One
Year Later, Justice Still Not Served:
Remembering the Death of Rachel Corrie
By Elizabeth
Corrie
03 March, 2004
Commondreams.org
Only
a year ago, the approach of the month of March would have held the same
positive associations for me as it has for many - the beginning of the
end of winter, the promise of springtime and even summer not too far
behind. This year, and for every year for the rest of my life, the approach
of March will mean something else entirely - the anniversary of the
brutal death of my cousin, Rachel Corrie. On March 16th, 2003, an Israeli
soldier and his commander ran over Rachel with a 9 ton, Caterpillar
bulldozer while she stood - unarmed, clearly visible in her orange fluorescent
jacket - protecting a Palestinian home slated for demolition by the
Israeli army.
The death of Rachel
Corrie, and the response that her case has - and has not - received,
reveal several disturbing, indeed immoral and criminal, truths. First,
Rachel died while attempting to prevent a home demolition, a common
practice of the Israeli Army's collective punishment that has left more
than 12,000 Palestinians - men, women, and children - homeless since
the beginning of the second uprising in September 2000. This practice
violates international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Second, Rachel was
run over by a Caterpillar bulldozer, manufactured in the United States
and sent to Israel as part of the United States' regular aid package
to the State of Israel, which amounts to at least $3-4 billion annually,
all of which comes from U.S. taxpayers. The use of Caterpillar bulldozers
to destroy civilian homes, not to mention to run over unarmed human
rights activists, violates U.S. law, including the U.S. Arms Export
Control Act, which prohibits the use of U.S. military aid against civilians.
Third, the self-acquittal
of the Israeli Army for Rachel's death and the resistance of the State
of Israel to an independent investigation into this case reveals both
the Sharon administration's unwillingness to take responsibility for
the death of a US citizen and the Bush administration's cowardice in
allowing another nation to attack US citizens with impunity.
Fourth, Rachel's
death was in fact only the first of several Israeli attacks on foreign
citizens in the West Bank and Gaza - Brian Avery, from New Mexico, was
shot in the face on April 5th, Tom Hurndall, a U.K. citizen, was shot
in the head on April 11th, and died on January 13th, and James Miller,
another U.K. citizen, was shot and killed in April as well. To date,
in only Hurndall's case will the Israeli soldier responsible for the
attack face trial, and this because the British government, after several
months, finally responded to the overwhelming evidence presented by
the Hurndall family.
As we approach March
16th, residents and citizens of the United States should ask themselves
how it is that an unarmed United States citizen can be killed with impunity
by a soldier from an allied nation receiving massive United States aid,
using a product manufactured in the United States by a United States
corporation and paid for with United States tax dollars. When three
Americans were killed, presumably by Palestinians, in an explosion on
October 15th, 2003 as they traveled through Gaza, the FBI came within
24 hours to investigate the deaths. After one year, neither the FBI,
nor any other US-led team has done anything to investigate the death
of an American, knowingly killed by an Israeli.
Why the double standard?
Perhaps this reveals the most disturbing truth of all.
Elizabeth Corrie
lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a first cousin of Rachel Corrie.