Rachel Corrie Banner Project Demos

On the 16th of every month, The Rachel Corrie Banner Project, organized by Americans for Justice in Palestine-Israel, demonstrates in front of U.S. politicians' offices and other public locales to demand an end to U.S. support of apartheid Israel and an investigation into Corrie's tragic death, demanding that the Israeli soldier be brought to trial for his hideous crime.

Rachel Corrie is the 23-year old peace activist from Olympia, Washington, who was deliberately bulldozed to death by an Israeli soldier on March 16, 2003, while she was trying to defend a Palestinian family's home from being demolished. Since the beginning of the Second Intifada in Sept. 2000, over 12,500 Palestinians have been made homeless as the result of home demolitions by the Israeli army. This is collective punishment , officially a war crime according to International Law, and obviously a crime against humanity. Israel claims it is merely defending itself, but in actuality, it is just one aspect of the savagely cruel Israeli occupation of Palestine in an ongoing effort to ethnically cleanse non-Jewish Palestinians from their own homeland to make way for a "Greater Israel" for Jews, who are the only ones who enjoy completely equal rights in Israel.

The latest demonstration on July 16th, the fourth month anniversary of Rachel Corrie's martyrdom, was staged at Congressman Tom Lantos' office in San Mateo, California. About twenty demonstrators rallied, with two huge two-sided banners that feature a photo of Rachel Corrie in front of the bulldozer that killed her only moments later, and the text demands "Stop U.S. Support of Apartheid Israel NOW!" There was some media coverage of the demonstration including by the local San Mateo paper, which focussed on when an aide from Lantos' office came out to give out cookies for a photo opportunity. The caption at least included information about why the protesters were there in more-than-average detail for a mainstream U.S. newspaper.

Wendy Campbell, one of the organizers, was followed by a videographer-photojournalist into the building where she was admitted into Lantos' office. The video shows how she proceeded to give the aide Evelyn Szelenyi some of the protesters' literature, as she explained how the group believes that the U.S. government and Israel need to honestly address the unjust way in which Zionist Israel was founded and the ethnic cleansing campaign against the non-Jewish Palestinians that continues to this day, funded by U.S. tax dollars. "No people's suffering is more important than another people's suffering," Campbell pointed out.

The first rally was held on June 16 in front of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's office in protest of her unconditional support of apartheid Israel, a view which is also fully shared by Lantos. For more information on both of these rallies, including a link to video footage, please check out this website: http://www.distanceeddesign.com.

Americans for Justice in Palestine-Israel hope to spark a nationwide Rachel Corrie Banner Project movement, whereby concerned Americans will likewise raise banners and carry signs in front of their local politicians offices on a rotating basis on the 16th of every month until the U.S. stops supporting apartheid Israel, and demands justice for Rachel Corrie as well as for the Palestinians themselves. Free CDs with the artwork for the banner which can be brought to your local banner maker are available on a limited basis. Those who are interested in receiving one of these free disks, and/or more information, are encouraged to write to: Americans for Justice in Palestine-Israel, c/o Wendy Campbell, PO Box 10458, Oakland, CA 94610.