution.
Dear Friends,
Cindy Corrie participating in Washington DC vigil for Troy Davis. Photo courtesy of Edie Garwood.
It’s become part of our annual ritual at the Rachel Corrie Foundation to write this end-of-year newsletter and use it as an opportunity to reflect on all that has been and all that can be. We dedicate this issue to Scott Kennedy – co- founder of the Resource Center for Nonviolence in Santa Cruz, former city council member and mayor, a giant contributor to efforts for justice and peace in Israel/Palestine, and our friend. Scott died unexpectedly November 19th – one week after leading his final tour to the Middle East with Interfaith Peace-Builders. In 2004, as mayor, he declared March 16th Rachel Corrie Day in Santa Cruz and said, “It is a very sad commentary on the state of political affairs in the United States that our national government has done virtually nothing to find out what happened…” In 2005, he hosted Craig and me and members of the family whose home Rachel stood to protect, in a memorable Santa Cruz visit. He was a brave, passionate man who helped us find our voices.
