Rachel Corrie...

Rachel Corrie in Palestine…and in San Francisco
by Iqbal Tamimi

Joel Beinin
August 2009

On March 16, 2003, Rachel Corrie, a 23-year old American peace activist, was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer that was preparing to raze the home of a Palestinian pharmacist in the Gaza Strip. Corrie's death prompted a raft of journalistic inquests, all ostensibly concerned to sift through the competing claims of her activist colleagues, who say she was killed on purpose, and Israel, which prefers to call the bulldozer driver's action a "regrettable accident." A new film by Israeli-French director Simone Bitton is the most thorough and credible investigation to date. Is the film's content the reason why the official Jewish organizations of the Bay Area were so outraged by its screening at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival this summer? Or is it that the power of these organizations to mark the boundaries of "acceptable discourse" in the American Jewish community is fading?

Joel Beinin reflects upon "Rachel Corrie in Palestine...and in San Francisco," now in Middle East Report Online:

http://www.merip.org/mero/interventions/beininINT2.html

(Joel Beinin is Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History at Stanford University and a contributing editor of Middle East Report.)

More information about the Rachel controversy is at the website of Jewish Voice for Peace.

The question-and-answer session with Cindy Corrie is available online (first of five parts -- follow the links at the right to view the remaining four).

The pre-film speech of Michael Harris is available online.

For more about the power of film vis-à-vis the question of Palestine, see Ursula Lindsey, “Shooting Film and Crying,” Middle East Report Online (March 2009).

See also Lori Allen, “Paradise Now’s Understated Power,” Middle East Report Online (January 2006). (To read in full please visit Palestinian Mothers...)

Frank Schaeffer's warning...

Franklin Schaeffer, the author of Crazy For God and a man who knows whereof he speaks when it comes to the great white underbelly of the American Right, really laid it out last night on Rachel Maddow's show:

Maddow: Do you think that calling the president a Nazi, calling the president Hitler, is an implicit call for politically-motivated violence?

Schaeffer: Yes I do. In fact, this rings a big bell with me, because my dad, who was a right-wing evangelical leader, wrote a book called A Christian Manifesto -- it sold over a million copies.

(I strongly recommend you Visit Crooks and Liars to read the rest...)

PLAYING FOR CHANGE: PEACE THROUGH MUSIC

Bob Marley's "One Love" performed by Keb' Mo' and performers from India, Israel, Nepal, South Africa and Zimbabwe in the new PBS special PLAYING FOR CHANGE: PEACE THROUGH MUSIC.

Playing for Change is a multimedia effort to unite musicians and vocalists from diverse parts of the globe while seeking to immerse audiences in a movement to inspire, connect and bring peace to the world through music. Using mobile audio/video units, technicians traveled the world, recording local musicians outdoors in towns and cities worldwide. In addition, musicians from all over the world are now brought together to perform benefit concerts that build music and art schools in communities in need. The special premieres August 1 and airs throughout August 2009 on most PBS stations. Check local listings for dates and times in your area at pbs.org. You can help PBS continue to offer everyone — from every walk of life — the opportunity to experience amazing performances and explore new ideas through television and online content. To donate, please visit http://www.pbs.org/support