Five years ago, Rachel Corrie sent out a group email urging Americans to look on her presence in Gaza as a reflection of the U.S. role in creating Palestinian conditions. "I recognize that as a citizen of the United States I have some responsibility for what is happening here." The email went round, and the next night she got an email from Daniel Dworsky, an Israeli sergeant and refusenik telling her the military prisons were filled with soldiers who refused to serve the occupation.
"It is my job to hunt down runaway soldiers and bring them in. I have not reported in for eighteen months. Instead I've been using my talents and credentials to document on film and see with my eyes what...my boys have been up to... Please document as much as you can and do not embellish anything with creative writing. The media here serve as a very convincing spin-control agent... There are many soldiers among the ranks of those serving in the occupied territories that are sickened by what they see...
Dworsky offered some Hebrew phrases to Corrie that she could use with Israeli soldiers, including the statement "You are carrying out immoral orders." He said that would shock them.
"Do not make the mistake of objectifying them as they have objectified you. Respect is catchy, as is disrespect..."
Who knows whether Rachel Corrie called out those Hebrew words to the men who attacked her. A month later Israeli soldiers killed Rachel Corrie with a Caterpillar bulldozer when she was protesting house demolitions. Her sister Sarah was watching CNN back home when the crawl on the screen said, "Olympia woman killed in Rafah, Gaza." Sarah's husband called her parents. They were cleaning the house when they found out the news.
Last night Craig and Cindy Corrie came to New York to celebrate the publication of their daughter's book, Let Me Stand Alone: The Journals of Rachel Corrie. The Corries are incredibly positive people. Standing in Jean Stein's apartment, Cindy Corrie marveled at the extraordinary things that have come out of Rachel's life, including lately a production of her play in Arabic in Haifa--a play censored in New York and Miami. Plus their own recent speaking engagement in West Jerusalem. "The world has remembered Rachel in a lot of different ways," Cindy said. "I think she would be so amazed that on this day this wonderful group of people is gathered not just because of her story, but because of her writings."
Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights spoke; his organization has courageously sued Caterpillar on behalf of the Corries and several Palestinian families. So far the courts have said Caterpillar was merely serving U.S. foreign policy--no tort. Norton editor Jill Bialosky spoke of Rachel Corrie's literary talents. "We are hoping this book will last for a long time. Every young person should have it in their backpacks, and on their book shelves. Let's toast Rachel and her memory."
Those literary talents are evident on every page. "Imaginary Lives," Rachel Corrie titled a journal entry in 2000, at a time that she was working with the mentally ill:
"I would be a supermodel. I would look gorgeous and smell good all the time and have interesting hair and flamboyant clothes...
"I would be a shaman/healer. I would always be doing mysterious things in the woods. I would do marvelous symbolic rituals that would change the course of events...
"I would be a beat poet, hitchhiker, and dharma bum. I would be a dharma bum.
"I would be a UN translator. I would be fluent in six languages.
"I would be a Ph.D. scholar. I would know everything there is to know about some old German guy who no one else had heard of. I would wear a funny hat.
"I would be that lady on National Public Radio who interviews all the really cool people in the world and never seems nervous and always asks insightful questions and has read everything ever.
"I would be an activist who works side by side with people diagnosed with mental illness to make things better for them."
Rachel Corrie's tremendous imagination lived right next to a very grounded idea of what she was doing with her life. Grounded: what a savage word in this context. But it expresses her commitment, her ability to put aside all the airy glamorous stuff most 23-year-olds think they should be doing. And in the long run it is her imagination that will live on. Her father said last night that he was grateful for the book because it demonstrates that his daughter's life was not just her famous death.
Then tearing up, he toasted the people trapped in Gaza. "My heart goes out to them too, and their children."
Disrespect is catchy, respect moreso. The American media has largely suppressed Rachel Corrie's story for five years, or yielded to the smears of her character, and yet her story and writing seep out into the capillaries of our culture, to the places that Pete Seeger says change happens. Yesterday the New York Times dedicated its front page to a huge story on the Chinese effort to rewrite the history of Tibet and an accompanying profile of a female Chinese student at Duke whose mild resistance to that occupation has caused her to be smeared in her own country and her family to be threatened. How easy it is to speak of faraway monsters and heroines! One day my country will sing the bravery of an Olympia woman.
SOME OTHER NOTABLE WOMEN
There was Rachel Thaler, age 16, who was born in London but killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber who exploded himself at an Israeli mall. And there was also 17-year-old Rachel Levy, blown up at a grocery store; 19-year-old Rachel Levi, shot while waiting for a bus; and Rachel Gavish, a mother murdered with the rest of her family while celebrating Passover.
But none of those Rachels interest most journalists or inspire actors like Alan Rickman to produce plays.
Juxtaposed against the growing cult of Rachel Corrie, it is also not out of place to think about the figure of the biblical Rachel, whose tomb became a target for terrorists. The Prophet Jeremiah writes that when the Jewish people were first exiled by the Babylonian conquest some 2,600 years ago, the matriarch saw her descendants being herded along by their conquerors and wept for her children.
But the prophet says that the Lord consoled her saying: "They shall return from the enemy's land. And there is hope for your future declares the Lord: Your children shall return to their country."
Rachel's children have indeed returned and, the malice of the Palestinians and their foreign sympathizers notwithstanding, they intend to stay.
Would it be too much to ask that those who write about their struggles depict them truthfully?
"a play censored in New York and Miami. "
I thought that it was performed, just not in the original venue.
She was brave. But NOT mythic.
keep it coming phil, thanks for pointing out this book.
Have you ever read why they were expelled from the land, did you ever notice what the prophet pleaded for the nation to do so that the expulsion-judgement wouldnt occur.
remember that the judgement-expulsion was brought on by the Lord Himself because of the behaviour of the chosen people, that is of course if you believe in that sort of thing.
i cant wait to buy this book for my jewish girlfriend.
thanks for bringing it to my attention phil, i am certain that after she reads it she will pass it on to her mother and possibly mention it to other of her jewish friends.
viral contamination of truth will strip the myths from the minds of the pople whom he once chose.
the truth is kept in a vault and is guarded by a bodyguard of lies.
thats a paraphrase from winston churchill.
Truth judges lies and proves them for what they are.
it is very sad to hear of the number of innocent israelis who have lost their lives because of the politics of the 20th century.
There was Rachel Thaler, age 16, who was born in London but killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber who exploded himself at an Israeli mall. And there was also 17-year-old Rachel Levy, blown up at a grocery store; 19-year-old Rachel Levi, shot while waiting for a bus; and Rachel Gavish, a mother murdered with the rest of her family while celebrating Passover.
ill bet that all of these people living in israel really believe that the palestinians hate them because they are jewish.
make peace with the palestinians who have been oppressed and abused for sixty years now by the zionist.
the revisionist historians have told the stories of the founding of that nation of israel, and have used the diaries of the leading zionist of their day to show the world what their intentions were and the criminical acts they commited under the cover of the european holocaust and the sympathetic attitudes of the world toward the jews because of the crimes commited against the innocent european jews.
one crime does not justify the other, an eye for an eye only leaves two men blind.
make peace with the palestinians and honor the Lord whom you claim to revere and worship.
humanity was created in his image and the law was given to one man and one nation but was not obeyed. that is of course if you believe in that sort of thing.
Rachel Corries heart honored G-d, she loved peace.
Rachel Corrie deserves a Darwin Award
"…a play censored in New York and Miami."
Get real, Richard Witty. The play was censored and you know it. Your disingenuousness is freakish, given the subject matter.
Some nice Eric Blair quotes for your viewing discomfort:
"Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness. A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing."
"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."
"Freedom of the Press, if it means anything at all, means the freedom to criticize and oppose."
"Political language… is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."
Make murder respectable. The central dogma of all our media and high government officials. Blood transmuted into gold, the alchemist's formula propagated throughout the ages, currently manifesting in the U.S.-made charnel houses of Iraq and Afghanistan, all made perfectly respectable by the Serious People on teevee. How many dead, injured, displaced? How much profit for Defense and Security sectors? It's like an equation; you're an accountant, Richard, work the equation. Blood for oil, blood for poppies, for Poppy, for lucre. It's not a Jewish issue, it's a war profiteering issue.
It was recently bruited about that members of Congress own defense stock. Heaven forfend! Who'd thunk it?
"Members of Congress invested nearly 196 million dollars of their own money in companies that receive hundreds of millions of dollars a day from Pentagon contracts to provide goods and services to U.S. armed forces, say nonpartisan watchdog groups.
Lawmakers charged with overseeing Pentagon contractors hold stock in those very firms, as do vocal critics of the war in Iraq, says the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP)."
http://www.alternet.org/audits/81915/
A few more:
Defense stocks hit new highs as Pentagon seeks $42 billion …
WASHINGTON – Defense stocks on Wednesday hit new highs as Defense Secretary Robert Gates requested an extra $42 billion in funding from Congress to cover military costs in Iraq and … "
"Defense Stocks: P/E Isn't the Only Consideration –
As prior commentaries have indicated, we did not expect any major changes to the defense sector with the Democratic control of Congress. And what is playing out now, a battle … "
etc.
Richard, I'll bet the same situation applies in Israel. Making it a Jew/Arab issue neatly obscures the money trail.
Take one example: the checkpoints. Who built them, for how much, who were the principle investors?
I have no idea the answer. Prove me wrong.
The crude attacks upon Rachel Corrie reveal the barbarity of the Israeli Lobby.
And we don't see anyone putting those other Rachel's up for Darwin Awards. What should we make of that?
What attacks, she was a classic left wing ISM type who got exactly what was coming to her. BTW CAT had great earnings today. How's that divestment thing working for you guys.
Sword,
Sometimes you say things that are utterly inhumane.
Please hold yourself to a higher bar, so that other Zionists have any prospect of supporting your views.
"The crude attacks upon Rachel Corrie reveal the barbarity of the Israeli Lobby.
Posted by: Chuck | April 18, 2008 at 07:48 AM
i cant say it any better so i will repost chuck's comment.
Rachel Corrie, a true Christian.
Rachel Corrie martyred herself and in so doing surpassed SOG's vile accomplishments by an infinite measure.
Now I've seen housedogs take a SOG on the middle of the living room carpet and display more shame for their failure to control their bowels than what SOG will ever have for his vulgar utterances. The comparison well scores where SOG fits in to the hierarchy of humanity and beasts.
CAT is having a great day, up 6.25. You have to love the product.
Rich, I actually have respect for you and what you write. But what you don't seem to understand is that logic and reason is lost on the Phil Weiss fan base. They are a bunch of Jew hating scumbags. Same has there always was. Same has there always will be.
All you "Jew hating scumbags" who have no respect for logic or reason, here's proof your government is in better hands than yours with respect to the matter of Rachael Corrie. Google the whos and hows of proper handling so all three branches of the US government have now taken a stand against her, and in favor of Israeli and corporate impunity: Counterpunch, March 15/16 last, "Five Years Later
Rachel Corrie's Case for Justice
By TOM WRIGHT and THERESE SALIBA
Business is great for Caterpillar today, yippee.
No doubt the owners of I.G. Farben were thinking the same when they manufactured all that Zyklon B stuff 70 years ago. SOG, are you sure you are for real? You come off so stupid I'm inclined to guess that you might well be some sort of NeoNazi posing as a Zionist in an well executed effort to make the Zionists look stupid, crude, and shameful. Good job if you are. And if you aren't, even your compatriot Witty has basically told you to STFU. LMAO
I like SOG. He puts into plain English right-wing Zionist positions and feelings. Witty on the other hand dissembles with all of the proper politically correct phrases that it is difficult to discern what his agenda might be.
I think at this moment I sort of agree with syvanen. I think Witty is really SOG, and visa-versa. SOG hits you in the face with pure bigot tribalism, if not because he is just stupid, than because he wants to elicit root response on a most basic tribal level. Not that he knows what to do with the results, except to hurl more easy insults. He never follows up To see the lay of the whole land. Witty's approach is to milk abstractions, gigantic as the universe, but smaller than a pin hole.
Phil married a Goy. I married a Jew.
Phil's a self-hating Jew. I guess I'm a self-hating Goy. Two anti-semites, sitting in a row…
"I think Witty is really SOG, and visa-versa."
Good point. It reminds me of the two-party system. Witty is the svengali, sweet-talking, occasionally-stern-yet-motherly Dems, SOG is the daddy's-down-to-business, set-things-straight GOP.
All you politically correct left-liberals out there: how does it feel to be kin to silk-tongued Witty? He's widely hated on this site, yet his politically correct rationales for supporting Israel are commonly embraced by the Left in all other areas. His sneaky Marxist tactics that you hate so much are simply being employed in defense of Israel.
That seems to be the Marxist/left-liberal/Neocon/Neolib specialty: finding "intellectual" rationales for the indefensible. It should make intelligent people think twice about letting big government svengalis of any stripe do their thinking for them. In fact, it should inspire utter contempt for big government and its murderously politically correct ways. Once in control of government, today’s official state victim will quickly morph into tomorrow’s murderous oppressor. The victim card has a long, ignoble history. Even Hitler played it.
I don’t know, maybe left-liberals are too hopelessly naïve, or dumbed down by political correctness to look more than one or two moves down the chess board. Or maybe they think they are smart enough to cut deals with the big government devil. Whatever the case, they shouldn’t be too proud about being able to see through the Zionists when they can’t see through the Marxists, who are merely Zionism’s estranged relatives.
Ed, what if not the government can temper the excesses and cannibalistic tendencies of unchecked capitalism?
Or must we all worship at the altar of 'free markets'?
A culture of morality, good works and good will that is verbally hostile to parasites and malevolents of all stripes, be they Left-wing, Right-wing, or just money worshipping and self worshipping nihilists. We need to end politically correct speech codes so we can verbally whip Zionists, Capitalist-extremists and Marxists into submission. They are all cretins who should be verbally flailed back under the rocks from which they came. This doesn't have to be done violently if it is allowed to be done verbally; if it's not allowed to be done verbally, it will eventually be done violently, which won't end well for anyone.
Forget the .50 caliber Desert Eagle. Too much of a kick. I'm thinking shotgun for when you come around. It sprays over a wider area.
'What attacks, she was a classic left wing ISM type who got exactly what was coming to her.'
A thousand Swords of Gideon are not worth one of Rachel Corrie's fingernails. You are a low person, whoever the hell you are.
And Richard, you're not much better.
'Please hold yourself to a higher bar, so that other Zionists have any prospect of supporting your views.'
Yeah, more good cop, less bad cop SOG. Stop letting the side down by revealing the ugliness within.
Another story from the Occupied Territories you might not see in your free press:
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2008/04/18/body-of-15-year-old-palestinian-boy-found-mutilated-in-israeli-settlement/
Guess he had it coming too SOG, eh?
Glenn. how about a news report from a reputable organization. The Palestinians lie has a matter or course. It's part of their culture.
sword when you speak i hear the heart of zionism.
dont divest, buy gold and silver because the edifice that the bankers built is coming down upon itself sort of like wtc building number seven.
otc derivatives and inflation will be the weapons of financial mass destructions that the bankers can not control regardless of the spin….citigroup just tipped its hand this past week and hollywood wallstreet spun it all as good news.
stay tuned there is lots more coming.
Hi Phil,
I love your site and you sure seem to know how to stir them up. Keep it up. A Jewish position of telling the truth as you see it regardless of consequence has served the world well for a long time.
Rachel was a hero regardless of you worldview. A young woman standing in front of that huge machine probably knowing it would not stop. A Joan of Arc, her parents must be proud of her.
'Rachel was a hero regardless of you worldview'
She sure was. So was Tom Hurndall. Their names will live long after them. Most of their critics won't even append their own names to their cess-pool opinions.
Rachel Corrie's mother's name being Cindy reminded me of another of the few American heroes to have emerged in the last decade or so. Another woman not afraid to walk into the teeth of enemies the rest of us are content to moan about on the internet.
Glenn, I could not agree more.