ISRAEL: Call to Action... Verdict in the Corrie Civil Case in Israel.

On August 28th, the verdict in the civil lawsuit brought against the Israel Ministry of Defense and State by the Corrie family after the Israeli government failed to take responsibility for Rachel Corrie's murder in 2003 will be heard.  During this time, our friends at the Rachel Corrie Foundation (RCF) are encouraging people concerned with justice for Rachel's killing and committed to activism aimed at ending the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza to take action with the We Divest Campaign.

Please find below a call to action from our friends at the Rachel Corrie Foundation. We encourage you to take part in any and all ways you can--and to spread the word in your networks and communities. 

We are honored that RCF sees the We Divest campaign as "one of the most promising attempts to end American complicity in the occupation." We share with RCF the commitment to pressure TIAA-CREF to divest from American companies profiting from the occupation like Caterpillar, Motorola Solutions, Northrop Grumman, and Hewlett Packard. As always, we invite you to join us.

Onward,

Alissa Wise

National Coordinator of the We Divest Campaign

CALL TO ACTION

Mark the Verdict in the Corrie Civil Case in Israel - August 28th!

August 10, 2012

Dear Friends, 

The Corries are on their way to Haifa for the verdict in their civil lawsuit later this month.  We call on you to act in support.  For ten years, you have remembered Rachel Corrie and followed the work of her family and many others to pursue accountability and justice in her case.  You stood with the Corries when the Israeli Government failed to take responsibility for Rachel's killing by the Israeli military in 2003.  You stood with the Corries when the U.S. Government was largely ineffective, despite their finding that the Israeli military police investigation of Rachel's killing did not meet standards of being "thorough, credible, and transparent."  Seeking every possible avenue to push for transparency and accountability, and on advice of the U.S. Government, the Corrie family brought a civil lawsuit against the Israel Ministry of Defense and State.

Now, nearly 7 1/2 years since the case was filed and nearly 2 1/2 years since the trial in Haifa District Court began, we ask you to continue to stand with the Corries as a verdict is announced the morning of August 28th in the courtroom of Judge Oded Gershon.  

  

All of us at the Rachel Corrie Foundation hope the outcome will provide some measure of justice for Rachel's killing; but regardless, the larger struggle for justice and equal rights continues.  Inspired by Rachel's work and her belief that all Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live in peace with dignity and equality, we continue our efforts:

·   To seek a just peace in the Middle East and an end to the 45-year Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.

·  To bring visibility to the oppression but also to the spirit and endurance of the people of Gaza and all Palestinians. 

·   To bring attention to the responsibility we all have for the continuing injustices and human rights abuses in Palestine, and for the particular culpability of corporate America and U.S. taxpayers. 

· To end Israel's impunity regarding human rights violations, including home demolitions.

The Israeli policy of home demolitions, sometimes extending to entire villages, remains as urgent an issue now as it did when Rachel defended homes in Rafah, Gaza.

Palestinians in Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and Hebron Hills live daily with the threat (or reality) of their homes being confiscated or turned into rubble.  More than 1,000 houses were demolished in the Naqab alone in 2011, and the Prawer Plan, approved by the Israeli Government in September 2011, will lead to further displacement of 70,000 people.  We call on you individually and as organizations to mark the week of the trial verdict with actions to end the housing demolitions that deny Palestinians the basic human right to be secure in their homes.  

For those in Palestine/Israel: We are inspired by the incredible work Israeli and Palestinian activists do to challenge home demolitions and confiscations.  We encourage any actions organized the week of the verdict to include Rachel's memory and spirit. You can include Rachel's image by printing this poster of her in Rafah, Gaza Strip.  Register your planned action here and we will post it to our website. Send photos or videos of your action to info@rachelcorriefoundation.org. 

For information about further actions planned, contact Jen at donkeysaddle@gmail.com.

For those in the U.S.: We can impact home demolitions by removing support from companies that profit from Israel's occupation and home demolition policies. The We Divest campaign to pressure investment firm TIAA-CREF to divest from such companies is a promising effort to end U.S. complicity in the occupation.  Caterpillar Inc. is one of these companies.  It profits from destruction wreaked upon Palestinian families, their farms, and their economy using CAT equipment.  Rachel was killed beneath a Caterpillar D9 weaponized bulldozer as she tried to protect the home of a Palestinian family.  While TIAA-CREF recently removed CAT in its Social Choice accounts, it still holds over a billion dollars of CAT stock.

  

Please take the following actions: From Sunday, August 26th until Sunday, September 2nd, deliver letters to TIAA-CREF offices, and remember Rachel as you do. Combine this with a larger event, or designate a few people to do the delivery.  Register your planned action here so we can post it to our website, and we will e-mail you a poster to use of a Palestinian family impacted by demolitions using CAT equipment.  Can you help us exceed our goal of delivering letters to half of the 60 TIAA-CREF offices?   Download a copy of our sample TIAA-CREF letter.   Send us photos and videos from your actions, and we will launch a nationwide social media campaign with images that show the level of support for TIAA-CREF divestment. 

1.  Print this image of Rachel.  Photograph yourself with it, and post it on our new Tumblr blog.  Deliver the photo to the nearest Israeli Consulate demanding accountability and an end to home demolitions. We will gather images worldwide and also send them to the U.S. Department of State. 

2.  Take part in a live conference call with the Corrie family, Wednesday, August 29th, 6:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time/ 9:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.  To participate in the call, RSVP to rochelle@rachelcorriefoundation.org. Host a house party or community gathering for those who want to join the call.  

3.  Sign this petition in support of the campaign to pressure TIAA-CREF to divest.

For those in other parts of the world: We encourage you, too, to use your creativity to take a stand against home demolitions now.  Register your planned action here so we can post it on our website.  Please send photos and videos of your action to info@rachelcorriefoundation.org.  

We invite all our friends and allies to share reflections on Rachel's stand on twitter with the hashtag #RememberRachel. 

  

Together, we can seize the moment.  We can tell Rachel's story.  Most of all, we can cry out with her message of equality and human rights and for her call to end home demolitions and the Israeli occupation!

Thank you for your support as together we build the global movement for Palestinian human rights! 

The Staff and Board of Directors 

Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice 

Olympia, Washington

For info about Rachel Corrie...
For info about the trial in Israel...
For info about home demolitions...
For info about divestment...