Still no Justice for Rachel Corrie (Cry Me a River Alert!)

Still No Justice for Rachel Corrie - Smith --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It is an insult to the human heart to have to force government officials to do their jobs properly while digesting the fact your child has been brutally killed .."

Tom Hurndall, a 22-year-old British peace activist, died last week in a London hospital. He was shot in the head by Israeli sniper fire nine months ago while shepherding Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip out of the line of fire. He had been in a coma since his injury. Hours before Hurndall died, the soldier who shot him was charged with aggravated assault. The charge is now likely to be revised to manslaughter or murder; British police are participating in an official investigation of his death.

Rachel Corrie from Olympia was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer in the Rafah refugee camp about a month before Hurndall was shot there. Like Hurndall, Corrie was a volunteer with the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement to End the Occupation of Palestine (ISM). Like Hurndall, she was killed by an identifiable Israeli soldier. As in Hurndall's case, the Israeli government initially released a report on Corrie's killing, stating that nobody connected with the Israeli military was culpable and that further investigation was not required.

So, why has Hurndall's killer been charged when nothing has happened to Corrie's killer?

According to the Hurndall family, the only reason the soldier who shot him has been charged is because of pressure applied by the family. Hurndall's father is an attorney. He went to Rafah shortly after the shooting and compiled an extensive dossier of eyewitness affidavits, forensics reports, photographs and other relevant information. This dossier was put before the British foreign secretary in a way that made it very difficult to ignore. Ultimately, the British government went to bat for Hurndall, an unarmed British civilian killed by an Israeli soldier under the impression that he could shoot with impunity.

Indeed, the soldier had good reason to believe this. More than 2,000 unarmed Palestinian civilians, many of them children, have been killed in the occupied territories since the current intifada began in September 2000. Only 10 Israeli soldiers have been indicted and none has been convicted. A culture of impunity permeates the Israeli military, which is well known for its non-investigations of itself. For this reason, the Hurndall family would like to see the investigation of his death extend all the way up the chain of command.

Corrie's parents are not lawyers. In addition, they were told by members of the Washington state congressional delegation and State Department officials that if they quietly played along, justice for their daughter would ultimately be achieved. So far, all that has emerged is a non-credible Israeli military report claiming that 1) Corrie was not run over by a bulldozer and 2) even if she had been, the driver could not have seen her. These statements are contradicted respectively by the autopsy report and multiple eyewitness reports.

It is an insult to the human heart to have to force government officials to do their jobs properly while digesting the fact your child has been brutally killed.

Somehow the Hurndall family was able to take the necessary steps in the timeframe required. Believing what their congressman, senators and State Department officials told them, the Corries have been left to swallow lies.

Is this the best our members of Congress can do for a citizen killed abroad? Plenty of them made pretty speeches but real action is a question of political will.

About the author: Wendy Smith of Seattle is an activist with the Seattle Palestine Solidarity Committee.

I am sorry this misguided girl is dead -- but, when you consort with terrorists, the outcome is not unexpected.

This article, posing as journalism, is one of the most blatant examples of propaganda I've ever seen.

Corrie was a volunteer with the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement to End the Occupation of Palestine (ISM)

Why - what was Corrie's stake in this issue ?? The writer makes this statement as if there already is an established, internationally recognized Palestinian state.

This dossier was put before the British foreign secretary in a way that made it very difficult to ignore.

In a way difficult to ignore, what the Sam Hill is this hogwash ?? Did somebody hold a gun to their head, is blackmail involved ?? Tell us EXACTLY HOW it was presented - not some mysterious allusion to some nefarious methodology.

More than 2,000 unarmed Palestinian civilians, many of them children,

How many ?? More than 2,000 ?? Just what is a Palestinian "civilian" - I didn't know they had a standing, uniformed military force. Why the equivocation -- exactly how many, 2,019 ??

Unarmed, how does this writer know they were unarmed, more "objective" Palestinian eyewitnesses ?? What were they doing, lying in their beds sound asleep according to Palestinian eyewitnesses.

Many of them children, how many 10, 20, 1,000 ?? Show us your credentials. What's a child ?? According to the anti-smoking crowd who claims smoking kills children, anyone 23 or less who dies, and also smokes, is a child killed by smoking. By that definition, Jihad Johnny was (and still is) a child. What's this writer's definition of a "child?"

A culture of impunity permeates the Israeli military,

I don't believe that. Back it up with evidence.

which is well known for its non-investigations of itself.

Well known by whom, based on what evidence ?? Cite some OBJECTIVE evidence to support these wild claims.

In addition, they were told by members of the Washington state congressional delegation and State Department officials that if they quietly played along, justice for their daughter would ultimately be achieved.

I don't believe it. NAME the people who said this, instead of a vague reference to some delegation -- besides, I don't think ANY politician would be stupid enough to make such a statement. In the eyes of some, I'm sure they believe justice has already been achieved in the Corrie case.

Believing what their congressman, senators and State Department officials told them, the Corries have been left to swallow lies.

If, and that's a BIG IF, the Corries were told this by ALL these politicians/bureaucrats, then it probably is correct to characterize it as a lie, but -- but, I don't believe so many different people, if any at all, would have ever told the Corries such a story. If they did, then the writer should out them by name.

Is this the best our members of Congress can do for a citizen killed abroad?

Just what is it this writer wants our country to do and why ?? Instead of rhetoric, let's hear a concrete, lawful, practical suggestion.

About the author: Wendy Smith is an activist with Seattle Palestine Solidarity Committee.If this is her real name, ("Smith" give me a break) - she hardly approaches this issue with an open, objective mind. She too is as misguided as Rachel Corrie. She should stay out of the way of Bulldozers in the territory she calls Palestine.

You know, we all take up causes that are important to us.

There are many different levels of commitment.

I really don't want to question either this girl's rationale or level of commitment, but when a young girl from Washington State, heads into a region torn apart by war, she has to be willing to accept the risk, irrespective which side she chose to take.

Perhaps she felt personally her sacrifice was worth the risk, we don't know because now all we hear is others speaking in her memory, on her behalf.

It seems her parents now feel the cause was not worth the sacrifice. I don't know if they tried to discourage her from going. If they did, maybe they should have tried harder.

If they had, maybe now they wouldn't have to be asking the U.S. government to do "something more" in her behalf. Besides, its really too late anyway to do any good for Rachel.

Instead of blaming the Israelis and the U.S. government, I think Rachel's parents could better spend their time assessing whose fault is it really that their 22-Y-O daughter is dead.

Instead, it appears her parents, and this writer, are blaming everybody but Rachel herself.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.