Shoes For Sidra is a community art installation dedicated to Sidra Hassouna, a 7-year-old Palestinian girl, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Join us to show grief to Sidra and over 16,500* children killed in the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.
CORRIE FAMILY TO ATTEND JERUSALEM HEARING
Nine years after filing a civil suit against the State of Israel for the wrongful death of American peace activist Rachel Corrie, her family will have their appeal heard before the Israeli Supreme Court on May 21 at 11:30 a.m. in Jerusalem. The appeal, which will be argued by attorney Hussein Abu Hussein, challenges the Haifa District Court’s August 2012 ruling which concluded that the Israeli military was not responsible for Rachel’s death and that it conducted a credible investigation.
On January 19, 2013, Cindy and Craig Corrie were interviewed by Abby Martin of “Breaking the Set” on RT-TV about their lawsuit seeking justice for Rachel’s death, the ongoing Palestinian struggle, and activism. Below is the full video of the interview:
Dear Friends,
We are spending the waning days of 2012 in Brazil, making our first visit to South America – for a niece’s wedding and to finally visit our foreign exchange student who lived with us nearly twenty years ago. Our first day off the plane, we’ve explored exotic foods and drink, enjoyed a Brazilian summer thunderstorm, and through heavy rain surveyed the Oscar Niemeyer-designed buildings of Brasilia, the capital city that is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What resonates most for us, though, are the vibrant conversations we’ve already had with our hosts about indefensible U.S. policies on Israel/Palestine, deterioration of the U.S. reputation because of our actions in the Middle East this past decade, and the “evils of empire.” Yet among these Brazilian friends, there is still belief that much of what the U.S. does in the world contributes positively, and hope that the Obama administration in its second term will navigate its way toward positions that better serve both U.S. and world interests.
As we listen and engage with the lively discussion, we are heartened again by our ability to have the conversations, to connect across continents, and to see that wherever we go, people are more the same than different. The rights and opportunities we hold dear are those others want, as well – and not only for themselves.
At the Rachel Corrie Foundation, connecting, listening, recognizing how much more there is that unites than separates us, and acting for the greater good are driving principles. Whether bringing a teacher from Gaza for an Olympia visit, facilitating and hosting the first Olympia Arab Festival, or rallying groups across the globe to challenge investment in corporations that support the Israeli occupation, we are doing our best each day to practice the values that guided Rachel and that have continued to guide this organization.
A big part of what we are able to accomplish depends on you and how you reach out to join our work – volunteering or partnering with us, telling others about our efforts, responding to our calls to action, sharing your ideas for the Rachel Corrie Foundation, and sending your financial support. It’s all important!
We read that Brasilia was begun in 1956 ex nihilo (out of nothing) by designating and taking possession of a space and ensuring that all elements in the capital’s creation were in harmony with the overall design. As we hear from friends about changes in South America, we realize how much our efforts for a just peace in the Middle East are part of something much larger – a movement well under way to possess a shared space where the rights and dignity of all human beings matter, and where we add to the harmony. Thank you for helping us join this journey – and from Brazil, feliz Ano Novo (happy New Year) to all!
Cindy and Craig Corrie
Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice
(Olympia, Washington – October 9, 2012) – On behalf of peace activist Rachel Corrie, her parents Craig and Cindy Corrie today accepted the 2012 LennonOno Grant for Peace presented by Yoko Ono in Reykjavik, Iceland. Ono also presented grants to performing artist and activist Lady Gaga, author John Perkins (Confessions of an Economic Hit Man), and to the late author and journalist Christopher Hitchens (accepted by his widow Carol Blue Hitchens). At a ceremony in New York in September, three performers with the Russian band Pussy Riot, who remain imprisoned for their stand for freedom of speech and expression, also received the LennonOno award.
The October 9th event marks the birthdays of artist John Lennon and his son Sean. 
Honoree Rachel Corrie was a 23-year-old American peace activist and human rights defender from Olympia, Washington, who was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer March 16, 2003, as she stood nonviolently to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian family’s home in Rafah, Gaza.
In the official announcement of the biennial award, IMAGINE PEACE notes the work of the Rachel Corrie Foundation to which the monetary grant prize has been given. “In the wake of her killing, the Rachel Corrie Foundation continues the work that Rachel Corrie began. The Foundation conducts programs that foster connections between people, that build understanding, respect, and appreciation for differences, and that promote cooperation within and between local and global communities. The Foundation encourages and supports grassroots efforts in pursuit of human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice, which they view as pre-requisites for world peace.”
In August, a court in Haifa, Israel, dismissed the Corrie family’s wrongful death civil lawsuit against the State of Israel for Rachel’s killing. The verdict was widely condemned as setting dangerous precedent regarding protection of civilians, and putting at serious risk human rights defenders in war zones and armed conflict situations.
“Rachel would be greatly surprised and humbled by this recognition,” Cindy Corrie said from Reykjavik, today. “Her hope would be that it could somehow contribute to bringing people together to work passionately for justice, and to do so with the utmost respect for the rights and lives of all human beings.”
Rachel’s father, Craig Corrie, added: “We are grateful that Ms. Ono has chosen to recognize our daughter in such a wonderful way. Rachel must be smiling somewhere to imagine her memory linked in any way with that of John Lennon. Perhaps they smile together.”
Craig and Cindy Corrie continue the work that their daughter began through their personal advocacy and through the activity of the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice in Olympia, Washington. Visit www.rachelcorriefoundation.org for more information about the Foundation.
Yoko Ono, the Corries, and other LennonOno Grant for Peace recipients will participate in the annual lighting of the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER on the island of Viðey in Iceland, 8pm local time, October 9. Ono urges people worldwide to join her in spirit as she lights the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER in honor of all activists – past, present, and future – and to let the power of light become a collective expression of the desire for peace and harmony on the planet.
For the LennonOno Grant for Peace 2012 announcement, and details about all award recipients, visit the IMAGINE PEACE website at www.imaginepeace.com
View a live feed of the Imagine Peace Tower lighting at: www.imaginepeacetower.com
8pm in Iceland (USA: 4pm ET / 1pm PT; Jerusalem: 22:00).
Twitter:
Follow events in Reykjavik on Twitter @IPTower @yokoono
Follow the Rachel Corrie Foundation @rcfoundation
Media contacts:
For further information, please contact the following at LennonOno Grant for Peace:
Murray Chalmers: [email protected] (UK) +44 207 361 0730
Kristen Foster: [email protected] (US) +01 310 854 4800
Media requests for Craig and Cindy Corrie can also be sent to: [email protected]
