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Verdict in Rachel Corrie Lawsuit to be Announced August 28th – Family to Hold Press Conference in Haifa

Posted on August 21, 2012

(Haifa, Israel – August 21, 2012) – The verdict in the civil lawsuit against the State of Israel for the killing of peace activist Rachel Corrie over nine years ago will be announced August 28, 2012, at 9:00 a.m. at the Haifa District Court.

Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old American from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death March 16, 2003, by an Israeli military Caterpillar D9-R bulldozer while nonviolently protesting demolition of Palestinian civilian homes in Rafah, Gaza.

Download: Verdict in Rachel Corrie Lawsuit to be Announced August 28th (2295 downloads) Verdict in Rachel Corrie Lawsuit to be Announced August 28th (1769 downloads) Verdict in Rachel Corrie Lawsuit to be Announced August 28th (1896 downloads)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: News and Updates, Trial, Trial Press Releases Tagged With: civil trial, Haifa, Hussein Abu Hussein, Israel, Judge Oded Gershon, lawsuit, Legal Case, press release, Rachel Corrie, Rafah, Sarah Corrie Simpson, trial

Verdict in Corrie Lawsuit to be Announced August 28, 2012

Posted on May 16, 2012

(Olympia, WA USA – May 16, 2012)– The verdict in the civil lawsuit against the State of Israel for the killing of peace activist Rachel Corrie more than nine years ago will be announced August 28, 2012, at 9:00 a.m. at the Haifa District Court.

Members of the Corrie family, including Rachel’s parents, Craig and Cindy Corrie, and her sister, Sarah Corrie Simpson, plan to return to Israel in advance of the hearing and be present when the verdict is read. […]

Download:  Verdict in Corrie Lawsuit to be Announced August 28, 2012 (1720 downloads)   Verdict in Corrie Lawsuit to be Announced August 28, 2012 (1488 downloads)   Verdict in Corrie Lawsuit to be Announced August 28, 2012 (1657 downloads)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: News and Updates, Trial, Trial Press Releases Tagged With: Craig and Cindy Corrie, Haifa, Hussein Abu Hussein, Israel, Judge Oded Gershon, lawsuit, press release, Sarah Corrie Simpson, trial, verdict

Verdict in Corrie Lawsuit Postponed

Posted on April 9, 2012

MEDIA ADVISORY – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – APRIL 9, 2012

(Olympia, WA USA – April 9, 2012) – The announcement of a verdict in the civil lawsuit against the State of Israel for the killing of peace activist Rachel Corrie, which was scheduled for late April, has been postponed due to delays in the filing of closing arguments. A new verdict date has not yet been scheduled by the court, but is likely to be months away. […]

Download:  Verdict in Corrie Lawsuit Postponed (1894 downloads) , Verdict in Corrie Lawsuit Postponed (1712 downloads) , Verdict in Corrie Lawsuit Postponed (1751 downloads)

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Filed Under: News and Updates, Trial, Trial Press Releases Tagged With: civil trial, Corrie family, Corrie lawsuit, Craig and Cindy Corrie, Haifa, Hussein Abu Hussein, Israel, Judge Oded Gershon, lawsuit, press release, Rachel Corrie, Sarah Corrie Simpson, trial, verdict

Military police investigator’s testimony reveals additional flaws in the investigation into Rachel Corrie’s killing

Posted on September 5, 2010

(Haifa, Israel – September 5, 2010)– The civil law suit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza, resumed Sunday in the Haifa District Court. In March, the Corrie family called their witnesses to the stand. Today marked the beginning of the State’s testimony.

Rachel Corrie, an American human rights defender from Olympia, WA, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003, by a Caterpillar D9R military bulldozer. She had been nonviolently demonstrating against the demolitions of Palestinian homes.

Download: Military police investigator’s testimony reveals additional flaws in the investigation into Rachel Corrie’s killing (2671 downloads) , Military police investigator’s testimony reveals additional flaws in the investigation into Rachel Corrie’s killing. (2798 downloads) , Military police investigator’s testimony reveals additional flaws in the investigation into Rachel Corrie’s killing (2401 downloads) , Military police investigator’s testimony reveals additional flaws in the investigation into Rachel Corrie’s killing (2567 downloads)

The first state witness, a Military Police investigator known to the court as Oded, was part of a three-person team that investigated Rachel’s killing. Oded corroborated much of the testimony provided by El’ad, an investigator who testified in March, and added additional details about the inadequacy of the investigation.

  • Oded confirmed that a commander of the unit involved in Rachel’s killing interrupted the questioning of the bulldozer operator, telling him that Doron Almog, head of the Israeli military’s Southern Command, had ordered that the questioning cease. He also said that, in his experience, interference of this nature from military commanders was not uncommon.
  • When asked why he did not challenge the intervention, Oded said that as a junior investigator, it was not his place to do so. He was 20-years-old at the time, with only a high-school education and three-months of training in investigation.
  • Corrie’s case was the first civilian killing that Oded investigated from beginning to end. [Read more…]

Filed Under: News and Updates, Trial, Trial Press Releases Tagged With: civil trial, El'ad, Haifa, Hussein Abu Hussein, investigation, Judge Oded Gershon, lawsuit, Legal Case, Military Police, Oded, Sarah Corrie Simpson, trial, US Government

Haaretz: Corrie’s sister to Haaretz: U.S. encouraged family to sue Israel

Posted on March 11, 2010

Akiva Eldar, Ha’aretz

This is Sarah Corrie Simpson’s first visit to Israel. Her younger sister, Rachel Corrie, was killed by an Israel Defense Forces bulldozer in Gaza in 2003, at the age of 23. Now, the family is suing the state in the Haifa District Court.

“I’m glad the day is finally here, that the eyewitnesses are having a chance to talk in a court of law,” she said in an interview with Haaretz yesterday. “It’s been seven long years.”

The witnesses, who include Rachel’s colleagues in the left-wing International Solidarity Movement, say Rachel climbed atop a mount of dirt to be sure the driver could see her, Simpson said. When he nevertheless kept coming at her, she tried to flee, but tripped and fell. “The bulldozer driver kept driving with the blade down, pushing the dirt over Rachel, and stopped when her body was under the cab.”

“My father served in the military in Vietnam and was responsible for bulldozer operations,” Simpson added. “He said there is no way that what happened to Rachel would have happened on his watch.”

She rejects the IDF’s claim that the area was an active combat zone. The witnesses claim no shots were being fired, she said, so the army could have stopped the operation and removed the demonstrators. But in any case, she added, international law requires soldiers to try to protect civilians even in a war zone.

What brought Rachel, a girl from a good family in Washington state, to the town of Rafah, on the Gaza-Egypt border?

According to Simpson, the September 11, 2001 terror attacks pushed Rachel into political activism. She wanted “to find out what was going on in the world, especially in the Middle East.” She studied Arabic and began meeting with peace activists, including former Israeli soldiers. She wanted to understand America’s role in the Middle East.

Rachel was a pacifist and a pluralist, Simpson added, her views informed by growing up in a Christian family with Jewish, Sikh, Hindu and Muslim in-laws.

After Rachel’s death, Simpson said, “our lives changed instantly.” Her father quit his job, and she herself has devoted herself fully to the political and legal effort to force the IDF to take responsibility for Rachel’s death. Her goal, she said, is to ensure “that something like this will never happen again to any civilian … whether Israeli, Palestinian or internationals.”

Though the Military Police investigated Rachel’s death, neither the family nor the American authorities consider the probe credible.

“There are pieces of evidence we have never been given,” Simpson said. For instance, out of about six hours of video, in color, with complete audio, the family received “14 minutes of tape, a grainy black copy, with incomplete audio.”

Would you want to meet the bulldozer driver?

“Yes, I would. Ultimately, in order to have any kind of restorative healing process occur, I need to be able to hear directly from him what happened that day and how he feels about it. As well, I hope he would be able to hear and somehow understand the impact this has had on my life and the life of my family. A credible investigation is important … but in the end, it is also important that my family and the man who killed Rachel look each other in the eyes. This would be the most difficult and painful thing I can imagine doing, but it’s something I feel is extremely important. But I have no control over this, the Israeli government won’t release his name.”

Asked whether the family was getting support from the U.S. government, Simpson said it was a U.S. government official who first encouraged them to sue the Israeli government.

The family has met with many senior American officials, she added, and more than 70 congressmen signed a letter demanding a serious investigation.

Filed Under: Trial Tagged With: Akiva Eldar, Haaretz, Sarah Corrie Simpson

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The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace & Justice
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  • RACHEL CORRIE
    • Rachel’s Emails from Palestine
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    • Rachel Corrie Memorial Archive
    • The Rachel Corrie Court Trial
  • ABOUT RCF
    • Mission & Guiding Principles
    • Board of Directors & Staff
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    • Internship & Volunteer Opportunities
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  • PROJECTS
    • A Tale of Two Cities: Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural Project
    • Gaza Projects
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      • Rachel Corrie Gaza Sport Initiative
      • Palestinian Cultural Palace – Youth Performances
    • Olympia Arab Festival
      • Shuruq 4.5 Olympia Arab Festival 2020
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      • Birzeit University Women’s Scholarship
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    • Palestinian Call for Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
    • Protect Your Right to Boycott! Fight Back Against Anti-BDS Legislation
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