All through the week, there has been buzz over the new movie about Rachel Corrie, who was a member of the ISM, who was killed in a war zone in Gaza as the IDF was destroying tunnels that terrorists use to smuggle weapons into Gaza, and eventually some are used all thoughout the land west of the Jordan, including Israel itself. We have seen 4 diaries, I think, or more about the movie, and the incident, which almost suggest she was a martyr, no doubt some view her as such. Some say she was "murdered," she "died for peace," etc. Its almost cultish.
Now I can understand why some would think this, it sounds noble what she did, he group proclaimed itself as a peace group, and may have had good intentions. Some use this incident to demonize not only the IDF, but Israel as a whole, its existence, and how "evil" Zionism is to some.
Now, for a different take and point of view, and on a Democratic blog as is described, I can do this because almost no Democrats in politics make as big a show about her or as much of a hero of her as some do here. Meaning by not lauding her, I am not going against the principles of a Democratic blog, as the Democratic Party also opposes Hamas and their actions which the IDF nobly tries to stop not only to save its own people, but the Palestinians who are killed due to Hamas' war they wage with Israel, not to mention the political enemies Hamas kills. I'll remind you all again supporting Israel is a bipartisan effort and position, one of the few unity points in our screwed up system of government.
On the day of the incident, Israel had warned protesters to stay out of the war zone, which is always wrought with sniper fire and fire from Hamas terrorists and counter fire, from IDF. As we all know, the border with Egypt allows for ample smuggling, and local people's houses are routinely used by Hamas to achieve this goal, and sometimes, the bulldozer is the only way to prevent this kind of sabotage. Now what happened is under dispute. Some say the driver intentionally ran her over, but the truth is likely otherwise, even from Mother Jones:
The idf compiled a video about the Corrie incident that includes footage taken from inside the cockpit of a D9. It makes a credible case that the operators, peering out through narrow, double-glazed, bulletproof windows, their view obscured behind pistons and the giant scooper, might not have seen Corrie kneeling in front of them.
Now that is likely the truth, given how big the blades are, and how small the windows are on those things, combined with the fact that as the blade rose, the driver's view would be obstructed that much more. You do not stand in front a vehicle when you know it might not see you or stop. Thats just not a smart thing to do.
Also, the ISM tried to lie about what happened, and put out a picture of her with bullhorn in front of the bulldozer, but it turned out to be a misleading attempt:
And the infamous photo series turned out to be misleading. In fact, the megaphone photo was taken hours before Corrie's death; she had handed the loudspeaker to a colleague some time before she was run over, and she was kneeling, not standing, in front of the machine when she was killed. As newspapers ran corrections, the activists claimed that Reuters had "miscaptioned" the photographs. The episode probably did more
to mute anger over Corrie's death than anything else
Now lets look further into the ISM. This is a group which has admitted it has worked with
arclay said in an interview with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, she knowingly worked with representatives from Hamas and Islamic Jihad -- terrorist groups that sponsor suicide bombings and exist, according to their charters, to demolish the Jewish state entirely.
Not to mention, lets not forget how they hid Shadi Sukiya, a terrorist from Palestinian Islamic Jihad. How about this little tidbit:
Two Britons accused of a Tel Aviv suicide bombing were allegedly seen visiting a Gaza apartment belonging to a pro-Palestinian group five days before the attack.
Remembers the Mike's Place suicide bombing? This is a group who says things like "Surely there is support for the armed resistance" and altho they claim they don't support violence, they also say "Yes, but also we recognise the right of the Palestinians to choose their way of resistance.' Not to mention, ISM members have even called themselves for the demise of Israel, and blasted the idea of a Jewish homeland.
And what about all the Israeli Rachels? As Mike Harris, who spoke before the movie came out, he pointed out
But many of us don’t know the names of other young American victims—Abigail Leitel, a 14 year old Baptist girl from New Hampshire, murdered when a suicide bomber blew up a bus in Haifa on March 5, 2003. David Gritz age 24, Benjamin Blutstein age 25 and UC Berkeley student Marla Bennett, age 24, all murdered on July 31, 2002 by a suicide bomber in the cafeteria at Hebrew University.
And there are Israeli Rachels. Rachel Levy, age 17, was murdered in Jerusalem on March 29, 2002 by a suicide bomber. Rachel Thaler, age 16, died Feb 27 2002 as a result of injuries when a suicide bomber exploded himself in the Sbarro Pizzeria in Jerusalem 11 days earlier. And there are more—too many more—Israeli Rachels. And none of them were engaged in anything more risky than riding a bus, or going to buy a slice of pizza or a cup of coffee. And, just as Rachel Corrie should be alive today, so should all of these young men and women.
They were all murdered before Rachel Corrie came to Gaza. That’s why the young IDF soldier was operating that bulldozer in Rafah. It wasn’t to wantonly destroy Palestinian homes. It was to destroy the tunnels used to smuggle explosives for murdering Israelis—tunnels that even now, the so-called "Free Gaza" members proudly boast of touring and photographing.
And what do Hamas, PIJ, Al-Aqsa Terrorists want done with Israel? They do not simply want an end to the occupation, as Hamas demonstrated after the end of the Gaza occupation, but an end to Israel itself. To deny the Jewish people statehood, anti-Zionism, is racism. The Jewish people are not just a religion, but a people, and have been seen by nearly all the countries in whihc they were in, and themselves, as a distinct group. Now to support terrorism against them is even worse, especially for a group which claims to be "non-violent." Oh sorry they support, aid, and abet it, but they don't do it themselves; they just help those who do. Israel has said they will end the occupation of the West bank when a peace agreement is reached, as they did in Egypt in 1979, when Sadat and Begin brought about peace between two nations. See, when Israel is offered peace, they do take it. They're waiting from the same from Abbas, the PA, and Hamas.
Now lets look at something else:
See those red stripes, and the non-David Stars which are clearly drawn as many, instead of one that Israel has on their flag? And obviously, this flag was crudely drawn, as it was done too quick to color in behind the stars blue. But this is the flag of the United States of America, which I proudly call my country. I will call it the best country on Earth, but anyway. Now do you think this teaches peace? Do you think burning the American flag, which she knows well that Palestinians conflate with Israel, teaches reconciliation? I think not, When she knows that hate of America and her obvious hate of Israel are the motivating factors for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, etc. This type of thinking and hate against America/Israel is the type of stuff Hamas and hezbollah indoctrinates children in, and these are the types who they recruit. Also, how does it help the peace process to teach more hate? Why not teach at least what she sees as right in America? Or where common ground can be reached instead? Or co-existence. believe it or not, there are Israeli-Palestinian joint coexistence groups that work for peace, I don't they are burning flags.
Rachel Corrie and the ISM may think they are aiding peace. Maybe they are naive, but I don't think so. The ISM has shown from its actions and deeds that they don't support peace, but in fact more war. But maybe they don't know it. I am sad Rachel died. It is a tragedy She put herself in a bad position in a war zone she knew was unsafe. To some she'll be a martyr, but to the Israeli Rachels, and to those who see the folly in what she did, she was a useful idiot. And are the ISM with their current tactics.
I want peace. I want a two-state solution where the Palestinians and the Israelis live side by side in peace. but it is Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and even many members of Fatah who are the reason we cannot have that. And aiding them does not aid peace. Non-violent resistance is good, and constructive criticism is OK; its needed and necessary. But not demonization, not lies as ISM does, and not rockets and suicide bombs nor aid and support to those who carry them out.