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Rachel Aliene Corrie (April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003) was an American Evergreen College student and member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) who traveled to the Gaza Strip during the Second Intifada. She was killed by a Caterpillar D9R armored bulldozer operated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during a protest against the destruction of Palestinian homes by the IDF in the Gaza Strip where IDF had designated a security zone and claimed contained a network of smuggling tunnels used for weapons smuggling and as guerilla hideouts which is necessary for them to destroy while Palestinians claim the tunnels are for "food, gasoline, and household treats'" trade under Israel blockade. The details of the events surrounding Corrie's death are disputed. While an Israeli military investigation ruled the death was an accident, Corries' parents and the ISM maintain that Corrie was run over deliberately.

=Artistic Tributes=

Around the world many songs written and dedicated to Rachel Corrie between 2003-2008, by musicians including Patti Smith, Alice Shields, Mike Stout, Billy Bragg, Philip Munger, David Rovics, Christy Moore, Dawud Wharnsby Ali, Alessio Lega, Pol MacAdaim, Lorcan "Larry" Otway, Holly Gwinn Graham, Agnese Ginocchio, Ángel Petisme, Stephanie Lee, Brad Postlethwaite, Hilary Sloan, Elizabeth Hummel with Carl Dexter, Valerie Webb & Paul LaBrecque and musical groups including Klimt 1918, Ten Foot Pole, The Can Kickers, Project Qua Project, Casa Del Vento, My So-Called Band, I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House, Lyra and Friends, The Blue Ribbon Tea Company, The Gram Partisans and The Zachary Jones Band.

My Name is Rachel Corrie (Theater Play)
My Name is Rachel Corrie, a play composed from Corrie's journals and e-mails from Gaza and directed by British actor Alan Rickman, was presented in London in early 2005. It was later revived in October 2005. The play was to be transported to the New York Theatre Workshop, but when it was postponed indefinitely, the English producers denounced the decision as "censorship" and withdrew the show. It finally opened Off-Broadway on October 15, 2006, for an initial run of 48 performances. The play has also been published as a paperback, and performed in ten countries worldwide, including Israel.

The Skies are Weeping (Cantata)
Alaskan composer Philip Munger wrote a cantata about Corrie called The Skies are Weeping. It was scheduled to premiere on April 27, 2004 at the University of Alaska Anchorage, where Munger teaches. Many objected to the upcoming performance, including members of the Jewish community, and a forum was held, co-chaired by Munger and a local rabbi, who described the work as bordering on anti-Semitic and said it "romanticized terrorism." Munger later related that he had received threatening emails "[just] short of what you'd take to the troopers", and that some of his students had received similar communications. After the forum "disintegrate [d] ", Munger announced, "I cannot subject 16 students... to any possibility of physical harm or to the type of character assassination some of us are already undergoing. Performance of The Skies are Weeping at this time and place is withdrawn for the safety of the student performers.” The cantata was eventually performed at the Hackney Empire theatre in London, premiering on November 1, 2005.

The final work comprises seven movements, six of which have accompanying text.


 * 1) Choral Prelude: Psalm 137 (King James Version)
 * 2) Dance for Tom Hurndall (no lyrics)
 * 3) Aria-Lament: Rachel (For Rachel Corrie) by Phil Goldvarg March 18, 2003
 * 4) Song: "God the Synecdoche in His Holy Land" in memoriam Rachel Corrie by Linda McCarriston
 * 5) Recitative: "I had no mercy for anybody" quoted from Gush Shalom translation of Yediot Aharonot interview with Moshe Nissim in Hebrew
 * 6) Song: The Skies Are Weeping by Thushara Wijeratna
 * 7) Chorale with soprano solo; Rachel's Words (edited by Philip Munger)

Section 1 Choral Prelude is a rare complete setting of Psalm 137 based on King James Bible, Section 2 is titled "Dance for Tom Hurndall", Section 3 is a poem named "Rachel" written for Corrie by a San Francisco poet Phil Goldvarg on March 18, 2003, Section 4 is a poem named "God the Synecdoche in His Holy Land" in memoriam Rachel Corrie written by Alaska poet Linda McCarriston, Section 5 is a recitative titled "I had no mercy for anybody" excerpted from the Gush Shalom translation of Moshe Nissim interview, an IDF D9 armoured bulldozer operator who ran amok in the 2002 Jenin incursion, made by Israel's best selling and tabloid newspaper Yediot Aharonot in Hebrew, Section 6 is a poem named "The Skies Are Weeping" written for Corrie by Sri Lanka poet Thushara Wijeratna and Section 7 titled "Rachel's Words" is excerpted from Rachel Corrie's last e-mails to her mother edited by Philip Munger.

The Recitative is entirely excerpted from, tabloid and "most widely circulated" Israeli Newspaper Yediot Aharonot's, May 31, 2002 interview with Moshe "Kurdi Bear" Nissim, who is an IDF D9 operator serviced during Jenin Battle and proudly giving testimony, "Jenin, A Soldiers Story" interview by Tsadok Yeheskeli. The text is based on Gush Shalom's translation Hebrew Interview where they claimed it was the "first absolutely sincere Israeli eyewitness testimony on what actually happened in the Jenin Refugee Camp". "After publication - and in spite of it - the unit to which the man belongs received from the army command an official citation for outstanding service."

Requiem for Rachel Corrie (Mioritza)
American composer Alice Shields composed Mioritza: Requiem for Rachel Corrie, un 2003, for trombone and computer music on tape.

Blindingly Obvious Facts (Fugue)
Australian playwright Ben Ellis wrote Blindingly Obvious Facts, a 10-minute fugue composed of "ugly" verbatim excerpts from right-wing blogs discussing Corrie's death. It was performed as part of the 2007 Melbourne season of the Short and Sweet short play competition. Sydney composer Lawrence Williams mixed a recorded version of Ellis' play for the play's Sydney Short and Sweet production in early 2008.

Poems

 * "On the brink of..." by Suheir Hammad
 * "For Rachel Corrie" by Lisa Suhair Majaj (Palestinian-American writer & poet)
 * Rachel (For Rachel Corrie) San Francisco poet Phil Goldvarg March 18, 2003
 * "God the Synecdoche in His Holy Land" in memoriam Rachel Corrie Alaska poet Linda McCarriston
 * The Skies Are Weeping Sri Lanka poet Thushara Wijeratna
 * "In Memoriam Rachel Corrie" by William A. Cook
 * The Passing of Rachel Corrie by Edward Mast, ISM activist and a playwright from Seattle
 * "Poem to Rachel Corrie", March 18, 2003, by Hilda Silverman
 * "Call Her a Woman" by Helen Gaia Thomas
 * "(for Rachel)" by Marilyn O'Malley/?Holly Gwinn Graham
 * "Rachel Corrie" by Lee, London
 * "Rachel" by Christy Day, New Hampshire

Criticizing caricature
The University of Maryland, College Park's campus newspaper The Diamondback published a cartoon defining "stupidity" as "sitting in front of a bulldozer to protect a gang of terrorists." After the group Palestine Media Watch published the email addresses and phone number of Diamondback editors, urging readers to contact the newspaper to secure an apology, thousands of e-mails and hundreds of phone calls were received by the paper in protest. Describing the cartoon as "indecent and anti-American," over 60 student protesters staged a sit-in at the newspaper's offices (with 10 staying overnight), demanding that the paper apologize and "publish an article honoring Corrie's life". The newspaper refused to apologize, citing the First Amendment. Noted editor in chief Jay Parsons, "The decision was about freedom of speech, and that made the decision easy."

=Memorial Events=

Memorial Cards
Rachel Corrie Cards printed as a souvenir, and fun raising.

=Political Reactions=

US Congressman and Represantative Statements
On March 18, 2003, Congressman Jim McDermott, declared

Statement on the Death of Rachel Corrie For Immediate Release

"I am saddened and horrified by the death of Rachel Corrie on March 16. The U.S. must require -- and the Israeli government must provide -- all of the facts about what happened on Sunday. What we know is terrible: a young, unarmed woman was run over and killed by a D-9 armored bulldozer driven by a member of the Israeli security forces. What we must find out is important: How could the bulldozer driver fail to see a brightly dressed woman with a bullhorn? What orders are the drivers given? How are they trained? What are their "rules of engagement" with protestors? "

On March 25, 2003, Mr. BAIRD (for himself, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. DICKS, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. WU, Mr. HONDA, Ms. ESHOO, and Mrs. CAPPS) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

Expressing sympathy for the loss of Rachel Corrie in the Palestinian village of Rafah in the Gaza Strip on March 16, 2003. "Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress-- (1) expresses its sympathy to Craig and Cynthia Corrie and to their extended families, friends, and co-workers for the loss of Rachel Corrie in the Palestinian village of Rafah in the Gaza Strip on March 16, 2003; (2) calls on the United States Government to undertake a full, fair, and expeditious investigation into the death of Rachel Corrie; and (3) encourages the Government of the United States and the Government of Israel to work together to determine all the circumstances that led to this incident and to ensure that an incident of this kind never occurs again. "

Representatives Romero and Hunt stated "Whereas, America has a proud history of achieving social change which at times has required civil disobedience and protest; and Whereas, No citizen peacefully protesting here or abroad should face imprisonment or death for these actions; and Whereas, Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old college student at The Evergreen State College and citizen of Washington state, died when an Israeli bulldozer crushed her as she protested the demolition of a Palestinian home; and Whereas, Rachel Corrie was dedicated to issues of peace and justice; and Whereas, As the youngest of three children raised in a home near Mud Bay, Rachel is recalled by her family as inquisitive and articulate, and very concerned about the world around her; and Whereas, Rachel attended an alternative elementary school her family helped found in the 1980s that focused on the environment, social justice, and peace; and Whereas, As a fifth-grader, Rachel and her classmates held a news conference on the steps of the State Capitol to call attention to world hunger; and Whereas, In high school, Rachel helped foreign-exchange students learn about America, and in college, she worked with the homeless, staffed a suicide hotline, and helped outfit children and adults as doves to march in an annual "Procession of the Species" parade; and Whereas, Regardless of anyone's stand on the Israeli-Palestinian question, Rachel's death was needless and should be investigated; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Legislature uphold the principles of free speech and the rights of all citizens to peaceable protest for whatever cause they choose; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Washington State House of Representatives request the President of the United States or Congress to conduct an investigation into the circumstances of Rachel's death and share the results of that investigation with the people of the United States."

Israeli Politicians and Officers
Former Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon, promised President Bush a "thorough, credible, and transparent investigation." Later, Capt. Jacob Dallal, a spokesman for the Israeli army, called Corrie's death a "regrettable accident" and said that she and the other ISM activists were "a group of protesters who were acting very irresponsibly, putting everyone in danger — the Palestinians, themselves and our forces — by intentionally placing themselves in a combat zone." A spokesman for the IDF told the Guardian that, while it did not accept responsibility for Corrie's death, it intended to change its operational procedures to avoid similar incidents in the future. The level of command of similar operations would be raised, said the spokesman, and civilians in the area would be dispersed or arrested before operations began. Observers will be deployed and CCTV cameras will be installed on the bulldozers to compensate for blind spots, which may have contributed to Corrie's death.

Palestinian Politicians
Yasser Arafat offered his condolences and gave the blessings of the Palestinian people to Corrie. Arafat promised to name a street in Gaza after Corrie; this however was not done.

Documentaries
3 documentaries made on Rachel Corrie called Rachel Corrie - An American Conscience, Channel 4 Documentary The Killing Zone, BBC Documentary When Killing is Easy made about the controversy.