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THE 12th ANNIVERSARY OF RACHEL CORRIE’S STAND IN GAZA – FAMILY STATEMENT

Posted on March 16, 2015

STATEMENT FROM THE FAMILY OF RACHEL CORRIE

ON THE TWELFTH ANNIVERSARY OF RACHEL’S STAND IN GAZA

March 16, 2015

Today, the twelfth anniversary of our daughter and sister Rachel’s stand and death in Gaza, we find ourselves back where our journey for accountability in her case began – in Washington DC.  We have come for meetings at the Department of State and in Congress and, also, to join our colleagues in pursuit of a just peace in Israel/Palestine at the national meeting of Jewish Voice for Peace.

Rachel was crushed to death March 16, 2003, by an Israeli military, US-funded, Caterpillar D9R bulldozer in Rafah, Gaza, while nonviolently protesting the impending demolition of the home of a Palestinian family.  This was one of thousands of homes eventually destroyed in Gaza in clearing demolitions, described in the 2004 Human Rights Watch Report, Razing Rafah.

The U.S. Department of State reported that on March 17, 2003, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promised President Bush that the Israeli Government would undertake a “thorough, credible, and transparent” investigation into Rachel’s killing and report the results to the United States.  On March 19, 2003, in a U.S. Department of State press briefing, Richard Boucher said in reference to Rachel, “When we have the death of an American citizen, we want to see it fully investigated.  That is one of our key responsibilities overseas, is to look after the welfare of American citizens and to find out what happened in situations like these.”

Through tenures of both the Bush and Obama administrations, high level Department of State officials have continued to call for Israeli investigation in Rachel’s case.  During our twelve year journey for accountability, we met with Lawrence B. Wilkerson (Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell), William Burns (then Under Secretary of State) and Antony Blinken (then Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to Vice President Biden) – all who have acknowledged lack of an adequate response from the Israeli Government in Rachel’s case.

In a letter to our family in 2008, Michelle Bernier-Toth, U.S. Department of State’s Managing Director of Overseas Citizens Services, wrote, “We have consistently requested that the Government of Israel conduct a full and transparent investigation into Rachel’s death. Our requests have gone unanswered or ignored.”

In March 2005, at the suggestion of the Department of State and to preserve our legal options, our family initiated a civil lawsuit against the State of Israel and Ministry of Defense.  After a lengthy Israeli court process,  in February of this year, the Israeli Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that said Rachel was killed in a “war activity” for which the state bears no liability under Israeli law.  In response, Human Rights Watch wrote,

“The ruling flies in the face of the laws of armed conflict…The ruling grants immunity in civil law to Israeli forces for harming civilians based merely on the determination that the forces were engaged in ‘wartime activity,’ without assessing whether that activity violated the laws of armed conflict, which require parties to the conflict at all times to take all feasible precautions to spare civilian life.”

Our family’s legal options in Israel are nearly exhausted, but our search for justice for Rachel goes forward.  Back in Washington DC, we have come full circle.  We ask again that U.S. officials address their responsibility to U.S. citizens and to all civilians whose lives are impacted and cut short by military actions supported with U.S. taxpayer funding.  We ask that they determine what to do when a promise from a key ally’s head of state to our own goes unfulfilled. March 16, 2003, was the very worst day of our lives.  Our family deserves a clear and truthful explanation for how what happened to Rachel that day could occur, and to know there is some consequence to those responsible.  Rachel deserves this.

She wrote, “This has to stop.  I think it is a good idea for us all to drop everything and devote our lives to making this stop.  I don’t think it’s an extremist thing to do anymore.  I still really want to dance around to Pat Benatar and have boyfriends and make comics for my coworkers.  But I also want this to stop.”

The failure of the Israeli court system to hold its soldiers, officers, and government accountable does not represent a failure on our part. Rachel, herself, went to Rafah looking for justice – a forward looking justice in which all people in the region would enjoy the freedoms, rights, opportunities, and obligations that we each demand for ourselves.  The facts uncovered in our legal effort in Israel, and the clear evidence of the Israeli court’s complicity in the occupation revealed in the outcome, lay important legal groundwork for the future.  As we look back at Selma fifty years ago and Ferguson today, we realize that our own civil rights struggle is not won in a single march or court case.  It is ongoing.  As our family continues our journey for justice, we thank  those across the U.S., the world, and in Palestine and Israel who travel with us.  Together, we will find justice for Rachel – both the justice she deserves and the justice for which she stood.

The Corrie Family

Filed Under: Cindy and Craig's Blog Tagged With: Cindy Corrie, Craig Corrie, Rachel Corrie

Israel: Dangerous Ruling in Rachel Corrie Case

Posted on February 17, 2015

Appeal Court Said No Liability for Civilian Death

February 17, 2015

(Jerusalem, February 17, 2015) – The Israeli Supreme Court ruling in a suit seeking damages over Rachel Corrie’s death sends a dangerous message to Israeli armed forces that they can escape accountability for wrongful actions, Human Rights Watch said today. Israel’s Supreme Court on February 12, 2015, exempted the Israeli defense ministry from liability for actions by its forces that it deemed to be “wartime activity,” but wrongly refused to assess whether those actions violated applicable laws of armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said. … Read More: full statement available at Human Right’s Watch.

Filed Under: In the Media, News and Updates Tagged With: civil trial, Gaza, human rights, Human Rights Watch, investigation, Israel, lawsuit, Legal Case, Rachel Corrie, trial

Statement from Corrie family in response to the Israeli Supreme Court’s Dismissal of Appeal in Wrongful Death of Rachel Corrie

Posted on February 12, 2015

February 12, 2015

Today we received word from our attorneys that the Supreme Court of Israel dismissed our appeal in the wrongful death case of our daughter and sister Rachel Corrie.  Our family is disappointed but not surprised. We had hoped for a different outcome, though we have come to see through this experience how deeply all of Israel’s institutions are implicated in the impunity enjoyed by the Israeli military.

It will take some time before we have ability to read the decision in English and to process all the court has said. Nevertheless, it is clear that this decision, affirming the August 2012 lower court finding, amounts to judicial sanction of immunity for Israeli military forces when they commit injustices and human rights violations.

The Supreme Court decision ignores international law arguments regarding the protection of civilians and human rights defenders in armed conflict and grossly violates the internationally recognized right to effective remedy.

The court has determined that our separate case against Dr. Yehuda Hiss and Abu Kabir Institute, regarding inappropriate ways in which Rachel’s autopsy was conducted, may go forward in the lower court. We continue to be appalled that it requires a lawsuit to have a truthful accounting of what occurred, and complete repatriation of Rachel’s remains. Decisions as to next steps will be made by the family in consultation with our attorneys.

Despite the verdict, our family remains convinced we were correct in bringing this case forward.  The day after Rachel was killed, Prime Minister Sharon promised President Bush a thorough, credible and transparent investigation. Clearly, that standard was not met. The U.S. government continues to call for such an investigation by Israel.  A civil lawsuit cannot substitute for an impartial investigation, but it is the only process through which a family can discover more information and move forward when governments fail to act.

Rachel’s case provides yet another example of how the Israeli justice system is failing to provide accountability. We urge the international community, and not least the U.S. government, to stand with victims of human rights violations and against impunity, and to uphold fundamental tenets of international justice.

We are immensely grateful to our attorney Hussein Abu Hussein and to his entire legal team for the decade of work they have contributed to Rachel’s case, and continue to provide.  We are grateful to all of our friends in Palestine, Israel, and elsewhere, who in so many different ways have supported our efforts.

We have taken this path for Rachel, the daughter and sister we love, lost, and miss. Her spirit lives. She has inspired all of our actions and will continue to do so.

———–

For the Supreme Court Decision (in Hebrew) see: http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files/12/820/069/v11/12069820.v11.pdf

For more information about the trial visit: http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/trial

Media inquiries contact Stacy Sullivan at:

Phone: 917-971-1003

E-mail: [email protected]

Filed Under: News and Updates, Trial Press Releases Tagged With: civil trial, Hussein Abu Hussein, Israel, lawsuit, Legal Case, Rachel Corrie, trial

Israeli Supreme Court to Hear Rachel Corrie Appeal on May 21

Posted on May 12, 2014

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.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: News and Updates, Trial, Trial Press Releases Tagged With: appeal, civil trial, Craig and Cindy Corrie, Craig Corrie, Haifa, Hussein Abu Hussein, investigation, Israel, Israeli Supreme Court, Jerusalem, Judge Oded Gershon, lawsuit, Legal Case, My Name is Rachel Corrie, Rachel Corrie, supreme court, trial, verdict

VIDEO- Cindy & Craig Corrie interview from “Breaking the Set” RT-TV

Posted on January 20, 2013

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:

Filed Under: News and Updates Tagged With: abby, abby martin, Cindy & Craig, civil trial, Craig and Cindy Corrie, interview, lawsuit, Legal Case, palestine, Rachel Corrie, rt, rt-tv, trial, Trial Verdict, video, you tube

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The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace & Justice
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      • Birzeit University Women’s Scholarship
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