Olympia Woman Killed In Anti-Israel Demonstration

KOMO News ^

[ATCNavyRetiree]

Olympia Woman Killed In Anti-Israel Demonstration

March 16, 2003

By Emily Langlie

GAZA CITY - Friends describe Rachel Corrie, from Olympia, as an especially caring and empathetic young woman. They say she was drawn to try to help in the Palestinians in Gaza.

She was interviewed there just last week about her efforts to stop Israeli army bulldozers. On March 5th she said "these are homes that don't have any connection necessarily with suicide bombers. These are homes that just happened to be in a place that the Israeli military finds strategically important to them."

Rachel was with a group of Americans and Britons when she was killed.

The group had been getting in front of bulldozers for more than an hour, but this time the heavy equipment didn't stop.

"And it kept going and she tried to move back but she couldn't move back and she got caught underneath the bulldozer," says witness Joseph Smith. She was taken to Najar hospital in Rafah, where she died, said Dr. Ali Moussa, a hospital administrator.

"I can't believe that the guy didn't stop," says Rachel's long-time boyfriend, Colin Reece "I can't believe the driver didn't stop."

Israel sends tanks and bulldozers into the area almost daily, destroying buildings near the Gaza-Egypt border. According to interim peace accords, Israel controls the border area. There are almost daily clashes between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli soldiers in the area.

During her time in Gaza she kept a journal of her travels on a website. She wrote: "you just can't imagine it unless you see it." She wrote about how different her life in Olympia was from that of the Palestinian refugees.

"Rachel wanted to help other people. She believed she could stop the horrors of the Israeli occupation by placing her body between weapons and innocent people," says Reece.

As a student at Evergreen State College and as a high school student in Olympia, Rachel was active in causes for social justice.

One of her professors says Rachel knew her work was dangerous. "She was very smart and a hard worker. She was well trained to do what she needed to do."

The U.S. State Department has asked Israeli officials for a full investigation of what happened.

A spokesman for the Israeli army called the death an accident and claimed the group had gone into an area that was clearly off limits.

[ATCNavyRetiree]

Yeah--sure--"she was well-trained in what she needed to do."
And what is that? Act as a bulldozer speed bump??
Sounds like academia!!

[GalvestonGal.com]

I bet she was surprised!!!

[Jeff Chandler]

This should serve as an object lesson to human shields everywhere.

[Keith in Iowa]

See also: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/866038/posts

[hole_n_one]

She was well trained to do what she needed to do."

She must have been sick the day they taught Never Stand in Front of a Moving Tank

[goodnesswins]

"As a student at Evergreen State College..."

(the official commie INDOCTRINATION CAMP of Washington, the State.)

[Delta 21]

"I can't believe that the guy didn't stop," says Rachel's long-time boyfriend, Colin Reece "I can't believe the driver didn't stop."

"Human Shield" is an oxymoron.

Maybe this significant emotional event will slap some sense into this group. At a minimum they should take away from this....."DONT TRY TO STOP BULLDOZERS WITH YOUR BODY. IT WILL SQUISH YOU AND YOU WILL DIE.

[U S Army EOD]

And the current score is: Bulldoziers (3) Human Shields (0)

[passionfruit]

Sometimes I hear about someone doing something so stupid that they should be removed from the gene pool. Shis one removed herself from the gene pool.

[CatOwner]

This should be a lesson to all of those students who scream "why do I need to know this!" when they are given math problems like:

"Train A leaves Station A heading west at 40 mph. Train B leaves Station B heading east at 35 mph. Station A and Station B are 236 miles apart. How long ..."

Sorry! It was the first thing that came to mind.

[U S Army EOD]

Perhaps it will just cost the lives of Human Shields.

[PoisedWoman]

"I can't believe the driver didn't stop."


Yeah? I cannot believe she didn't stay out of the way. Sorry to sound callous, but even a dog has the good sense to stay out from under the wheels of a car he's chasing.

[beaversmom]

I don't want the girl dead but I'm finding it really hard to have much sympathy. Maybe these college aged peaceniks shouldn't be going to dangerous far off lands if they don't want to get hurt or killed. The world doesn't revolve around Rachel, her red sweater, and megaphone. Israel has too many of it's own citizens safety to worry about. It doesn't have the luxury of time to figure out what's on Rachel's agenda for the day. Mess around for too long over there and many Israelis get blown to smithereens.

[The KG9 Kid]

"..."I can't believe that the guy didn't stop," says Rachel's long-time boyfriend, Colin Reece "I can't believe the driver didn't stop."

These exact words have been recorded by OSHA many times in construction site fatalities involving earthmoving equipment.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***"DONT TRY TO STOP BULLDOZERS WITH YOUR BODY. IT
WILL SQUISH YOU AND YOU WILL DIE.****

Reminds me of an incident during the civil rights movement(1960's).

Some protesters tried to stop some bulldozer work at a construction site by laying down in front of the bulldozer. The operator simply backed up-and ran over a protesting priest who had laid down behind the bulldozer. The news magazines were full of nice pictures of one dead squished priest the next week.

[SmackPappy]

I'm finding it hard to garner much sympathy for the woman. Why was she siding with the terrorists in the first place? Terrorism MUST be met with extreme resistance and stopped. The Palestinians have used terrorism as a weapon for decades now and have refused all peace proposals in favor of war. If it's war you want, don't complain when it's war you get.

[Mister Magoo]

I am sorry she was killed. I'm sure she acted out of good faith and naive aspirations. But she was directly supporting the cause of a people whose avowed aims are the wholesale destruction of the Israeli people.

[Beck_isright]

As I said in the first post of this story, this is an improvement in the overall genetic pool of the world. What's the big deal?