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Cheryl

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• On the tenth anniversary of Rachel Corrie's death her parents urge supporters to take action, change US policy in Israel/Palestine
  • Cheryl March 16, 2013 at 3:41 pm

    February 2003
    oh rafah. aching rafah.
    aching of refugees
    aching of tumbled houses
    bicycles severed from tank-warped tires and aching of bullet-riddle homes
    all homes worm-eaten by bullets and then impregnated through bullet holes
    by birds.

    oh rafah, aching fingers of rafah.
    children born without fingers
    and fathers unable to travel the twenty or thirty miles
    to Gaza to repair their children's fingers.
    clawed knuckles from old gunshots
    bandaged fingers
    and slimy small poking fingers between puffy lips of children
    slobbery and wondering and blinking like all children
    but fingers patting and tapping at strange big
    hands
    amidst the music of shelling
    and the constant anonymous night-vision
    telescope of murder
    above and beyond and around and even inside.
    fingers
    cracked crusts of spackle concrete fingers
    of the endless rebuilding of things crashed: home.

    home. oh rafah. aching homes of rafah. home of the rafah camp
    rafah grown permanent with the names of the countries that paid
    for the neighborhoods still attached. home of rafah unleavable.
    homes stickered with glow-in-the-dark stars in teenagers' rooms.
    homes constructed over a lifetime and unraveled in the night.
    ache of rubble and weedy rebar craning out of concrete boulders.
    ache of ghost homes
    looming without volume without mass
    straddling this wall and this wasteland the wall demands.
    ache of dinners
    knees and haunches kneeling dinners spread over floors
    in the music of gunfire the irregular heartbeat of the border
    and living-dead homes waiting immobile
    for bulldozers and tanks and the shattering of tea glasses the bending of rebar
    the tumbling of concrete and the ejection of people: baby. grandmother.
    small girl curling her entire small hand around one big finger.
    teenage boy with teenage boy legs and teenage boy laugh ejected into rubble
    and homelessness and scattered if not killed

    oh rafah. aching rafah.
    children of rafah exploded. children of rafah deafened:
    deafened to tank wheels
    deafened to explosions
    gunshot music
    shocking claps
    drones.

    Rachel Corrie from Let Me Stand Alone The Journals of Rachel Corrie

• Corrie verdict energizes worldwide movement to challenge Israeli impunity
  • Cheryl September 1, 2012 at 11:04 am with 2 replies

    I know that there were people within the U.S. State Dept. who wanted to help uncover the truth about what happened to Rachel that day but that "something" was stopping them. I came to the conclusion that the silence, the failure to document clearly the State Dept. position etc. must be due to national security issues trumping an American citizen's death. But if I understand correctly what you are saying, then I believe you are right. There are people in government who believe that they know better than the rest of us and are working hard to create "reality" both here in the U.S. and in the Mideast. They have a vision of a middle east dominated by Israel with docile neighbors all around her. Isn't this what the Project for the New American Century set out to create. There are many of course in U.S. government who are working hard to create this reality and people like Rachel, Tom, James Miller, Shaden Abu Hijleh are like flies to them that need to be swatted away for the so called greater good that they envision.
    When I read the Conclusion to the Final Military Police Report of Rachel Corrie's Death my head started to spin with all the gobbledgook in the paragraphs related to where she died. It was clear that the writer wanted to place her death smack in the middle of the Philadelphi Route. But it did not occur there and the U.S. government was very aware that it did not occur there having had a meeting within a week of her death where the Israeli military tells the U.S. military that it happened off of the Route by 150 meters ( a football field and a half). So why was the writer going around in circles trying to paint this picture of her being in the Military installations area or the Philadelphi Route. Simple, as they did, they could then invoke Oslo and say they had every right to be there. They could also claim it was a closed military area. But the most interesting part of this creating of reality is that it is the U.S. government who was to be the overseer of Oslo so when these killings occurred it was the U.S. government who had allowed Israel to violate Oslo and set up the stage.
    Somehow I think this relates to what you are explaining to us. And, Judge Gershon bought every bit of it - hook, line and sinker.

    For some odd reason I am pleased to have just recently learned that Pat Tillman had spoken of Rachel with admiration.

  • Cheryl August 31, 2012 at 3:40 pm

    Among all the events to observe and consider regarding the Rachel Corrie verdict there are two that stand out for me. Reading Amira Hass, Glenn Greenwald, Chris McGreal, Karl Vick, Adam H. and so many more dissect what this verdict means made me realize that not only has Rachel not been forgotten but that more and more of the media and of the world's peoples are starting to understand the huge ramifications and policy implications of her death on both the Israeli and U.S governments. And, how Rochelle warmed my heart with her kindness and lovely smile as she moderated between Cindy and Craig in Haifa and us around the world.

    Nearly ten years after Rachel's death the understanding of what happened to her that day becomes clearer and clearer to many of us. There was no credible investigation; the chief investigator was a young man with little experience who never went to the site; the security camera panned away as the soldiers were getting new orders - not to return focus at the site until Rachel was crushed; Rachel was not killed on the Military Installations Area (the Philadelphi Route) as the Israelis hoped the Americans would believe but was crushed well inside Palestinian territory; the Israelis had no right to be off of the Philadelphi Route and in Palestinian territory - only the power to be there; three internationals were killed in a six week period time in the same area; the testimony of the driver and the commander both seated in the dozer that killed Rachel are in conflict; contrary to the judge's contention there is nothing to suggest that this could be a closed military area and there was no written order presented to the court stating this; and the list goes on and on. So when the famous Dov Weisglas, Sharon's right hand man told the U.S. government that he personally was overseeing the investigation it would suggest to the ordinary people of the world that he was inept....and one wonders why the U.S. government wants to continue to do business with this crowd.

    As Rochelle points out to us....the momentum continues to build and roll forward. We all know that if Rachel does not get her day in court none of us will either and certainly none who live under occupation will. I often remember Shaden Abu Hijleh gunned down on her porch by the IDF and remember her sister telling me how she spoke so eloquently aqainst the occupation and how each week she would lay the flowers at the feet of the IDF machines in the weekly protest march. Her family also struggles for justice and truth.

    As Craig tells us that we are on the right side of history and Cindy tells us that contrary to what the judge says Rachel should not have moved and that we all should have been with her I think of how warmed I was by Rochelle's smile and laugh as we listened to Craig and Cindy explain where we are and where we need to go. Rachel is with us more than ever and it feels like the march of truth is only beating clearer.

• Israeli court rejects Corrie family lawsuit; calls Rachel Corrie's death 'regrettable accident'
  • Cheryl August 28, 2012 at 11:14 am with 2 replies

    As I think of this gut wrenching verdict this morning, not surprised but pained, I think of the reasons that the Israeli Court system has now proven itself as a bastion of protection not for truth nor justice but for the military.

    Remember that the IDF reported to Congress that the bulldozer did not run over Rachel.
    Remember that the IDF reported that per Oslo they had the right to be working in the Military Installations Area. But also remember that they failed include this report that Rachel was killed around 150 meters off of the Military Installations Area.
    Remember that the Pascal camera taping the area Rachel was killed at panned away at the same time we know the dozers were getting instruction. Less than five minutes later Rachel is dead.

    When I think of the IDF picture of what happened that day on March 16, 2003 being reported at the same time that Cheney was on U.S. Sunday talk shows telling us we were going to war with Iraq and I remember Rachel writing that she was worried about what Israel would do in the Occupied territories as the world's attention was focused on Iraq, and I remember former Ambassador Kurtzer stating that Israel frequently complained to the U.S. regarding the International Soldarity Movement and I think of Jeff Feltman and his wife being at the American Consulate in Jerusalem - tasked with working with Palestinians and Americans(including activists) in the Occupied Territories- yet having no presence in documentation after Rachel was killed I am drawn to thinking of those areas that we definitely know something about in terms of why the U.S. government continues to press the Israeli government for a credible investigation:

    1. In the investigation that the Israeli military accomplished they failed to address the fact that the two people in the bulldozer that killed Rachel disagreed on where Rachel's body lay in relation to the mound of dirt that the bulldozer pushed. The driver who was responsible for manueuvering the machine placed the body on the side of the mound so that the dozer had to have run over her. The commander who was responsible for telling the driver where to go and having the best sight line placed the body behind the mound so that the dozer would not have gone over her.
    This was a disagreement that the investigation nor the court reconciled. Yet it was clearly important to the Israeli story line that the bulldozer did not run over her.
    2. The IDF has failed to adequately explain why a Pascal camera panned away from the site of death just prior to the IDF making its move toward Rachel.
    3. Israel has failed to explain why the Pascal tape presented to the court is of a different time period then the tape the IDF provided to Israeli television shortly after Rachel's death.
    4. Israel has failed to explain why a U.S consular official was not present at the autopsy as stipulated must occur by the Israeli court at the time the IDF received permission to perform the autospy.
    5. Israel has failed to explain why in the Conclusions to the Final Military Police Report delivered to the U.S. government it stated that an official of the U.S. government had been present at autopsy when such had not occurred.
    6. Israel has failed to explain why its dozers were working off of the Philadelphi Route, well into Oslo authorized Palestinian territory, yet in the Conclusions to the Final Military Police Report( delivered to the U.S. State Department and members of Congress) it invokes Oslo as giving it permission to be in this area. Oslo gave Israel permission to be on the Military Installation Area or the Philadephi Route. It did not give Israel permission to be on Palestinian Streets neighborhoods - over 150 meters off of the Military Installations Area. To invoke Oslo as it violated Oslo in the Conclusion of the Final Military Police Report smacks of the IDF assuming no one in the Israeli government or U.S. government would look closely at where Rachel was actually killed.
    7. The IDF has failed to adequately explain nor did the court delve into why the investigator never visited the site of the Rachel's death and why the IDF had bulldozed the site shortly after Rachel was killed.
    8. The IDF has failed to explain why three internationals all of whom were documenting and disseminating that documentation to the world were killed in a short time period in the same area of the Gaza Strip. Pinky Zuaretz has yet to satisfactorily explain how it came to pass that James Miller and Tom Hurndall and Rachel Corrie are all dead.

• Associated Press highlights Rachel Corrie's killing in coverage of Caterpillar divestment victory
  • Cheryl June 28, 2012 at 5:27 pm with 1 replies

    Eight years ago, at a march and protest that brought people together from Madison, Chicago, Iowa City and elsewhere, surrounded by riot police in full apparel and holding their rifles, Rachel's parents stood in front of the Peoria Caterpillar headquarters and requested to speak to the CAT CEO. They were refused. Now I read CAT is refusing visits from the faith communities. They have thrown up their collective hands saying they so desire peace in the mideast but this is a political question and they have no part in its answer.
    But when a dozer with MADE IN AMERICA shows up to push over somebody's home it is no longer just political. It is now personal. Personal to the family who watch their home turned into rubble, personal in the feelings of anger and frustration it creates and personal to those of us who know that this is not how we want ourselves represented. CAT has a lot to do with that.
    As I wrote in an earlier post, prior to Rachel's death these machines were sold as construction equipment and did not require a license. People at CAT knew what the end use of these dozers was and people in the U.S. government knew what the end use of these dozers was. Take a look at the U.S. State Department's Country Reports on Human Rights.......Read how long the good nuns and others were trying to get CATs ear.

    The march moves on.

• Following MSCI statement, anti-boycott orgs concede occupation's role in Caterpillar divestment
  • Cheryl June 27, 2012 at 11:10 pm

    Yes Annie, This is really exciting for so many people who have worked for years on the Stop Cat campaign in Illinois, the brave nuns who are always on the street corner and in the board room when CAT has its annual meeting, the Jewish Voices for Peace who organized, the ISMers always working hard......so many who wanted CAT to behave ethically.
    Still my basic question holds.....How was it that CAT was selling these dozers without a license and as construction equipment when everyone knew what one of their primary end uses was. That is why our government has end use monitoring at the DOS, DOD and Commerce. Construction equipment?

  • Cheryl June 27, 2012 at 9:15 pm

    Basically Caterpillar told the U.S. government what it is trying to tell the public via the CAT spokesman: We're just selling construction equipment. We aren't responsible for Israel putting on armor and using our equipment to push over houses and kill people. But I'd be really surprised if CAT over the years hadn't helped in the "making ready for the armor, weapons placement etc' so that the CAT body was easy for the Israelis to weaponize. Construction Equipment? Makes one wonder who signed off on that one.

  • Cheryl June 27, 2012 at 6:17 pm

    Hmmm. The Caterpillar spokesman is quoted as saying that Caterpillar sells its equipment to the U.S. government. If this is accurate that would mean it is most likely a foreign military sale (FMS) handled by DOD.
    When Rachel was killed, Caterpillar was selling its equipment directly to Israel through Direct Commercial Sales and it was paid for by Foreign Military Funds (FMF). In a letter to Representative Jim McDermott of Washington the U.S. government stated that the bulldozers were sold as construction equipment and did not require an export license.
    Perhaps when it was switched from commercial sales to military sales something was triggered at MSCI?

  • Cheryl June 26, 2012 at 9:54 am with 1 replies

    Ethan Felson is quoted in JTA as stating:
    He said that linking Caterpillar to Israeli practices was "nonsensical," noting that it had no say in how the U.S. military resells the tractors and that it could not legally turn down the U.S. military as a client.

    Is it a true statement that Caterpillar cannot turn down the U.S. military as a client? I thought that it was up to any company if they listed with the Commerce/State/ or Defense Depts. if they wanted to do business with them. So this statement surprises me.

• Feinstein says she talked to Sanger before Stuxnet story
  • Cheryl June 13, 2012 at 11:52 am

    Peter Bergen in a 2003 Washington Monthly article entitled "Armchair Provacateur" does an expose of Laurie Mylorie as being the Iraq expert, Judith Miller coauthor, Perle, Feith, Wolfowitz fellow traveler who was a gobetween of Saddam Hussein and Israel who turned vehemently against Hussein when she felt betrayed. She and Judith are both linked to Pipe's Mideast Forum. She is quoted by Bergan as saying that she takes satisfaction that we went to war with Iraq and got rid of Saddam and that "the rest is details"
    One of the details we now know is that Scooter and Judy would out a CIA agent and in the process a whole group of agents who were collecting intelligence on Iraq and Iran. But these were the agents who could find no link between 9-11 and WMDs and Iraq. In addition, Mylorie and Miller had ramped up the fear of anthrax, bioterrorism etc. that supported Rice's "mushroom cloud" description.
    Today, we read that an investigation into the "leakers" is beginning that people are writing could bring down the Obama administration. The major leak is of course that Israel and the U.S. have jointly developed the cyberwar virus.
    Prior to becoming Clinton's Secretary of Defense, Judy Millers boyfriend, Les Aspin was Chair of the House Armed Services Committee. Dick Cheney was then Secretary of Defense. In a speech to JINSA, Aspin spoke of strong support for Israel
    and the need to develop a lighter more agile military that could carry on several wars at once. He was a supporter of the Iran Contra activity.

  • Cheryl June 13, 2012 at 10:15 am

    Scooter Libby's famous email line about turning in clusters and being connected at the roots I assumed was reference to the connected ones now moving on from Iraq and ramping up their Iran move. And, that Judith should come back to life because she would be needed.
    That Feinstein mentioned working with Sanger at the Aspen institute tweaked my memory as well as others here on Mondo of the intelligence leak that brought down the Plame circle of covert agents. Plames's husband attempted to stop the push to war with Iraq by debunking the Bush administration twisted intelligence.

  • Cheryl June 12, 2012 at 2:56 pm with 1 replies

    Judith Miller presented at the 2003 Aspen Institute along with among others, Dennis Ross. Susan Rice was in attendance. The topic was the Middle East.

    Note that Judith Miller was romantically linked with Les Aspin, Clinton's first Sec. of Defense, following Dick Cheney. Aspin chaired the House Armed Services Committee and as such spoke at JINSA..... He was shortlived as Clinton's Sec. of Defense. According to web articles, Miller would quote him even as she was linked with him.
    Also, on the day of his death, the British investigator of WMDs, David Kelly, responded to an email from Judith Miller, in which he mentioned "dark" players.
    His death was ruled a suicide but the investigation remains controversial. At the time, Blair's chief communications aide called Kelly a Walter Mitty type person......google Fisk to read about his take on this.
    Apparently Judith Miller, widely known to use anonymous sources, unnamed sources etc., quoted Kelly by name in her book on bioterrorism.

• 'No amount of reading and word of mouth could have prepared me for the reality' -- Remembering Rachel Corrie
  • Cheryl March 18, 2012 at 8:56 am

    The photograph above with Rachel looking out upon the earthmover machines is notable for the metal wall/fence along the left hand side. The IDF was constructing this wall while Rachel was there and its purpose was to separate the Philadelphi Route which runs alongside the Eqyptian border from the Palestinian controlled area. Israel had full right to the road running between Egypt and Gaza as a military installations/patrol road. This was per Oslo Agreements. The Philadelphi Road is on the other side of the metal wall - not viewable to the reader. Per Oslo, this area where we view the machines working is Palestinian area, thus the homes, - not theIsraeli controlled area known as the Philadelphi Road.
    The Final IDF Military Report on the Death of Rachel Corrie, ( overseen by Sharon's Chief of Staff, Dov Weisglas, if we are to believe Sharon's statements to the U.S. Ambassador to Israel) attempts to convince the report reader that Rachel was killed on the Philadelphi Road. She was not. She was killed very close to a row of Palestinian homes - in front of the last home standing adjacent to the area where demolished homes had been bulldozed in. The Report also attempts to make the reader believe that per Oslo the IDF was within its rights to be working in this area. Again, per Oslo, the IDF was given the Philadelphi Road. They were not given the land over a hundred and fifty meters from the Road.
    As you look at this photo one can well imagine that the IDF would not be pleased that the ISM was doing such a good job at getting this kind of documentation out of Rafah and onto the internet. Anyone looking at this photo can see that the IDF is on the wrong side of the fence - in violation of their commitment to Oslo.

• Students stage dramatic walkout on Avigdor Lieberman mouthpiece in Michigan
  • Cheryl December 4, 2011 at 3:55 pm with 3 replies

    Couldn't have happened to a better sponsor. About 8 years ago I came across CAMERA and was shocked to read some of their output and also watch them from a distance as CAMERA representatives worked to lambast a young community college newspaper reporter who had written something negative about Israel. I would be surprised if this young person ever mentioned the country of Israel again after CAMERA finished with him.

    I am so impressed with these young people and their extremely effective protest. You are right Annie. They make my heart surge and also, give me hope.

• Rafeef Ziadah - 'We teach life, sir'
  • Cheryl November 14, 2011 at 12:36 pm

    I am showing my ignorance here but who is this young woman? She says she was the media coordinator for the coalition in Gaza so to what coalition is she referring ? And, it looks like this recitation took place in London so is she stationed there or just traveling?

    Powerful.

    Oops, sorry. I just googled her and got some info.

• Contradictions be damned: Colonel Pinky’s last stand in the case of Rachel Corrie
  • Cheryl July 15, 2011 at 7:53 am

    Thanks to Hatim and tree for getting me thinking about all the inconsistencies in the IDF testimony and the many missing pieces: From Arutz Sheva:

    "Corrie was a member of the anti-Israel International Solidarity Movement and was killed during a demonstration against the demolition of a building used by terrorists to shoot at soldiers. A pro-Hamas flotilla boat was named after her.

    Her family and ISM activists sued, based on the claim that the IDF deliberately killed her. Subsequent footage released by the IDF showed that Corrie was in a trench, out of the line of vision of the driver of the bulldozer. Zuaretz added that a pile of rubble hid her from view and that she actually was killed not by the bulldozer but by a concrete pillar that was struck by the machine and which fell on her."

    This concrete pillar line is the story the Israelis told to the U.S. immediately after Rachel was killed. In fact, it was the conclusion of the first of the two "investigations the Israelis did and it was this conclusion they shared with members of Congress, then Ambassador Kurtzer and others. The conclusion was that the bulldozer did not run over Rachel and she was behind this pile of rubble and that a concrete piece from the rubble
    fell on her. It was their official story.
    Now the bulldozer driver and the commander of the entire unit on the ground both have given testimony that it was immediately clear that the bulldozer had run over her. Pinky lied from the get go and eight years later his lies continue. His lie traveled all the way from Gaza to Tel Aviv to the U.S. Congress and the State Department.

  • Cheryl July 15, 2011 at 7:40 am

    Again, regarding the video Haaretz reports:

    "At a news conference Monday in Jerusalem, the Corrie family -- which is pursuing a civil lawsuit against Israel -- said the military has only provided the court with one black-and-white video, depicting events before and after Corrie was killed.

    But the family says other video exists, including color images that were released by an Israel Defense Forces official and used in an Israeli television documentary. The family also obtained a third video.

    "There's more video out there that needs to be turned over," said Sarah Corrie Simpson, Rachel's sister.

    Israeli officials have argued in court that they have provided all the video they have."

  • Cheryl July 15, 2011 at 7:33 am

    Also from the Jerusalem Post:

    "Among the evidence the family claims has been withheld from them are surveillance tapes that show color footage of events before and after Corrie’s death. They claim the footage was used in a Channel 2 documentary, but that the IDF has denied that the color footage exists.

    According to the Corrie family, IDF officials did submit as evidence a black and white surveillance video with footage immediately before and after Corrie’s death.

    “That video is poorer quality, incomplete and black-and-white, not color,” said Corrie’s father, Craig Corrie.

    In a statement on Monday evening, a Defense Ministry representative dismissed the family’s allegations as baseless.

    “As opposed to what is being claimed, the video in question and all evidence held by the state has been transferred years ago to the plaintiffs. As has been stated previously, the state does not have any additional evidence,” the statement read.

    The Corrie family also claims that there are discrepancies between a photograph of the bulldozer that they say killed Corrie taken by International Solidarity Movement activists, and a bulldozer shown on footage presented by the IDF.

    They also say that a surveillance camera in the area where Corrie was killed was turned to face away from the scene five minutes before she died."

  • Cheryl July 15, 2011 at 7:28 am

    From the Palestine Chronicles:
    "Zuartez, the highest ranking officer with operational command responsibility called as a government witness, recognised before the judge that he and his troops knew Rachel and her fellow activists from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) were non-violent protesters. However, he argued they were aiding “Palestinian terrorists” by acting as “human shields” which is why he saw no reason to stop the bulldozer works. “In 2003 when Rachel was killed, Rafah was a war zone and reasonable people would not be there unless they had aims of attacking our forces” he added.

    Craig Corrie, Rachel Corrie’s father, warns of the seriousness of such statements as, in his view, they show “a profound lack of regard for civilians from a very high-ranking officer in the Israeli military.” It means anyone in a war area is “fair game”, said Mr. Corrie."

  • Cheryl July 14, 2011 at 9:19 pm

    Thanks tree for compiling the "what we now know" follow-up to the trial. In addition, the Jerusalem Post reports that the Corries state that five minutes before Rachel was killed the surveillance camera panned away from the site and the Guardian reports that the Corries accuse Israel of withholding video evidence and of misleading the U.S. government on where Rachel's body lay.

    So that poses the question of why Israel would need to mislead the U.S. on where the body lay. Israel wanted the U.S. to believe that the driver and more importantly the commader of the bulldozer could not see her because she was on the other side of the mound. Now we have two witnesses clearly agreeing with the civilian witnesses all of whom said that Rachel's body lady between the bulldozer and the mound not on the other side of the mound.
    Hmmmm.....and why would the camera pan away five minutes before her death and then Israel not present the same video as evidence that Channel 2 news carried shortly after Rachel's death ?
    Walter Mitty land indeed.

• State Department kicks can down the road on Israel's crippling of Munib Masri
  • Cheryl June 4, 2011 at 8:15 am

    Since an American citizen was injured by a foreign military at a nonviolent demonstration what should be watched for is an American call for an investigation into the incident. In this case, since he is a dual citizen and Jordan is a close ally it would seem plausible that both countries would expect to see an investigation.
    The next step of course is that the Israeli investigations to date have been self-serving and I would guess that many in the State Dept. know this and are uncomfortable by it. We know without a doubt that the Tom Hurndall and James Miller investigations were not credible. We know that the State Dept. itself has stated that without equivocation Rachel's investigation was not credible and stood by that assessment on several different occasions. So the subsequent hurdle is to have an independent source collecting all information before the Israeli government decides how they will spin it to get ahead of the PR problem.
    So let's say the Israeli's do an investigation and it can be proven to be a sham. Then the next question is what does the U.S. and Jordan do about that. To date, the U.S. has done very little actively to support their citizens in realizing justice. Unless they are trying behind the scenes.
    However, the U.S. government itself becomes responsible if their funding/equipment is being utilized in committing human rights violations. State/Defense/Commerce all have oversight responsibilities in these areas. The trouble is, I believe, they are adept at circumventing these responsibilities if they do not want to intercede which we can assume is the case with Israel. So, they don't collect required data, they don't have experienced personal or investigational personal working on the specific case. They wait for the Israeli's to do the investigation and after much time has lapsed and the public interest has died and facts have grown cold they can ignore the oversight requirements by not assessing the quality of the investigation or by stating that they themselves have no way to gather facts....many ways to not truly look at any individual case - even thought it is mandated by law that they do.

  • Cheryl June 4, 2011 at 7:50 am

    I highly doubt the U.S. government was offering to pay for medical care.
    They may be offering to assist in making sure he is getting adequate medical care by offering names of doctors/hospitals etc . and thinking through how payment could be made but it is highly doubtful they were actually saying that the U.S. government would pay for such care. Now they might arrange a meeting or at least give suggestions to the family regarding who to meet with in the Israeli government in case the Israeli government wanted to offer some hush money or medical care money in hopes of preventing legal movement down the road.
    The more important point is that if we as Americans want to see justice pursued then it needs to be the Defense Attaches (Defense) or possibly other State Dept. departments (Political) that need to be involved. The American Citizens Service Department concentrates on taking care of personal needs, not justice.

  • Cheryl June 4, 2011 at 12:37 am

    While it is the responsibility of the State Dept. to provide assistance, it is also the responsibility of the State Dept. to determine if a Leahy Amendment violation occurred. It is illegal to use American funded weapons in human rights violations. This determination of human rights violations begins at the Embassy level.
    My sense is that if the Embassy keeps their involvement to a minimum, then they can honestly say that they have no evidence of Israel committing human rights violations. So it is in the State Dept's. interest to keep their assistance at a American Citizen Services level, a sort of see no evil hear no evil response

• State Department blames flotilla participants for 'risks' they incur from Israel
  • Cheryl June 2, 2011 at 4:21 pm with 3 replies

    " We want to just reiterate that there are established and efficient mechanisms for getting humanitarian assistance through to Gaza, " Toner
    thinks we are stupid. Does he mean the tunnels? Toner and his boss Clinton actually believe they can spout this garbage and no one will push back.
    The first question has to be, "Have you been to Gaza?"
    Toner, Clinton and Obama - none of them would have been part of the Civil Rights movement nor would they have been in the streets of Cairo because it is not pretty enough for them. not filled with beautiful meaningless words. The streets, the seas scare them.
    They are unable to stop settlement building, they are unable to deter Netanyahu, they are unable get a credible investigation into an American citizen's death let alone have the stomach to bring peace to the Liberty survivors as they go to their graves aware that their government, that government whose highest duty is to protect its' citizens, deserted them.

  • Cheryl June 2, 2011 at 1:57 pm

    I note that Mr. Toner does not talk about who has the right to be in these waters. He talks about it being provocative. When Rachel stood in front of the Nasrallah home she had more than every right to be there. Under Oslo, this was Palestinian land. But Israeli power means they can blockade or bulldoze wherever they please and America will stand by and say things like we have a travel advisory in place or we think this is provacative. I think it is clear that if Mr. Tomer had been working during the Freedom Riders journey to the South he would have called it provocative and suggested that a travel advisory was in place because danger could be anticipated. So it confuses me why Obama went to Cairo and tells folks to emulate the Civil Rights movement and nonviolent resistance or did I misunderstand him?

  • Cheryl June 2, 2011 at 1:46 pm

    Because Pat Tillman was killed in Iraq by fellow Americans.
    Nobody touches Israel. Remember Congress jumping up and down like Rumplestiltskins. Nobody touches Israel.

• Reality imitates the dream in the Rachel Corrie case in Haifa
  • Cheryl May 27, 2011 at 10:22 am

    I think it is also important to note in reference to this trial that the U.S. government is already on record as stating that the investigation carried out by the IDF and signed off on by Military Adjutant General Finkelstein finding no fault with the IDF, that this investigation without equivocation did not meet the standard of a thorough credible transparent investigation. It is also important to note that when Prime Minister Sharon spoke to U.S. representatives he placed the investigation under Dov Weisglas, his chief of staff to oversee. Again, the bulldozer driver and bulldozer commander have contradictory statements regarding whether the bulldozer ran over her. But in the trial, the company commander, situated in a nearby APC states that it was clear to him as he approached Rachel's place of death with the bulldozer still sitting nearby and tracks readily observable that the bulldozer had run over her.
    My point is that the Sharon government at the highest levels put forth a narrative to anyone interested, but especially to Congress, that ignored contradictions and knowdedge from those on the ground.

  • Cheryl May 27, 2011 at 10:03 am

    I think it is important to note that it may go beyond "protesters". In a six week period of time in the same area of Gaza -a two mile stretch (so the same battalions/commanders could be involved) three people who were documenting IDF activity were killed: Writer Rachel Corrie, Photographer Tom Hurndall (died later), and HBO DocumenterJames Miller. Interestingly, Rachel wrote of the concern that under the media intensity surrounding the invasion of Iraq, Gaza would be forgotten and with eyes averted toward Iraq, Israel would make a change the facts on the ground move.

• We can only pray that Congress's supine conduct before a rightwing foreign leader will have political consequences
  • Cheryl May 24, 2011 at 4:58 pm

    This runaround the President has been occurring for some time now. In 2003 when Bush announced the "Roadmap" I remember being shocked that a contingent from Congress had arrived in Tel Aviv almost simultaneously to inform the Israelis not to worry. If I am not mistaken, Lantos led the charge.
    It became clear that it was not the White House that gave the Israelis cover, it was Congress. I remember telling family members at the time, that if the world turned on the state of Israel, the blame could be placed at the feet of our Congress. As they jumped up and down like Rumpelstiltskin today, I remembered that the court of world opinion has turned away from the red, white and blue.

    Former powerful Representative Jane Harmon voiced it well, when she asked how could it be that the Congress and the U.S were caught unaware of the uprisings in the Mideast and North Africa. When Congress is giving standing ovations to a man who has been a part of a step by step process to acquire land to create a greater Israel, who humiliates their President and Vice President, and who fails to tell the rest of the story....it should surprise none of us that the U.S. is falling out of favor.

• Bahrain-- the sideshow
  • Cheryl March 28, 2011 at 2:28 pm

    and from Cindy Corrie, referencing the same testimony of fall 2010 :
    Regarding the multiple references that there are no civilians in war zones, Cindy Corrie, Rachel’s mother said, “This was startling to our family, and to others in the courtroom. Rafah is a densely populated town. In fact, Rachel was killed defending the home of two Palestinian families-a pharmacist, an accountant, their wives and small children. It was extremely troubling for their existence to be categorically denied.”
    Court today was attended by representatives from the US Embassy, Human Rights Watch and Adalah, a legal and human rights organization.

  • Cheryl March 28, 2011 at 2:23 pm

    "and may very well be the beginning of the end of the very notion of "civilian"in conflicts."
    From http://www.rachelcorriefoundation.org:
    Israeli military Colonel states, “There are no civilians in war zones.”
    Haifa, Israel - Several State witnesses testified in Haifa District Court on Monday, September 6, 2010, in the civil law suit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza.
    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.
    One of the witnesses, known to the court as Yossi, was a Colonel in the Engineering Corps. He was responsible for writing operating manuals for military bulldozers and other equipment. He also conducted a simulation of what the bulldozer driver would have been able to see. In his testimony:
     He repeatedly insisted that there are no civilians in a war zone. His assertion disregards the reality in the Palestinian Occupied Territories as well as international humanitarian law, which was created to protect civilians in armed conflict situations.
     Yossi contradicted his own March 2003 testimony, given to military investigators, that the armored personnel carrier (APC) at the incident was intended to protect both soldiers and civilians. Today, he said the APC was there only for the safety of the drivers.

• This website is 5 years old
  • Cheryl March 28, 2011 at 7:58 am

    Dear Phil and Adam,
    I am an almost daily reader of this site and have on occasion contributed with comments. I am grateful for the breadth of information you post and the wide range of reactions to that info. Many members of my family have been divergently active on issues that are examined on Mondoweiss and this has helped us (and more specifically me) to understand this crazy world of which we are a part. We often internally discuss posts on Mondo.
    I think you are helping some of us to be better people. A hug from Iowa.

• On the 8th anniversary of Rachel Corrie’s stand in Gaza
  • Cheryl March 16, 2011 at 7:18 am

    How nice of you, Samud. Thank you.
    Yes, I read Mondo on a daily basis and am grateful for all of the information I receive.
    I am amazed at people commenting on the U.S. government's role in all of this shamefulness. I am amazed at the flashmobs. I am heartened by the Jewish Voices for Peace work. I am again grateful to all who contribute so the rest of us can read and absorb.
    For me today is a time to reflect, reassess and think about a way to contribute to education and action.
    In the next month my family will be closely watching the trial in Haifa - what a long drawn out affair.
    Again, thanks Samud.

• Weiner-Baird debate lived up to its billing
  • Cheryl March 4, 2011 at 4:00 pm

    Brian Baird spoke with credibility because he had actually been to both Sderot and Gaza. Anthony Weiner struggled with wanting to have "balance"
    yet had never been to Gaza nor had he requested information from Representative Baird after Baird's trips to Gaza.
    Additionally, Representative Weiner's derogatory demeanor toward Roger Cohen left me with great respect for Baird's demeanor.
    And what, Ambassador Cunningham did not solicit first hand knowledge of the effect of Operation Castlead on Gazans because he was afraid the Israeli's would say "no"? And, this is the person who oversees the Leahy provision on human rights violations? Wow.

  • Cheryl March 4, 2011 at 2:23 pm

    Weiner states that Israel was at war and so justifies the bombings and use of phosphorus, albeit horrific but necessary. I do not recall him addressing Baird's statement that major destruction occurred after an area was secured. Did Israel declare war on Gaza or on Hamas or is this no longer necesary with the war on terror?

• $3 billion in fighter jets to Israel: reward or bribe?
  • Cheryl November 15, 2010 at 2:15 pm

    Since the money for the extra fighter jets and support against the stated "delegitimization" attempts are what is publicly being offered, I wonder what the private "too sensitive for the public eye" U.S. promises are?

• Israeli forces toss gas bomb on protester near Hebron, causing 'severe burns to the entire body of Mohammed Jamal Abu Hashim, 14'
  • Cheryl October 3, 2010 at 6:32 am

    The following are forwarded emails from Jen Marlowe and Cindy Corrie:

    With support from many around the world, Jen Marlowe has created beautiful work to help mark the ten-year-anniversary of "Black October" when thirteen Palestinians (twelve citizens of Israel) were killed in 2000 by police who responded to unarmed protestors with lethal ammunition. In the email below, Jen recalls receiving news of the killing of Aseel Asleh, her seventeen-year-old friend who was one of those killed during protests and who died wearing his "Seeds of Peace" t-shirt.

    Our family is currently in Haifa in northern Israel, very near Aseel's village of Arrabeh. We have visited his home and met his strong, loving, and determined family who keep alive the thoughtful, inclusive, gentle spirit that was Aseel. We are witnessing, too, remembrances (by both Palestinian and Jewish Israelis) of the thirteen killed in October 2000 and the continuing call for justice in their cases.

    The link below to Aseel's "Peaceful Thoughts," read by readers from around the world in their own languages, is an inspiration. Please take a moment to read Jen's message, to listen to Aseel's words, and to consider joining the "October global call to theatrical action" by creating or attending a reading or performance of "There is a Field," the play that shares more of the story (link below).

    Thank you! And please forward widely.

    Cindy Corrie
    Subject: Ten years without Aseel

    October 2, 2010
    Ten years ago today, on the morning of October 2, 2000, I got a phone call. It was Adam Shapiro, my boss at the Seeds of Peace Center in Jerusalem.
    “Aseel was killed this morning.”
    Aseel. Aseel Asleh, 17 year old, Palestinian citizen of Israel, star participant of Seeds of Peace. What happened? I almost didn’t ask, it felt like a stupid question. The 2nd Intifada had just erupted, the whole region was engulfed in violence, what did I think happened? But was he at a demonstration? Was he shot accidentally? What were the specifics? Aseel was dead? Impossible. How? Aseel?
    I hung up the phone and sat on my couch. I didn’t know what to do. What do you do when you find out that a kid you love was killed? What’s the proper thing to do? I had just made coffee and it was sitting on the table in front of me. All I can remember thinking was: Do I still drink the coffee? I guess that’s what they call shock.
    The question of “what do I do?” stayed with me as I watched Aseel’s family and friends deal with their grief and traumatic loss. It grew as I realized that the events of October 2000, in which 12 Palestinian citizens of Israel were killed, were a collective trauma that sent deep and reverberating shock waves through the entire community of Palestinians inside Israel.
    Making sure that Aseel’s story was told, and guaranteeing that his own words would continue to be heard: This was what I could do.
    I hope you will take a moment to watch Peaceful Thoughts, a short video of people from all over the world, some of them Aseel’s friends, reading a powerful piece of Aseel’s writing, in the beauty of their own languages. I hope you will circulate this video widely today--and after.
    And, I hope you will choose to participate in October’s global call to theatrical action, and mark the ten-year anniversary of Black October by organizing a reading of “There is a Field.” Participating in the action can be as simple as hosting a few friends in your home and reading the play out loud together.
    On October 1, the play was performed in Seattle and Ashfield. Today, it will be performed again in Seattle, in Jerusalem (in Arabic) and in Skopje, Macedonia (in Macedonian.) Next week, it is being performed (or read) in Dubai, Brooklyn, and Minneapolis. The list goes on and on. I put a call to theatrical action out to the world and communities from every corner of the globe responded: we will not forget.
    As we confront brutality, violence, systemic injustice and oppression in our world, I know many of us will continue to struggle with the question of “what do I do?”
    I don’t pretend to offer easy answers. But making sure that stories like Aseel’s are told, that voices like Aseel’s have the space to be heard---this is something we all can—and must--do.

• TIME on the Corrie trial: 'it has already validated anew Richard Nixon's timeless observation that it is the cover-up that does you in'
  • Cheryl September 11, 2010 at 10:04 am with 1 replies

    So sorry....I love them too, but my mind keeps searching for ways to help them, to escort them down this path and I cannot forget that they first turned to their government for assistance and guidance. They first placed their trust and good will in the hands of the American government to do the right thing. Some in the U.S. government have stepped out to help them. Many did not.

    When peace finally arrives and the peoples of Israel and Palestine are truly moving forward in healing this terrible wound, I dream that Cindy will play her flute with an orchestra from this land. I dream that she plays with the children of such a land and with the "big people's" orchestra. She is an extraordinary flutist and the world would do well to hear her in that capacity. Mr. Obama might even want to invite her to the Oval office to play.....Craig and she could enlighten his people on Mideast policy....but the music could be dessert.....

    Enough of dreams. Now back to bulldozers.

  • Cheryl September 11, 2010 at 9:47 am with 1 replies

    "As transparent as a sandstorm"
    It was President Bush who received Prime Minister Sharon's assertion that the U.S. government could be assured of a thorough, credible, transparent investigation. I note that when the Obama administration discussed the flotilla investigation they inserted a word that I had read Cindy C. use: "impartial" and then the U.S. handed the investigation over to the Israeli's to accomplish. I suspect this strategy falls under the same category as having those who ruined the economy be given the opportunity to fix the economy..... The U.S has had plenty of info on the failure of the Israeli's to credibly investigate.

    While many lines pop out at me from this article and from the Blumenthal article the line that is haunting me is Max Blumenthal's:
    " which was corrupted from the start by the investigators’ apparent attempts to find evidence that a bulldozer did not in fact kill Rachel."

    In the Command Report, which is the first report the IDF shared with the American Government, the military states that the bulldozer did not run over Rachel. This is the report that Ambassador Kurzer received. It is the report that the Defense Dept. received through the Defense Attache and it is the report that the Israelis shared with Congress.
    I remember speaking with a State Dept. employee in the Political/Military section. who told me that it is all about the bulldozer.

• 'There Are No Civilians In Wartime': Rachel Corrie’s family confronts the Israeli military in court
  • Cheryl September 9, 2010 at 6:15 pm with 2 replies

    link to time.com"

    Time at the above site is carrying an article entitled" Israel's Military on the Spot in Hearing Over Activist's Death" - worth reading...Craig Corrie states that:" the lies were like the lies of a seven year old."

• Jews at CFR, c'ted
  • Cheryl June 5, 2010 at 12:26 pm with 3 replies

    Actually, maybe I contributed to this problem. I phoned into CSPAN this a.m. and said that I did not trust this speaker....that I had read that the people from his group were neoconish and that I had not ad a chance to verify this but that I did not now trust him. I said trust was a problem that many people are now having with government and the news media.
    I asked why Cindy and Craig were not invited on CSPAN when they had more knowledge than anyone in the U.S. on the failure of Israel and the U.S. to secure credible investigations.....

    I think they cut me off about here! I never know when to stop.

• Updates on the MV Rachel Corrie
  • Cheryl June 5, 2010 at 2:19 am with 1 replies

    Thank you to everyone for working on this and keeping so amany of us posted.
    Cindy, Craig and I have been sharing back and forth what we are reading here on Mondo and on the official Free Gaza Site.
    FYI: Craig emailed me a great Jon Stewart of a couple of nights ago:
    link to thedailyshow.com
    Something to watch while we wait.

  • Cheryl June 5, 2010 at 12:03 am with 3 replies

    My message has been pretty much the same: Stop this tragedy by making a strong statement in support of the Irish position that the MV Rachel Corrie and all ships be allowed to reach Gaza through international waters. That the seige of Gaza and the blockade is illegal and the U.S. support of it is destructive to not only Israel but U.S. national security.
    I will stop here although my head is so full of facts regarding investigations and the failure to obtain credible ones and how that ultimately leads to a ship sailing from Ireland going to Gaza named the M.V. Rachel Corrie. As grassroots organizers, I am sure you have studied that William Carlos Williams' poem that begins: So much depends upon a red wheelbarrow....

    I sometimes blog on http://www.mondoweiss.net so will probably post info regarding this email there. I believe I posted about my ringing the bell at the Axelrod event. Funny about my little broken bell. When I phoned Karen Richardson today she remembered my now broken bell from when I practiced nonviolent civil disobedience at Obama's campaign office.

    Finally, I urge you to visit the Free Gaza website. This is the website of the folks trying to break the siege of Gaza. I read they are led by four old women of Vietnam protest days. But that is unimportant. What I found fascinating was that there was a note from two of my most favorite people in the world....Cindy and Craig Corrie....Rachel's mom and dad....the people I asked General Jones to come to Iowa to meet. I believe I asked that David and Denis be invited also so that we could help the U.S. understand what is happening in the Mideast and within our own State Dept. I believe I mentioned that I am a pretty good cook and we have several open beds in an old victorian house where we could all sit down together and explore what investigations should look like, why Israel is unwilling or incapable of doing credible ones, why the defense attache should not be the person carrying messages to the Israelis in that he is also responsible for promoting military commerce, etc. etc. In fact, i want to invite all of you. Sometimes you need to get away from the hubbub to think clearly. That is what Iowa offers.

    Thank you for your time. All of you.... I hope I did not confuse you. Again, after seven years of begging for help, walking the halls of Congress, ringing bells in Democratic candidate's offices, documenting, documenting, documenting. ..my mind just gets too filled with very confusing facts. If only you had connected me with Axelrod as he requested I would havel sat down and made myself get organized with the most pertinent facts to facilitate helping him and the Obama team foresee the tragedy of the Free Gaza Flotella.
    Best,
    Cheryl Brodersen, Rachel Corrie's aunt
    P.S Did BP ever try to get through to you guys and have this much trouble?
    P.S.S. I almost always believe in second chances. Again, best.

  • Cheryl June 4, 2010 at 11:59 pm

    I am posting the following email in two parts as I think it may be too long for one post. This was sent to Mitch Stewart of the DNC, B.Bond,Valerie Jarrett's assistant in the Office of Public Engagement at the White House and a correspondent for ABC news. None of them returned an email. I have made repeated calls to General Jones office at the National Security office. I have attempted to talk to Axelrod and Denis McDonough. I have talked with an assistant to Susan Rice and the head of the Israel/Palestine Desk at State.

    Dear Mitch,
    Please note that I have included several people on this email. I do this in the spirit of transparency, openness and fairness that Iowans are noted for.
    Several weeks ago at an event in Des Moines, Iowa that both you and David Axelrod attended, you told Mr. Axelrod that you would get my contact information for him. You failed to do that. I do not remember you requesting either my email address or my phone number. Am I mistaken about that? The problem is that I had/have a huge amount of information regarding the topic I broached with Mr. Axelrod. That topic was Rachel Corrie and the failure of the Israeli government to secure a thorough, credible, transparent investigation into her death. Mr. Axelrod stated he knew nothing about this which is now very unfortunate because I and my family could have given him a solid grounding that would have prepared him for what is now a possible impending tragedy: The MV Rachel Corrie is proceeding toward the Gaza shore and has stated that they will stop in no other ports. Mr. Netanhayu on Thursday told his cabinet that Israel will not let it through.
    You see for over seven years my family has sought the assistance of the U.S. government to secure a credible investigation. In fact, the Israeli government assured the U.S. government this would occur. In writing and available for the world to see we have repeated statements that the Israeli government has been asked by the U.S. government to secure such an investigation and the Israeli government has ignored the request.
    That is why my family brought suit against the State of Israel which is now on going. I won't say much about that. You can go to http://www.rachelcorriefoundation.org and click trial updates to see just a smattering of what we have learned so far.
    But, by failing to connect me with Mr. Axelrod so I could inform him of the vast amount of knowledge my family holds that could have informed policy regarding this current crisis that has resulted in needless death and the potential for more you forced me to try to pour my information out to others. Sometimes, I fear that I am an annoyance the way Martha Mitchell was an annoyance to Richard Nixon or Rosa Parks was an annoyance to white supremacy ideology. I have been calling the White House, to Valerie Jarretts office, trying to reach Axelrod and McDonough, trying to reach Susan Rice at the U.N and Bill Burns at State.
    My message has been pretty much the same: Stop this tragedy by making a strong statement in support of the Irish position that the MV Rachel Corrie and all ships be allowed to reach Gaza through international waters. That the seige of Gaza and the blockade is illegal and the U.S. support of it is destructive to not only Israel but U.S. national security.

  • Cheryl June 4, 2010 at 11:49 pm

    The following is only part of the article from:
    link to wnd.com

    A Free Press
    For A Free People
    Founded 1997 Friday, June 4, 2010 Evening Edition

    WND Exclusive TROUBLE IN THE HOLY LAND
    White House linked to flotilla organizers
    Israel official ties president's adviser to controversial 'Free Gaza Movement'
    Posted: June 05, 2010
    12:00 am Eastern

    By Jerome R. Corsi
    © 2010 WorldNetDaily

    John Brennan

    A top adviser to President Obama is the contact person within the White House for communications with the Free Gaza Movement over plans to challenge Israel's blockade of the terrorist Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, according to a reputable source close to the Netanyahu government.

    The source, a career official whose reliability was established through his tips for the book, "Why Israel Can't Wait," identified John O. Brennan, deputy national security adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism, as the contact.

    The allegation raises the bizarre possibility that the Free Gaza Movement's flotilla action in the Mediterranean was being coordinated with the White House, something that would align with a shift in U.S. policy toward Israel being debated within the Obama administration.

    Mike Hammer, a National Security Council spokesman, told WND flatly the report "is not true."

    Read all about the people who surround President Obama. Get Aaron Klein's new best-seller, "The Manchurian President," at WND's Superstore!

    His response was followed quickly by another denial, when WND asked if Hammer also rejected the claim Brenner was a key force within the White House pushing for a change in U.S. policy toward Israel in demanding an end to the blockade, as the WND source reported.

    (Story continues below)

    "John Brennan is quite busy in his job as the president's counterterrorism and homeland security adviser, relentlessly working to keep the country safe," Hammer said in a e-mail to WND. "The administration has others who are responsible for our Middle East policy. So, again, not true."

    However, Brennan's activities in his "counterterrorism" work have involved him in situations with domestic groups known to have ties to Middle East terrorism.

• Voices for Evergreen divestment
  • Cheryl June 3, 2010 at 5:05 pm

    I am sitting on my sofa with my little dog, Shotgun Bezzie ( I now sometimes call her that because it was suggested to my husband that taking a shotgun to her was the answer to her repeated need for attention due to cancer cell vaccine induced brain inflammation producing seizures) when I listened to this Evergreen video.
    After a full day of phone calling to the State Department, the American Delegation to the United Nations and trying to reach David Axelrod (they said he would call me back) and telling them that we want a strong statement from President Obama supporting the Irish call for the MV Rachel Corrie and other ships to sail unhindered through international waters and laughing at the idea that Israel can lead a credible investigation and expressing my outrage that Joe Biden and the U.S. Government can even suggest that Israel can accomplish such an investigation, and suggesting that if they had done an independent investigation into Rachel's death then we might not now be crying for these newest deaths .....and inviting them all for dinner....and of course, getting rebuffed......I listened to this Evergreen tape and I felt so proud to be rubbing shoulders with such fine and thoughtful people. I again smiled. I again have energy.

    I think we should emulate Evergreen and make converting Iowa State to a Cat Free Zone a state wide project of high priority.

• 'In the spirit of humanity!' --a look at the MV Rachel Corrie
  • Cheryl June 2, 2010 at 4:47 pm

    The following is the U.S. postion on the Israeli ability to do a credible investigation.....this after numerous repeated written statements by the U.S. State Dept. that Israel did not do a credible investigation into Rachel's death and that Israel ignored the U.S. request for the same.

    Hummmm............

    Remarks by Ambassador Alejandro Wolff, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at a Security Council Stakeout

    Alejandro Wolff
    Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations
    U.S. Mission to the United Nations
    New York, NY
    June 1, 2010

    AS DELIVERED

    Amb. Wolff: Good morning thanks for staying as long, a good 13 hours, happy June. …we adopted a presidential statement today on the incident that took place on the Eastern Mediterranean yesterday . The negotiations over that took place after the meeting that the Council had where most of the members spoke. We’ve had a long drawn out discussion and the fruits of our labors are before you. So I’m happy to take any questions.

    Reporter: You just heard what the President of the Council said, he said a number of things. He said that the investig—he believes that the word impartial means independent, ie, not by Israel in terms of the investigation. And he believes that condemning the acts that resulted in deaths is a condemnation of the Israeli military force primarily. Is that your understanding of the text that was adopted?

    Amb. Wolff: No that’s not our understanding. If you read the text carefully, it makes clear what it means and what it doesn’t mean. We are convinced and support an Israeli investigation as I called for in my statement earlier and have every confidence that Israel can conduct a credible and impartial, transparent, prompt investigation internally.

    Reporter: You just said because the text refers to the Secretary-General’s comments, that this means the Secretary-General will be appointing the investigators.

    Amb. Wolff: Again I think there’s no reason to conclude that. The Secretary-General called for a full investigation. And we think the Israelis are capable of doing a full investigation.

    Reporter: Do you believe that the war in Israel should have been mentioned in the first part of this text, so far as the use of force?

    Amb. Wolff: Well it’s important—the important thing to bear in mind is this is an incident that is still being investigated. There’s a lot of questions about it. Its origins, the intentions, the contacts the Israelis had with the organizers in terms of alternatives, and again as we mentioned in our statement earlier today, we had a similar incident in 2008. There are ways that are effective, that are non-provocative, and not likely to result in these sorts of actions, if one wanted to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza, through the appropriate mechanisms. This sort of incident when you have statements coming from some of the participants in the flotilla, suggesting that maybe it was not solely to provide humanitarian assistance, but it may have been intended to provoke – not that everyone on that flotilla had that intention – give pause. And so that’s why an investigation is so important. And that’s why we thought it was important not to pre-judge any outcomes or pre-judge any conclusions before the Israeli government has an opportunity to do that full investigation.

    Reporter: Would it be fair to say, some would say that this has been drafted in sort of a vague way so that each side can read it however they want. The President of the Security Council has just given a reading that is quite different than yours. Was that, is this the only way that we can reach compromises to have it so that each side can see it as it wants it? If the Secretary-General is to name—names investigators will the U.S. oppose it? I mean, he seems to expect that that will happen.

    Amb. Wolff: The text reads pretty clearly to me. And the Secretary-General calls for a full investigation, and we believe the Israelis can do a full investigation. Thanks very much.

  • Cheryl June 2, 2010 at 4:37 pm

    Cindy --

    The MV Rachel Corrie The MV Rachel Corrie
    We are heart-sick and outraged about the brutal attack launched by the Israeli Military on the Free Gaza Movement's flotilla of boats in the early morning hours (Eastern Mediterranean time), Monday, May 31. The boats were carrying civilian passengers and humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip, and were clearly in international waters when this illegal attack occurred, in violation of international law.

    The number of dead and injured are still unconfirmed, but lowest figures reported are 9 killed and 34 injured. The Israeli Government has still not released their names. Over 700 citizens from nearly forty countries were on board the flotilla vessels.

    We grieve for those who have been killed and pray for the recovery of those who have been injured. We salute them for their sacrifice in solidarity with Gazans suffering under a prolonged and immoral siege, which is itself a despicable and illegal act of collective punishment upon a civilian population. People on board the flotilla boats included human rights activists, journalists, public servants, and Palestinians hoping to reunite with family members. Some of those on board, we know personally. We continue to marvel at the courage, dedication, and moral clarity of all these activists. Like our daughter Rachel Corrie, they were coming to the aid of the people of Gaza because governments of the world have failed to act. Our hearts, go out,as well, to the families and friends of all those on board the flotilla vessels, many of whom may still not know the fate of their loved ones.

    We call on the U.S. Government and governments of the world to act now. First, the well-being of all the flotilla passengers still in Israel must be secured, and the identities of those killed and injured must be released immediately. Second, governments around the world must demand an independent investigation into the attack upon the flotilla and the killings that occurred. An Israeli-led investigation into an international incident of this magnitude is unacceptable. Our family's own experience has made it all too painfully clear that the Israeli military is unable or unwilling to adequately investigate itself. Third, the U.S. and other governments can and must insist that other boats from the flotilla, including the MV Rachel Corrie, named for our daughter, be permitted to sail through international waters to Gaza unobstructed. Finally, we demand that the governments of the world act as courageously as did the activists on the Free Gaza flotilla and, themselves, break the illegal and immoral siege of Gaza.

    Cindy & Craig Corrie
    Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace & Justice

    Available for interview.
    Please contact the Rachel Corrie Foundation
    info@rachelcorriefoundation.org
    360.754.3998 or 360-359-6790

    Bios
    Cindy and Craig Corrie are the parents of human rights activist Rachel Corrie who was killed March 16, 2003, by an Israeli military, Caterpillar D9R bulldozer in the Gaza Strip as she tried to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian family's home. Seven years after her killing, a civil lawsuit in her case opened in Haifa, Israel March 10th and is now in recess until September.

    The Corries have made numerous visits to Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, and Egypt. In March 2009, they traveled with a Code Pink delegation from Egypt through Rafah Crossing to challenge the Gaza siege and to witness the aftermath of Israeli military attacks several months earlier in Operation Cast Lead. In September 2009, they returned to Gaza with the first Rachel Corrie Foundation Gaza Delegation.

    The Corries reside in Olympia, Washington, where through the work of the Rachel Corrie Foundation they pursue justice and peace in the Middle East and address U.S. foreign policy in the region. The Corries are recipients of a Human Rights Advocate of the Year Award from Seattle University's Human Rights Network, a Pillar of Peace Award from the Pacific Northwest Region of the American Friends Service Committee, and a Peacemakers Award from The Rebuilding Alliance in Redwood City, California.

• Diana Buttu: Anger, angst and shock among Palestinians over Israeli attack on flotilla
  • Cheryl May 31, 2010 at 7:08 pm with 3 replies

    I have received this email.......please someone check for accuracy.....

    May 31, 2010
    3 hours ago
    Irish Boat the MV Rachel Corrie proceeding to Gaza #flotilla

    I received the following message from a member of the Belfast Palestine Solidarity Committee which has received word from the Free Gaza Movement that those aboard the Irish vessel "Rachel Corrie" have decided to proceed to Gaza. A full press release is expected shortly.

    Niamh Moloughney of the Free Gaza Movement has just sent the following message :

    >> Ok just got word from Derek,
    >> they have all agreed to take the Rachel Corrie to Gaza as intended,
    >> she's 2 days away, it's a Malaysian & Irish partnership
    >> on board we have Denis Halliday, Mairead Maguire, Derek & Jenny Graham, Fiona Thompson (film)
    >> and Mathias Chang human rights lawyer, Malaysian MP & media - bios attached
    >> The Malaysians are serious contenders- they are very close to their government & have FULL support.
    >> We have 2 days to turn this outrage into a victory & get the Rachel Corrie into Gaza with the support of the world
    >> and open this sea route.
    >> Will get press release together when I finish work - hopefully can stay awake!
    >> all the best,
    >> Niamh

    It's vital that we now give full support to this ship reaching Gaza.

• Falk calls for criminal prosecution of those behind raid
  • Cheryl May 31, 2010 at 5:07 pm

    From http://www.rachelcorriefoundation.org :

    Action Alert: Israeli military attacks Gaza Freedom Flotilla, 4 deaths confirmed

    Free Gaza Movement

    Israel Murders at Least 4 Unarmed Civilians on Aid Flotilla to Gaza, Dozens Injured

    (Cyprus, June 1, 2010, 6:30AM local) Under darkness of night, Israeli commandos from at least 14 warships and military helicopters boarded the Turkish passenger ship, Mavi Marmara, and began shooting. According to live video from the ship, at least two civilians have been murdered, and dozens injured. Israeli television is reporting 16 civilians killed.

    The Mavi Marmara was part of a 6-ship unarmed flotilla, including a U.S.-flagged vessel, carrying 700 passengers from 40 different countries and 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid on a mission of mercy to besieged Gaza.

    The last GPS signal from the flotilla, sent just prior to the attack, placed the ships at latitude:32.64113, longitude:33.56727 – approximately 65 miles off the coast of Netanya, well in international waters.

    Palestinian fishermen are regularly fired upon off the coast of Gaza, but these are the first Israeli murders of internationals at sea. In recent years, the Israeli military has adopted increasingly vicious policies toward international human rights workers in Palestine, murdering Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurdall in 2003.

    The names of the dead are not yet known. The flotilla passengers included retired US diplomats Amb. Edward Peck and Col. Ann Wright as well as humanitarian aid and human rights workers, several Members of Parliament from Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Turkey, Malaysia, and Palestinian Members of the Knesset.

    Numbers for Israeli officials:

    * Mark Regev in the Prime Minister’s office: +972 2670 5354 or +972 5 0620 3264
    * Shlomo Dror in the Ministry of Defence: +972 3697 5339 or +972 50629 8148
    * Major Liebovitz from the Israeli Navy: + 972 5 781 86248
    * The Israeli Ministry of Defense, Fax: 972-3-697-6717
    * The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fax: 972-2- 5303367
    * Click here for a list of Israeli embassies in other countries

    Organize a demonstration at an Israeli embassy
    Register your demonstration or find a planned action in your area at the Gaza Freedom March

    Numbers for United States officials:

    * White House: 1.202.456.1111
    * Department of State: 1.202.647.4000

    Call or send a letter to your Congressional representative with this sample letter:

    Dear YOUR REPRESENTATIVE,

    In one of the most outrageous attacks on civilized people, the Israeli military killed at least three people and injured at least 30 more in an unprovoked assault on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in international waters. The ships presented no threat as they were filled with diplomats, academics, journalists and human rights workers hoping to bring humanitarian goods to the besieged Gaza Strip.

    I call on you to hold Israel accountable for their despicable actions and to immediately dispel your Israeli ambassador until a thorough investigation can be undertaken by a credible third party.
    Posted on May 31 2010 by Dave.

• Reports - 19 people killed, 30-60 injured in Israeli attack on freedom flotilla
  • Cheryl May 31, 2010 at 6:48 am with 1 replies

    I believe these activists knew exactly what would happen. They chose to go anyway. Just like Rachel.
    The Rachel Corrie is headed in the direction of the Gaza shore coming from the great country of Ireland. How the activists decide to proceed will be supported by all of us, I pray. However, surrounded by the ships of Ireland, Turkey, Pakistan, Great Britain, France, Cypress and any who wanted to join would make them safer, would protect them.
    Do continue to bombard the State Department. But more importantly call the White House: 202 456 1414and ask for Denis McDonough, David Axelrod, or Rahm Immanuel. Or call directly to the
    Security Situation room at 202 456 9491. Tell them the Rachel Corrie is on her way. McDonough was in Iowa looking for votes in 2008 - he was all anxious to hear the Corrie story....then quiet. Axelrod was just in Des Moines....happy to return to the city that launched the Obama team.
    He proceeded to ignore the peace activists and me.....ringing my old school bell as hard as the broken thing could ring....Said he wanted my number....
    Then forgot to take it......Ha.....HA...HAAAA. He must think we are stupid, or crazy in Iowa.....Says he wants to contact me and then forgets to take my number.....But he could have asked his old friend Denis, because he has my number. We've talked about Israel/Palestine and Rachel Corrie.
    Finally, Mitch Stewart is trying to round up votes with his sidekick, David Plaffe- the p.r. people......they are working hard in Iowa.

    Tell them that when Mitch Stewart and his gang of organizers come to Iowa and try to round up votes we'll be there with school bells ringing to let Iowans know to kick the bums out......They will know what we are talking about.

    Finally, Mondo to get it off my chest: Des Moines, Iowa is a hotbed of activity. We just do it quietly so you may not notice us....but we had Jeff Halper floating through long before you knew who he was and furthermore we have one of the oldest peace activist couples still out there - husband graduated from McCalester College in St. Paul....just like Halper did.
    AFSC has slowly but methodically educated us.

    Tell them that Iowa is mad. Tell them that Iowa understands that Israel attacks in the dark of night and then hides behind the U.S. government's
    coattails. Tell them that Iowa is a neighbor to St. Paul and Halper's college.
    Tell them that Iowans can just holler across the clothesline to let Minnesotians know what is going on.....and it does not take a brain surgeon to figure it out.
    Israel and the U.S......they do their work in the dark of night.

    God bless those aboard these ships, God bless those of us watching.
    Love, cheryl

• 600 people readying to sail to Gaza on 8 ships, including 'MV Rachel Corrie'
  • Cheryl May 8, 2010 at 6:08 am

    Thanks for posting this link. I noticed someone posted it yesterday but I was too tired to think about it. And, the research this
    journalist did is great.....Reuters, AP could learn a few things from him....

    I just realized that the two young soldiers who did the documenting of their work being interrupted......two things -how intimidated they must have felt (wouldn't this be like McCrystal intervening in American terms?) and most likely they would not be Bedouin, Druze or even of Russian heritage, correct?

  • Cheryl May 8, 2010 at 5:59 am with 23 replies

    Has anyone invited the men from the Liberty to participate? We know they have gotten no justice from their government. But they could find justice and peace from involvement with nonviolent civil disobedience. They have been fighting this battle for years. Plus, they are sailors!

  • Cheryl May 8, 2010 at 5:53 am

    But Mr. Almog denies it. So who do we believe? The IDF soldiers doing the investigation or the General of the Southern Command? Who will Israel throw to the wolves?

• Tristan Anderson deserves justice
  • Cheryl May 7, 2010 at 6:53 am

    Oh, an dthe investigators forgot to come to the scene of the crime.

  • Cheryl May 7, 2010 at 6:52 am

    Eee If you get a chance go to Shaden Abu Hijleh's website (maintained by her family) and view the video by her son regarding the particulars of her death.

    Shaden was a leader in her community. Shaden was an excellent public speaker. She was an activist in many organizations. Once per week Shaden Abu Hijleh walked with other women as nonviolent resisters to the occupation and placed flowers at the feet of the IDF military equipment present in her community.

    They, your IDF, pulled up in front of her house, sat for awhile and then shot her fifteen times as she worked on her embroidery on her front porch.

    October 2002. Five months before Rachel, Tom, Brian and James Miller. Then as now a pattern of nonviolent resistance to the Israeli Occupation. Shaden Abu Hijleh. Look her up , eeeeeee

  • Cheryl May 7, 2010 at 6:04 am with 4 replies

    Ah, trickery and deceit Eeeeee.

    The first line of defense in getting a credible investigation is the .scene of the crime. So here is clue one. The IDF returned to the scene shortly after Rachel's death and set to work on the area.
    The second line of defense is the autopsy. So here is clue two. When they have a man performing the autopsy who admits to and has been relieved of his position for unauthorized organ/tissue removal and he testifies to ignoring a court order -----red flags, red flags
    The third clue is wh en the General of the Southern Command --the head hauncho---gives a command that his soldiers are not to cooperate with the investigation
    The fourth clue is that when the U.S. government officials charged with reading the final report state there are inconsistencies of note between the soldiers testimonies.
    Thanks eeeee for encouraging me to answer your questions.....I hope U.S. citizens will find a way to utilize it in seeking justice for Tristan.

  • Cheryl May 7, 2010 at 5:47 am

    Ah, trickery and deceit.
    Round and round the garden, like a teddy bear

  • Cheryl May 7, 2010 at 5:42 am

    Correct Sumud. There were two soldiers in the D19R. One was the driver. People tend to focus on him. But the commander of the dozer sat in a seat higher than the driver and it was the commander's job to direct the driver because the commander could see even better than the driver. The dozer commander also had the responsibility for communicating with the Commander of the whole ground unit (consisting of 2 bulldozers and an APC). There were four eyes in the D19 R and additional eyes in the APC all with the responsibility for watching for danger and of course, civilians. The soldiers were well aware that the activists were there since they had been there for a number of hours and the IDF stopped their work and retreated close to the Philadelphi Road and received a change of orders regarding the rules of engagement with the civilians.
    So, it wasn't like surprise there are civilians here.

  • Cheryl May 7, 2010 at 4:39 am

    Correct Sumud. There were two people in the dozer and those who focus on the driver forget that the commander of the dozer was doing the communicating with the APC and that he was responsible for directing the driver. So there were four eyes responsible for seeing a young girl who had the eye annoying neon vest on. Four eyes in this one vehicle.

  • Cheryl May 7, 2010 at 4:16 am with 25 replies

    Eeee You will be happy to know that Bezzie has not had a seizure yet although my vet surgeon wants us to anticipate seizures occurring and get an IV cath placed today. You see they believe that the cancer cell vaccine may create a reaction that includes brain inflammation.
    EEE, just as my vet anticipates, I am surprised that your beloved IDF soldier is carrying a weapon that he/she cannot be accurate with and then fires it toward unarmed civilians. Do IDF soldiers not anticipate?

    It is like the drones that America is using - lack of control over who gets harmed. Did Israel develop the drones for America? I can see the big trouble they are getting us into, as can many others.

    You know the U.S. paid for and a U.S. company produced the CAT bulldozer that murdered Rachel, don't you? But your country supplied the armor that turned it from a construction equipment tool to a weapon. I suspect my country had no idea what you were using this weapon for.
    It's that kind of deceitfulness that is problematic.
    When Bezzie has a reaction we (the vets and the neurologists etc and us) all try to figure out what happened and try to prevent it, anticipate it etc.
    I don't know why I tell you this in as much as you don't believe Bezzie even had a tumor. Oh, humanity.
    Shaden has not had a credible investigation, Tristan has not had a credible investigation, Rachel did not have a credible investigation. James Miller did not have a credible investigation, Amir did not have a credible investigation and the list goes on.
    There is no point in talking about what you believe or don't believe. If Israel cannot accomplish credible investigations they will only continue to be increasingly considered a pariah nation - and that snowballing effect is occurring.

    You may think the rest of the world are dupes, but every once in a while we rise up with a reasonable thought.
    If your soldier cannot control the weapon, then he/she needs to put it down.

  • Cheryl May 7, 2010 at 3:43 am

    Did you know that when Rachel Corrie was murdered the IDF was waaaaaaaay out of the Military Installations Area? It is interesting because the IDF Advocate General in the Final Military Police Report on the Death of Rachel Corrie invokes the Oslo Accords which of course only gave Israel control of the Military Installations Area (at least in the part of Gaza where Rachel was killed) and the Military Installations Area (also called the Philadelphi Road) was not where she was positioned. She was well, I repeat, well into PA controlled territory. The question I keep seeing in my mind is what sort of terrorist like activities is this IDF group engaged in that they want no press, no cameras, no investigations and they are trespassing while engaged in those activities. Thanks Yonira for reminding me.

    I was told by former Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer that Jonathon Schwartz of the State Dept. is the expert on the Philadelphi Route. Mr. Schwartz denied it so who knows?

    Controlled by the PA since 1997 - per Oslo-

  • Cheryl May 7, 2010 at 3:20 am with 10 replies

    Some of Barbara Lee's constituents need to ask her why H.Con.Res. 270 went to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Why not Judiciary which John Conyers chairs? Also,Senators Boxer and Feinstein need to be asked to introduce the same resolution in the Senate. California constituents would be best to do this legwork. While you can phone into the D.C office, often it is difficult to get past the young people at the front desk, usually interns. However, if phoning ask for either the judiciary aide or foreign affairs aide. Also, if having trouble getting through in D.C contact your local office and start working with a constituent services aide. They are good at acting as intermediaries.
    It seems to me that there are two important support pieces of info here. One is the list of nonviolent activists both Palestinian and international that have in someway been targeted. The second is that Tristan was shot with an American provided/manufactured piece of equipment. (Am I correct on this?)
    We need this type of info to be effective spokespeople for Tristan. I want to be his advocate. I hope each of you does, too.
    Every state has peace and justice groups, social action groups, Mideast groups, religious/ethnic groups that may consider supporting H.C.Res. 270 if approached.
    This can be a lot of work or as simple as a fax or phone call - but to be successful it takes continued vigilance that our representative signs on.

    Ee will probably call me a liar again but the work my family has done, for many of us is no longer for Rachel. She is dead. It is so that this never happens again. It is so others do not have to go through what our family has. It is because our eyes have been opened wide to what is happening in Palestine but especially what is happening in Congress. American made. r American financed. Human Rights Violations. Tristan deserves our support. As Rachel said, I want this to stop.

• Olympia mural uses Corrie tragedy to strengthen bonds of solidarity
  • Cheryl May 6, 2010 at 1:11 pm

    Thanks, Taxi but I've been called worse than a liar before.
    I was called a crazy lady the other day. I agreed that I was such.
    I look at my Bez's shaved head and I think of the wonderful people who have helped us in the last seven months or so -since she first started having seizures to the day the MRI showed a tumor and then when we connected up with the surgeon vet who is running the study. I think of the mural, I think of my dog, I think of my family and I get energy to keep moving forward.
    I look forward to the day that the U.S. Liberty and the surviving sailors get their due. It will come just as Emmet Till's justice came.
    I look forward to the time that Shaden's family feels justice. That Tristan sees justice, that Amir's family hears the truth. I look forward to the day that U.S. foreign policy changes.
    It will. It is already beginning.
    I look forward to seeing the mural. I look forward to hearing my sister play her flute with the Palestine Orchestra. I pray my little Bez who has just crossed her first year will be around for fifteen more. Again, thanks Taxi.

  • Cheryl May 6, 2010 at 11:59 am

    Sorry, I got too worked up thinking about my little dog. I meant to ay Shaden Abu Hijleh's death and Tristan Anderson's injury. I apologize to Shaden's family and to you, Tristan. Now if only we could get Representative Barbara Lee's resolution passed.

  • Cheryl May 6, 2010 at 11:55 am

    Eeee, First, why don't you ask your government to do a credible investigation into both Rachel's death and the Liberty. There has not been one into either. Would you please ask them to also investigate Sharden Abu Hijleh's death and Tristan Anderson's death credibly. Then, little Amir. And, when that gets accomplished I can provide you with a list of all the other credible investigations that the Great Israel has been unable to accomplish.
    You can rub your ruby red slippers together all you want, but the Israeli deceit is not easily going to be rendered from our minds.

    One last thing, eeee, before I move on. My little dog, Bezzie, less than a year old, a mutt, is in a study being conducted by a vet neurologist and a human neurologist along with others with the results to contribute toward research of treatments for pediatric brain tumors. It is an American Cancer Society study and the scientists were elated with the response to the gene therapy. Unfortunately, the response meant Bez had seizures. With the help of our local vet and the team of researchers we pulled her out of it and she is now doing well. However, we have recently started round two - a series of six cancer cell vaccinations which have once induced seizures and again we got her through them and she is happy and playful. Lest you worry, I will not let her suffer....but so far we have all done okay.

    One question for you......would you like to see the mural in person, as I would? It just looks so beautiful to me and I want to hear the tapes.

  • Cheryl May 6, 2010 at 11:03 am

    Dear eee, It is not my place to answer that question. From the beginning the U.S. government has stated that they would wait for the results of a credible, transparent, thorough investigation - the one promised to the U.S. gov. You might note that this promise was not made to the Corrie family. In fact, the one Israeli official who offered condolences had to call back and tell my family that they were from him personally and not official. So, the communication was between governments. In addition, Presidential spokesperson Richard Boucher stated that this was one of the U.S. governments highest priorities, i.e., finding out what happened in cases like this.
    What we know is that shortly after Rachel was killed, IDF bulldozers returned to the scene and bulldozed. We know that the very young investigator did not go to the scene, but watched the same video that the IDF told the American Military did not feature the bulldozer that killed her - in order to do his investigation. We know that General Doron Almog, head of the
    Southern Command sent word that the soldiers were not to cooperate with the investigation and that this was documented.,
    So, I for one, will advocate that the U.S. do its own investigation since it funded the murder tool and since this was their citizen. I think you should ask the U.S. government what it intends to do.

  • Cheryl May 6, 2010 at 9:58 am with 2 replies

    I have a feeling that Rachel would have loved this mural. She wrote of her own work on creating doves for Olympia's Procession of the Species. She liked the sense of community involved and marveled at creating art together.

    I think she would like her mom to play with the Palestine Orchestra, too.
    Cindy would practice her Haynes flute for hours at a time - so Rachel and her family were surrounded with this beauty.

  • Cheryl May 6, 2010 at 9:49 am

    Thanks, Shingo......nuances and extracting organs. Professor Hiss is highlighted in the following article and is of interest to me because he performed Rachel's autopsy. We now know several facts regarding Mr. Hiss. He violated an Israeli court order that an American government official be in attendance at the autopsy. He collected tissue from Rachel without authorization. He originally stated that he did not know what happened to the parts of Rachel's body that he collected. He did not sign his name to a Hiss opinion utilized by the IDF to suggest the bulldozer did not run over Rachel. This opinion is no where in the signed autopsy. link to edition.cnn.com

  • Cheryl May 6, 2010 at 9:09 am

    eeee,
    I appreciate your politeness and absolutely you have a right to question my priorities, respectfully. I am surprised that you chose to focus on my Bezzie Boo, rather than the broken bell I rang representing our broken justice/national security/policy governmental system or the fact that Israel misled the American government with a manipulated video - but they did not quite mislead the whole U.S. government because Somebody in the U.S military was told shortly after Rachel's death that the bulldozer featured in the video provided by Israel to the U.S. State Dept. was not the CAT bulldozer that killed her-----too bad the military failed to alert the State Dept.
    Just odd to me that you would pick up on my Bezzie's ailment and our expense.

  • Cheryl May 6, 2010 at 5:50 am with 20 replies

    Thanks Shmuel for missing me. I have been very busy what with work, gardening, taking care of my little dog who had brain surgery to remove a tumor and now is getting vaccinations that cause brain inflammation leading to seizures - and life sorts of things.
    In addition, I took a day to hear Mark Braverman speak about the need for the church community to stand up against the occupation and then left that event to protest at a David Axelrod event. Which, by the way. FYI all Democrats should consider whether the Obama campaign team led by Mitch Stewart or his policy team led by Axelrod or his National Security team led by Denis McDonough are fair weather friends. Both Axelrod and Stewart asked for my contact info but then failed to follow up and I have requested of McDonough that he follow through on issues we discussed but he too, is silent. This is me at the Axelrod event in a You Tube by Roger Routh who is doing good work in Iowa. You see we are busy here in the Midwest.

    New Video, about 4:30 min and worth the time to listen.
    link to youtube.com

  • Cheryl May 6, 2010 at 4:36 am with 27 replies

    This all inclusive mural appears beautiful and I hope to travel to Olympia to view it just as I love to jump off the Amtrak train in Chicago and go staight to Georgia O'Keefe or Picasso and then float past Chagal.

    I hope someday to hear Cindy Corrie play her flute with the Palestine Orchestra. In the recent past I sat in a lovely nondenominational church and heard her play with a violinist and a pianist and I could have listened for hours. The music was beautiful.

    Finally, eeeeee. I have long maintained that Craig Corrie should be elected to Washington D.C. In fact, I am way ahead of you. During the Iowa caucuses every Presidential candidate is a part of a coffee bean poll run by the Hamburg Inn on Lynn Street. You know the kind of place. Photos on the wall of Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Jerry Ford, Jimmy Carter etc. and great greasy burgers. I requested that they put a jar in the Presidential race coffee bean jar display case with the name Craig Corrie on it. The important people to me knew about it. I thought that out of the whole bunch (obama, clinton, biden, edwards, etc) Craig was the best candidate. He had already stood up to the corporation, knew the Israel/Palestine area well, had worked in business all of his life except for his stint in Vietnam and is one of the clearest thinkers I have ever met - with a sense of humor. He loves to laugh.

    If wishes were horses beggars would ride. Have we started the divestment movement at Iowa State yet?

• Passage of divestment by Berkeley students is 'inevitable'
  • Cheryl April 30, 2010 at 6:47 am

    Oh, I forgot to add that as I stood outside a Des Moines Democratic get together showcasing David Axelrod (and put together, I believe, by President Obama "cheerleader", Mitch Stewart) with an End the Occupation generated poster showing Desmond Tutu's photo and an Israel Apartheid message, a man approached me and invited me to an immigration rally on Saturday. He noted that his community was also facing Apartheid.
    As noted by another writer and informed by the Berkeley students, divestiture (and I add, Apartheid) have the potential for coalition building.

    Success, Mr. Witty, success.

  • Cheryl April 30, 2010 at 6:37 am

    Thank you, Mr. Witty, for asking.
    Two days ago Mark Braverman spoke to a group of community leaders at Grace United Methodist Church in Des Moines. Grace is the long time church home of Rachel's grandmother. Mr. Braverman instructed us to reread MLK's letter from a Birmingham jail. MLK writes:

    ... are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are.

    But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust. (end quote)

    In addition to church, I suggest we add "universities". I repeat, Iowa State University houses a CAT funded lab. Can we expect that university to exhibit moral clarity in a time of economic stress? Yet two California student governments stepped up to the plate, at a time when a massive protest that included closing down the freeway has just occurred....these student governments continued forward to DEBATE divestiture. They placed moral clarity above their own narrow self interests. Bravo!

    And, they did it with a broad coalition. Bravo! And, they considered the
    migrant farm workers struggles.
    This is success. This is passion. This is clear thinking.

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