Rachel Corrie
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Rachel Corrie


Rachel Corrie
Born April 10, 1979(1979-04-10)

Died March 16, 2003 (aged 23)

Nationality American
Alma mater Capital High School, The Evergreen State College (TESC)
Home town Olympia, Washington
Parents Craig Corrie, Cindy Corrie

Rachel Corrie (April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003) was an American member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) who traveled to the Gaza Strip during the Second Intifada. She was killed by a Caterpillar D9 armoured bulldozer operated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during a protest against the destruction of Palestinian homes by the IDF in the Gaza Strip.[1] The details of the events surrounding Corrie's death are disputed; an Israeli military investigation ruled the death was an accident, while some of the ISM activists present at the scene allege Corrie was run over deliberately. Other witnesses contend the driver lost sight of Corrie before she was fatally injured, or did not see her at all.

Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 Activities in Gaza
3 Corrie's death and subsequent controversy
3.1 ISM eyewitness accounts
3.2 Autopsy and early investigation
3.3 Israeli government report
4 Reaction
5 Artistic tributes
6 Lawsuits
7 See also
8 External links
9 Video
10 References
10.1 Footnotes
10.2 General references



[edit] Early life
Raised in Olympia, Washington, Corrie was the daughter of Craig Corrie, an insurance executive, and Cindy Corrie, an amateur flautist.[citation needed] She graduated from Capital High School then attended The Evergreen State College (TESC).[2] She initially joined the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace then, in her senior year, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). Following her graduation, she traveled to the Middle East to participate in ISM-organized demonstrations in Rafah.


[edit] Activities in Gaza
On January 18, 2003, Corrie traveled to the Gaza Strip, where she attended two days of training in non-violent resistance[citation needed] and serving as human shields to impede house demolition in the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts.[1] The IDF operation had previously demolished three buildings and several walls in the area.[3] Through February and March, according to ISM activists and e-mails Corrie sent to her family, she took part in a mock trial of George W. Bush; a demonstration as part of the February 15, 2003 anti-war protest against the war in Iraq, where she burned a paper U.S. flag; and helped to occupy the area around local wells, an operation the ISM described as designed to protect the wells and Palestinian workers from the IDF.

In e-mails to her family, Corrie described what she witnessed and expressed her frustration over it.[4] On March 14, 2003 in an interview with the Middle East Broadcasting network, she said: "I feel like I'm witnessing the systematic destruction of a people's ability to survive ... Sometimes I sit down to dinner with people and I realize there is a massive military machine surrounding us, trying to kill the people I'm having dinner with."[1]


[edit] Corrie's death and subsequent