Tomorrow in a Haifa court, a trial will commence of the Corrie family’s civil suit against the Israeli government in the killing of Rachel Corrie seven years ago this month in Rafah, Gaza. Rachel’s parents Craig and Cindy (left) have sent out an appeal for support during this challenging time:
The lawsuit is one piece of our family’s seven-year effort to pursue justice for our daughter and sister. We hope this trial will illustrate the need for accountability for thousands of lives lost, or indelibly injured, by occupation—in a besieged and beleaguered Gaza and throughout Palestine/Israel; bring attention to the assault on nonviolent human rights activists (Palestinian, Israeli, and international); and underscore the fact that so many Palestinian families, harmed as deeply as ours, cannot access Israeli courts.
In order to deliver these interconnected messages as effectively as possible, we are asking for large-scale participation in the trial itself as well as in the events surrounding it. We hope you will join us for all or some of the events listed below and help us to put the call out to others.
Schedule follows:
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10
9:00-16:00 – Trial Begins in the Haifa District Court (12 Palyam St. Haifa)
A strong presence of human rights observers, legal observers, and others on the first day of the trial will send the message that this case is being closely monitored and that truth, accountability and justice matter to us all. Other trial dates are: March 14, 15, 17, 21, 22 and 24. Supportive presence at all court sessions is both welcome and needed!
FRIDAY, MARCH 12
13:00-15:00 – Film Screening at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque (2 Shprinzak St. Tel Aviv)
Screening of the documentary film RACHEL followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Simone Bitton and the Corrie family. RACHEL is a cinematic inquiry into Rachel’s killing. It raises many of the questions that should be asked and addressed during the trial.
TUESDAY, MARCH 16
20:00-22:00 – Memorial; Location TBA
March 16th marks the seven-year anniversary of Rachel’s killing. We hope to mark this day as a “Day of Conscience” with a large gathering that calls for truth, accountability and justice, in Rachel’s case and beyond. There will also be events in Gaza (at the Rachel Corrie Children and Youth Cultural Center in Rafah), possibly in the West Bank (TBA), and around the world.
If you are not with us in Palestine/Israel, please think about how you and your group/community can be visible/audible on March 16.
We expect this to be a challenging time, but we know the friendship we have felt from so many of you over the years will help us navigate the weeks ahead. Though the course and outcome of the trial are unknown, we welcome the opportunity to raise and highlight many of the critical issues to which Rachel’s case is linked. Thank you for your continuing support.
I am surprise Corries parent expect justice from a system which is based on racism and greed. The system cannot stop evergrowing new Jewish settlement being put on lands where the native Palestinians have lived for centuries – or have convicted most IDF baby-killers.
The Jewish lobby group have so much power even in some foreign countries that Palestinians have failed to receive a fair trail of Israeli criminals, such as the US, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, etc.
Palestinian village sues Canadian firms
link to rehmat1.wordpress.com
Keep in mind, Rehmat, this is A) a civil suit, because expecting a criminal trial on their daughter’s murder is out of the question and B) the US State Department is nowhere near to back this up (and probably working quietly to undermine it).
Having no recourse but to press a civil lawsuit to get a modicum of justice against a criminal offense that will get no sort of proper hearing is virtually an American tradition at this point.
Rehmat, the Palestinians’ lawsuit in Montreal was thrown out of court on the grounds that the case should be tried in Israel and not in Canada. The win would have been futile since the claim against Green Mountain Industries Inc and Green Park Inc, was really against 2 shell companies with nothing but a Montreal business address, no assets and no employees.
Green Mountain and Green Park are owned by billionaire American businessman Shaya Boymelgreen and controlled by Lexinter Management, whose majority shareholder is F.T.S. Worldwide Corp, a Panama-based company historically involved in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s diamond trade that refuses to name its principals.
Green Mountain and Green Park subcontracted the Mattityahu East project in 2004 to Danya Cebus, with the Israeli government’s approval. Danya Cebus doing the actual building is a subsidiary of diamond billionaire Lev Leviev’s Africa Investments Ltd.
As you can see from the above acrobatics, winning in Montreal against the 2 shell companies wouldn’t have yielded anything.
Light a candle for Rachel’s parents to win in Israel.
More:
link to commondreams.org
See Rachel Corrie mentioned on My Kickstarter page below. I am raising funds for an original play The Land, that stands in solidarity with the growing grassroots Palestinian/Israeli movement for sustainable peace. 10% of proceeds go to Grassroots Jerusalem, co-founded by Micha Kurz, co-founder of Breaking The Silence. Please read and pledge and help me to bring awareness of the situation to American audiences via the potent medium of theatre!
link to kickstarter.com
Chaos, Remember that it was the U.S. State Dept. that suggested the civil suit. Also, that it was Colin Powell’s Chief of Staff, Larry Wilkerson, who first stated that the Israeli’s had not done a thorough, credible investigation. That has been followed up as late as 2008 by the State Dept. : a letter to the Israeli government requesting a thorough, credible, transparent investigation. In addition, Vice President Joe Biden, as Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee asked the following:
Questions for the Record Submitted to Ambassador – Designate James B. Cunningham by Chairman Joseph Biden, Jr. (#6)
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
May 1, 2008
Rachel Corrie
On March 16, 2003, Rachel Corrie, an American citizen, was killed by an Israel Defense Forces bulldozer in Rafah, Gaza while protesting home demolitions.
Question:
Please provide a detailed account of steps taken, if any, by the Executive Branch and the Department of State, including the United States Embassy in Tel Aviv, to encourage the Government of Israel to undertake a thorough, credible, and transparent investigation into Ms. Corrie’s death.
Answer:
The United States Government takes its responsibilities involving American Citizens abroad very seriously and has repeatedly engaged the Government of Israel at the highest levels about this issue. Immediately following Ms. Corrie’s tragic death, President Bush telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Sharon to request a thorough and transparent investigation and was given personal assurances by the Prime Minister that there would be one. Additionally, then-Secretary Powell, Ambassador Kurtzer, Deputy Chief of Mission LeBaron, Assistant Secretary William Burns, and Deputy Assistant Secretary David Satterfield, among others, raised this issue with their counterparts and other appropriate authorities in the Israeli Government.
More recently, during a visit to Israel, former Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Maura Harty specifically raised outstanding issues again with her counterpart at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Yigal Tzarfati. Assistant Secretary Harty also gave Mr. Tzarfati a letter that reiterated the U.S. Government’s request for a full and transparent investigation of the incident.
The Government of Israel has not yet fully responded to Assistant Secretary Harty’s letter, and specifically her request for a full and transparent investigation. The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv will continue to follow up with the Israelis for a response to our inquiries. If confirmed, I will ensure that this follow-up takes place and press the Government of Israel for a response.
Additionally, in late October, representatives from the Department of State met with the Corrie family and with Congressman Baird and his staff at his offices to discuss concerns that the Corrie family still has with respect to the death of Rachel Corrie. We are continuing to investigate charges of irregularities with the Israeli Government’s handling of the case and to respond to the family’s concerns to the maximum extent.
Questions for the Record Submitted to
Ambassador – Designate James B. Cunningham by
Chairman Joseph Biden, Jr. (#7)
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
May 1, 2008
Question:
In your opinion, has a thorough, credible, and transparent investigation taken place? If not, what specific, concrete steps will you commit to take, if confirmed, to ensure that such an investigation does take place?
Answer:
The Department remains committed to providing the highest standards of citizen services to the Corrie family. If confirmed, I will continue to press the Government of Israel for a thorough and transparent investigation of the tragic death of Rachel Corrie.
If this were an American activist who’d been killed by the Iranian military, the State Department would be doing a hell of a lot more than merely pushing a civil suit in Israeli courts.
Actually it would be the bell rang jump-starting the Israeli aerial attack on Iran, quickly backed by the USA in full patriotic fever.
Not being well versed in law, Chaos, could you explain why a criminal trial is out of the question? Keep in mind that it was not actually the bulldozer driver’s responsibility to watch for danger in the field. He was only to run the dozer. There was a commander seated higher than the driver who had the responsibility to be the observer. In addition, there were five soldiers in the APC and it was also their responsibility to watch over the area being worked. So….five minutes before Rachel’s death there is a change in orders, prompted because the crew had not been able to deter the activists….she is dead five minutes after this change in orders is issued….but all of those eyes besides the drivers’, the commander of the bulldozer, and the commander of the ground crew and the four other peoples in the APC were all looking elsewhere…..change of orders and nobody looking and Pascal video camera pans away – all in the same five minute period of time……..Seems criminal to me.
Israeli justice trumps the haters. “Nobody was looking, except maybe the Dozer op, but he’s not responsible for running over people. Case dismissed!”
Cheryl,
My understanding is that in civil trials the victim may usually receive punitive damages, but the defendant won’t be punished for violating a penal code. At the same time, the threshold for what qualifies as legal proof is lower, meaning that in a criminal case, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the defendant’s guilt, while in a civil case a mere preponderance of evidence is sufficient.
“could you explain why a criminal trial is out of the question?”
Because a criminal case would have to be brought by the State of Israel, which has shown no interest in investigating the case, or prosecuting any of the individuals involved. In some ways its similar to what happened in the South in the 60′s and beyond. The state would ignore or refuse to prosecute a crime allegedly committed by a white against a black, and the Federal government would have to come in and file a criminal case for “denial of civil rights” instead of murder or assault. There’s no higher venue for the Corrie’s to appeal to, so they are forced to file a civil suit.
But, remember three Westerners, all documenters(writer/press conference, photographer and movie director) were killed along the Philadelphia Route
within a six week period of time. Considering that Israel now appears to be targeting nonviolent resistance activists and especially leaders,and there is reason to believe that Israel did not want negative press when it was doing ugly things like pushing over lots of homes, at what point does the U.S. terrorism statute kick in and the U.S. bring a criminal suit?
The trial is not the end, it is a means to shine the light onto this this crime – the Corries understand that … no one familiar with israel’s usual conduct expects anything approaching justice … but the trial serves as but one mechanism to expose the horrors the zionist leadership of israel is visiting upon innocent victims
I think it’s a wonderful and brave thing to do — shining a light into a very dark corner. Wish I could be in Rafah for the gathering.
Steven Plaut’s evil little letter to the Corries:
Welcome to Haifa, Mr. and Mrs. Corrie
Eww, that’s some ugly hateful man. I couldn’t read more that the first several paragraphs. He certainly pulled out all the stops. What a horrible man.
Plaut is one of Zionism’s true faces.
Plaut: “Your daughter, and apparently you as well, never had any understanding of the Middle East conflict. The Middle East conflict is not about the right to self-determination of Palestinian Arabs, but rather about the right to self-determination of Israeli Jews.”
Ever notice that Richard Witty only mentions the right of his community to self-determination, and never the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination?
Citizen, there are two halves (well, actually, two half-asses) to that little equasion.
One half is Witty’s mantra (remember, he learned how to transcend dental medication!) about “Jewish self-determination”. And the other is Wonderful Jew’s “If you will it, it is no legend”.
Now, what does that all add up to?
Considering we already know what two half-asses make.
Again, at what point does the U.S bring a criminal lawsuit based on the terrorism statute. Three westerners were killed in the same area of the Philadelphi Road in a six week period of time in 2003. All were documenters. In 2004, Iman al Hams was killed by the company of Captain R. Same road. It is the Givati Brigade that works this area. Many Russian Jew natives along with Druze.
Israel is now declaring that this area was a closed military zone and so they have no culpability. But they had culpability with Tom and James….because the British stood up to them. Publicly.
At what point does the U. S. government pull off its blinders and say that it is a little unusual that three press seekers, an avid writer who had the audacity to arrange a press conference overlooking the bulldozers working inside the fence (two days before her death) a photographer putting out photos of bullet riddled homes, and an HBO movie cameraman carrying a white flag. all died at the hands of the IDF.
A pattern of intimidation is the definition of terrorism, I believe.
Cheryl, if the US brings suit against Israel, well then Israel turns around and files the same suit against us for Iraq and Afghanistan!
So now we know what happens when there’s an overdose of Ziocaine and PEP pills!
Ah, exactly…..so now does it make sense why Israel killed her with the dreaded bulldozer, symbol of home demolitions and settlement building,….the bulldozer that the Catholic nuns had been telling the Caterpillar stockholders for years were being used for human rights violations…….those funded by the U.S. foreign military sales…. It was like holding out their hand to the U.S. government and taunting them to come here….come here…..say something about the bulldozers that you gave us…..
Beautiful Strategy!
This morning an article ran in Haaretz on Joe Biden. link to haaretz.com
I am told that there was also a cartoon that showed Vice President Biden on a bulldozer….