Eyewitness Account Of Rachel Corrie's Murder By An Israeli Army Bulldozer

I have never experienced anything like this in my life. I've never had someone close to me die before, let alone be brutally murdered right in front of my eyes. I don't even know how to react. I went through stages of dumbfounded shock and serious crying fits. I had no chance to be alone at all, I was either surrounded by Palestinians or on the phone with media. I chose the latter. I was doing interviews non-stop starting 30 min. after her death, all the way until midnight, and then starting again at 6am and continuing all day today. I literally would never hang up the phone, just switch to an incoming call on call waiting. When I did finnally get a second to breath, I'd have like 30 missed calls.

Anyway, it was a bit therepudic I think, telling the story over and over, and interviews make me feel important. All this thing is is a media event now, so we must continue a campaign as hard as possible before the new and bigger tragedy, the Iraq war, begins. The few hours I had off interviews last night between midnight and 4am, was spent organizing todays events, press conferences, live TV/radio interviews, a demonstration and the begginings of the traditional Palestinian 3-day ceremony. Now we're preparing for a serious influx of people from the West Bank and Israel, as well as some people from abroad, possibly including her family.

The stress is really getting to me. I couldn't sleep for the 2 hours I was allowed because my body won't relax. My heart is racing and shake a lot, and even have trouble breathing. My jaw is the worst though. It won't losen to save my life, and it hurts like hell, especially when I chew (when i get time to grab a falafle sandwhich). I've never experienced physical stress and tension like this. We thought this might happen eventually. We often spoke in the abstract that eventually one of us would get killed, but we always figured they'd shoot us, or it'd be an "accident", like in a house that is misiled or a stray bullet gets an unlucky activist. I never dreamed it'd be like this, the intentional crushing of a human being.

I do believe it was intentional. I saw it, and I know he saw her, I know he did, and I know he knew she was still under the bulldozer when it backed up without raising its blade. I don't know if he wanted to kill her, or if he was just focused on doing his work and didn't care if he killed her or not, I don't know which is scarrier. I don't feel like telling the whole detailed story right now. I promise that for the record I will tell it in detail, but give me a few days. I just want to quickly dispell a few myths you may have heard in the media. She did not "trip and fall" in front of the bulldozer. She sat down in front of it, well in advance, wearing one of the orange flouro jackets I got in Amsterdam. (by the way, I took the pictures you may have seen of her, standing with the megaphone in front of the bulldozer, and the ones of her freinds helping her).

He clearly saw her, and continued to drive until she was forced onto the top of the dirt he was pushing, elevating her so much that she was at eye level with the bulldozer's cab, he could see right into her eyes. He continued forward, pulling her underneath the dirt, and out of his vision. He continued forward, crushing her underneath the weight of the blade. He continued forward, until she was well underneath the bulldozer. It was then quite clear that she was nowhere but underneath him, but he proceded to back up, without lifting the blade, crushing her again.

I beleive that it was the combination of these two crushings that caused her death. She was defending the house of a physician. We've all stayed in the house, we know that there are no weapons of any kind there. Just a middle aged doctor and his lovely family. They want to demolish it because it happens to lie near the boarder, and they're systematically demolishing all the houses near the boarder. It has nothing to do with retaliatory or preventative operations.They were not searching for tunnels or bombs either. We know what this looks like, they do it alot. It involves armored drills and bomb dogs and shooting at the ground, none of which was present here.

Its just a further example of the Israeli military's blatent lies.There was never any gunfire from any Palestinians, the only gunfire came from the tank, when it shot at the ground a few times in order to scare us. But even this was extremely minimal. The Palestinian that was killed was in a totally seperate area of Rafah, and was killed by blanket fire into the area, not in a gun battle. It is quite unfortunate that his death probably wouldn't even be reported anywhere if it weren't for Rachel. The Palestinians have been incredible. They are quite used to this, as thousands of their people have died. Indeed I now know how every Palestinian family feels, as many of them have lost multiple freinds and family to this occupation.

Their support has been invaluable however, they've gone to full lengths to give her a proper demonstration and ceremony, like they give every other Shahid (martyr). They've made a nice poster of her as well, which will be posted in all of the places she has been, and there's ganna be a big march and demonstration this afternoon. We're planning actions for the comming days as well. We're planning to occupy the murder sight, and line the whole area with flowers, and erect a nice visible memorial as well. I don't know what this means for us now.

It could go one of two ways. It could make us more effective, because now they know that we are not going to move, and that we will risk our safety to oppose them. Thus they will be forced to be more careful, and withdraw sooner. Or, it could mean that they know longer care, and will willfully kill and injur us without hesitation. This would render us useless as human sheilds, and our work would be impossible. So we'll have to see.

I know we'll be much more careful, and have long talks about tactics, and with what people are still comfortable. I have a lot of thinking and considering to do. But we're not leaving, that's for sure. We're dedicated to staying here, especially with the Iraq war and risk of full invasion of Gaza. If any of you heard anything else and have questions, I'd gladly respond to them.

I also encourage you to contact your local media, and tell them that you know someone who was there and saw it, and who is still there and willing to give a full interview. Feel free to give them my name and phone number: Joseph Smith, 092-67-628-507. Please spread the word, its all we can do now.I'm sure you'll keep me in your thoughts, I need all the energy I can get as I deal with this trauma. My close freinds and family have been wonderful, and havn't freaked out on me like I thought they would. But I share their concern. Ok, I must go the press conference. Below is an article by my professor from Evergeen, its a fabulous analysis of Sharon's occupation and his attacks on innocent civilians. much love and desparity

-Joe

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I suppose yall are too rude to put it bluntly (english)
piet 12:19am Mon Aug 4 '03
comment#336534


like the daughter of an israeli army officer with religious background who keeps sharks for pets put it: what was she doing on a warfront?

My counterQ was: why weren't 10.000 jewish women with her or showing up shortly after her? (who is evermore blessed and who's memory will outlive earth itself sooner than you clever cartoonists ever will.

For jews history starts with the war arabs lost and zionists? Well they're just one liddul peace of the incontrollably complex phenom that is known by 'jewish blood/rules/rites.

We happened to be watching the 'battle', sorry, I mean chase between a seal and a shark at the time (lasting a suprisingly long while) which prompted me to say that the concept of fighting fair seems to have gone out the window ever since resilient bulk made way for pretty facades and faces commanded by more and more devious 'smarts' that put the poisons in more and more unexpected and more and more purely symbolic places.

Wars and walls may indeed be inevitable between Israeli and Palestinians and not just bycause of what happed in the last century but the world champs in shamanic woolovereye and leg pulling leaders/bleeders. These walls should be generously placed well beyond presently fertile grounds cultivated by Palestinians and all land beyond them taken as the challenge to prove the jewish race has learned something from/about the effects of incontinent demography, soul wanderings and spasmodic migrations, there is only one more chance left and that is to radically convert all hardware in service of desert regreening. Final call indeed.

I told her that anybody feeling the heat very literally this year should realize they have a zionism stoked and fueled Bush admin to thank.