A unique memorial for a woman killed in Israel is bound for Gaza.
An Irish cargo ship is bound for Gaza, just days after Israeli commandos stormed a flotilla of six ships, killing nine and arresting those on board who said they were on a humanitarian mission to deliver supplies to the impoverished territory. No one knows what will happen when the 19 activists and crew members aboard the MV Rachel Corrie reach Israel’s naval Gaza blockade, but the ship’s name calls to memory the woman for whom it is named.
Rachel Corrie was a 23-year-old American from Olympia, Wash., who was crushed to death by an Israeli Army bulldozer March 16, 2003. Corrie was in the Gaza Strip, working with the International Solidarity Movement, which opposes Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and living among Palestinians whose homes were being demolished. She was kneeling in front of a home, acting as a human shield, when she was bulldozed.
The Israeli Army called the killing a “very regrettable accident,” and said the driver of the bulldozer had not seen Corrie. Members of the International Solidarity Movement said “there was nothing to obscure the driver’s view.” Corrie was wearing a bright orange jacket when she was crushed.
Above: Video of an interview with Corrie.
