Rachel Corrie's family bring civil suit over human shield's death in Gaza


Parents want case to highlight events that led to American activist's death under Israeli army bulldozer


Rachel Corrie, Killed by Israel RACHEL CORRIE

Peace activist Rachel Corrie died while protesting in front of a bulldozer trying to destroy a Palestinian home in Rafah in March 2003.


The family of the American activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza seven years ago, is to bring a civil suit over her death against the Israeli defence ministry.

The case, which begins on 10 March in Haifa, northern Israel, is seen by her parents as an opportunity to put on public record the events that led to their daughter's death in March 2003. Four key witnesses – three Britons and an American – who were at the scene in Rafah when Corrie was killed will give evidence, according the family lawyer, Hussein Abu Hussein.

The four were all with the International Solidarity Movement, the activist group to which Corrie belonged. They have since been denied entry to Israel, and the group's offices in Ramallah have been raided several times in recent weeks by the Israeli military. Now, under apparent US pressure, the Israeli government has agreed to allow them entry so they can testify. Corrie's parents, Cindy and Craig, will also fly to Israel for the hearing.

Read more: Rachel Corrie's family bring civil suit over human shield's death in Gaza

Prevent Palestinian Cultural Genocide





MIFTAH's Statement

 

Prevent Palestinian Cultural Genocide
By MIFTAH
February 23, 2010

MIFTAH, the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy strongly condemns the recent decision by the Israeli cabinet under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to include two West Bank holy shrines on its list of Israeli heritage sites. The Ibrahimi Mosque [in Hebron along with the Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque [Rachel's Tomb] in Bethlehem are both highly significant religious and cultural spots for Palestinians and which are now being threatened with confiscation.

 

MIFTAH views this recent decision as an illegitimate Israeli attempt to distort and recreate a false history where Palestinian culture and heritage is erased. MIFTAH feels this move is extremely dangerous and constitutes a major step in Israel's ongoing attempt to commit cultural genocide in Palestine through its obliteration of Palestinian culture and history.

 

MIFTAH thus calls on the international community to halt this Israeli threat to forge history and claim sole Jewish significance on sites located in Palestinian territory. It is the duty of the United Nations, UNESCO and all other relevant cultural bodies concerned with the preservation and integrity of cultural and religious sites to hold Israel accountable for its attempt at confiscating this culture and history from the Palestinians and preventing cultural genocide.

 

Article: http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=21763&CategoryId=2

Website: http://www.miftah.org

 

 


Israel's new strategy: "sabotage" and "attack" the global justice movement

An extraordinary series of articles, reports and presentations by Israel's influential Reut Institute has identified the global movement for justice, equality and peace as an "existential threat" to Israel and called on the Israeli government to direct substantial resources to "attack" and possibly engage in criminal "sabotage" of this movement in what Reut believes are its various international "hubs" in London, Madrid, Toronto, the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. . . .

German Jews join the international effort to break the blockade!


Yesterday we mentioned the Turkish effort to break the blockade. Last week we mentioned Congressman Brian Baird calling for the Berlin airlift. Well here’s more, this is calling on humanity, sister: German Jews. What goes around comes around. My heart is lifting. "Jewish ship to Gaza." All aboard:

We are a group of German Jews who want to send a ship with goods and musical instruments to Gaza. We intend to cooperate with a European project that is sending supplies in the spring of 2010. We are acquiring a ship, loading it up in Germany, then picking up passengers (Jewish and non-Jewish, German and non-German) at a Mediterranean port.

Among the goods being shipped will be urgently needed things like medicines, baby food, bedding, children’s clothes, school materials; also painting equipment and especially musical instruments. We believe cement is not the only thing necessary for rebuilding – we call on our politicians to provide these urgently needed building materials! – but also things to help cure the soul.

We hope our musical instruments will contribute a little towards this. Our schools can also make a very significant contribution: Children in Gaza are prevented from studying through lack of materials. This is why we are looking for schools to donate school material. Later perhaps we can work on twinning schools or classes.

Thanks to Hazel Kazan

Related posts:

Baird calls on Obama to honor his promise to Palestinians and break the blockade
(Goodbye to Congress) Brian Baird says US should break Gaza blockade by ‘our version of the Berlin airlift’!
Mix the ‘barrage’ with compassion so as to break thru to Jews
American Jews launch campaign to ‘break the law of return’
Join the New Club! (Jews Embarrassed by the Israel Lobby)

Fundraiser for Senator Ron Wyden "A True Friend of Israel"

 [This is a fundraiser sponsored by NORPAC, an Israel Lobby Political Action Committee, for Wyden, raising money from large donors in New York because Wyden is a "True Friend of Israel" and not in the good sense of word in terms of supporting a sustainable JUST resolution to the conflict, but in the traditional hardline pro-Israel sense.]

 NORPAC Israeli lobby PAC

* S a v e   t h e   D a t e! *
 
Ron Wyden, Friend of the Israeli Hardline Policies
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR)
 
 
HOSTS: Faith & Harry Feder
 
DATE: Sunday, March 14, 2010
 
TIME: 10:30AM-12:30PM
 
LOCATION: 376 W. 245th St, Bronx, New York
 
 
Senator Wyden is running for reelection as the Democratic Senator in the state of Oregon. Senator Wyden sits on the Budget, Finance, Select Committee on Intelligence, and on Energy and Natural Resources committees.
 
Please come and join us in supporting such wonderful friend and strong supporter of the US and Israel. Suggested contributions are as follows:
 
* CoHost-$2,000 * Guest-$1,000 * CoChair-$500 *
  

Read more: Fundraiser for Senator Ron Wyden "A True Friend of Israel"

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