Brit Tzedek v'Shalom

Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2003
Contact: Aliza Becker, Executive Director
(773) 583-5747
aliza@btvshalom.org

BRIT TZEDEK DEEPLY REGRETS DEATH OF PEACE MONITOR, CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION

Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace, deeply regrets the death of Rachel Corrie, who was run over and crushed by an Israel Defense Forces bulldozer in the Gaza Strip on March 16. Ms. Corey, an American from Olympia, Washington, and a monitor with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), was killed when she tried to prevent the bulldozer's demolition of a house in the Rafah refugee camp.

Accounts vary as to whether or not the driver of the bulldozer was aware that Ms. Corrie was standing in his path. An IDF spokesman said the driver had not seen her and called her death a "very regrettable accident," while fellow ISM monitors claimed that Ms. Corrie was dressed in bright colors and that there was nothing to obscure the driver's view. At a minimum, the IDF must have been aware of the presence of observers in the area, having clashed with them an hour before the incident in the same vicinity.

In order to determine the facts, the IDF should immediately undertake a full and impartial investigation of this tragic incident and determine if the death of Ms. Corrie was purposeful, or the result of willful negligence, or truly a regrettable accident. More broadly, Brit Tzedek calls upon the Israeli government to review its procedures for dealing with unarmed, non-violent protesters to institute measures to prevent further loss of innocent life. We also call upon the U.S. State Department make a similar demand of Israel.

Members of the International Solidarity Movement and other so-called "internationals" are engaged in a legitimate form of non-violent action to oppose and expose what are widely regarded as human rights abuses by the occupying Israeli forces. However unwelcome Israel considers their presence to be, there can be no justification for the IDF's intentional or negligent use of deadly force against them, to the extent that it occurs. Indeed, Israel's repeated call for the Palestinians to pursue their objectives by non-violent means is blatantly contradicted by any action that does not respect this form of protest.

Ultimately, only an end to the occupation - negotiated if possible, unilateral if necessary - and the withdrawal of Israeli forces and settlements from the West Bank and Gaza Strip can bring an end to the violence that has now claimed an innocent American life.

Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace, is a grassroots organization of American Jews deeply committed to Israel's well-being through the achievement of a negotiated settlement to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Signed:
Marcia Freedman, Board President
Brit Tzedek v'Shalom