Saturday, March 16, 2013

Remembering Rachel Corrie--Continuing her Work

Today is the tenth anniversary of Rachel Corrie's death in Gaza. Rachel was trying to prevent Israel's destruction of Palestinian homes in Gaza when a bulldozer ran over her and killed her. Despite court cases, her parents, Cindy and Craig, have not seen justice done.

They have, however, continued the work Rachel gave her life for. Watch them in a short (5 min) video, remembering their daughter and continuing her work:




The Corries talk about pressuring President Obama to make sure that the money we give to Israel in foreign aid is not used for demolition of Palestinian homes, and other human rights violations. Their words echo the letter of fifteen US church leaders to members of congress last October - US aid to Israel must be examined to make sure these monies are not used in violation of human rights and international law. They said, in part:

"As Christian leaders in the United States, it is our moral responsibility to question the continuation of unconditional U.S. financial assistance to the government of Israel. Realizing a just and lasting peace will require this accountability, as continued U.S. military assistance to Israel — offered without conditions or accountability — will only serve to sustain the status quo and Israel’s military occupation of the Palestinian territories.

We request, therefore, that Congress hold Israel accountable to these standards by making the disbursement of U.S. military assistance to Israel contingent on the Israeli government’s compliance with applicable U.S. laws and policies."

Read the letter.....

Take action today - sign on to a letter organized by JStreet, urging the president, on the eve of his trip to Israel and Palestine, to act to bring about peace—Just ahead of President Obama’s trip to Israel next week, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has authored a ‘dear colleague’ letter circulating on Capitol Hill urging the President to reaffirm that a pathway to peace remains a priority for his administration: Click here to ask Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet to sign onto Senator Feinstein’s letter and affirm their commitment to making US leadership to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a top priority.

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