An incredible act of bravery against a ruthless occupation, there to expose Israeli crimes — Rachel Corrie 23-year-old activist from Olympia, Washington, crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer on its way to demolish yet another Palestinian home in a dark corner of Gaza near the border with Egypt.
To her family and eyewitnesses, her killing was intentional. That the driver of the bulldozer could not have missed a blonde-haired foreign activist wearing an orange fluorescent jacket. To the Israeli courts, it was merely a regrettable accident.
Her case was closed but the debate over her death caught on. Rachel Corrie became synonymous with solidarity for the Palestinian cause.
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An example of how Rachel Corrie’s activism resonates with activists today is how non-Palestinians are calling out western media for glorifying Ukraine for things the Palestinians have been doing for years.
At a time of Palestinian disappointment over several Arab governments normalizing ties with Israel and the international double-standard over the Ukraine crisis, it is the legacy of people such as Rachel Corrie that acts as a reminder of a decades-long Palestinian struggle for justice.
