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A Mother's Day Talk

The Daughter I Can't Hear From

By CINDY CORRIE

Remarks delivered at Sylvester Park, Olympia, Washington, May 11, 2003

     To all moms here, happy Mothers' Day. This is a day some of us wait for in order to have a little reward for all the time we have spent in our lives reminding and making sure that all of the family birthdays, Fathers' Day, and important days in our families' lives are properly acknowledged. We deserve this day! We have earned it!

     I have had lovely Mothers' Days in my life. When my children were younger, I had to remain in bed until they could serve me breakfast there -- French toast (sometimes a little crispier than usual) and orange juice -- always lovingly, sometimes messily, most often safely prepared. There were gifts -- handmade cards, poems, drawings, and coupon books. The latter promised hours of house cleanings, meals to be prepared on one of my busier days, and sometimes an unlimited number of hugs. I think I always collected on the hugs. I probably didn't redeem all of the other coupons offered; but I knew on those mothers' days that my childrens' hearts and minds were filled with finding creative, tangible (and inexpensive) ways to say "I love you, Mom." I am not sure that even now they completely, consciously understand that their greatest gift to me has always been simply in their being.

     This Mothers' Day, of course, is a unique one for me. As my kids grew into adulthood and as we spread out across the country, on Mothers' Day I could count on a phone call from each of them -- three kid calls in one day. ( For AT&T and Sprint, Mothers'Day is winning the lottery.) This year, I hear from Chris and Sarah by phone and in person. Not from Rachel, who on March 16 was killed by a bulldozer in the Gaza Strip, while trying to protect a Palestinian home from demolition. Rachel is, though, powerfully with me -- in the same way, I am sure, that other mothers have their lost children powerfully with them on this day.

     The possibility of Mothers' Day 2003 having more than the usual significance was sparked for me before Rachel died -- a week before, when I was in Washington DC with other women gathered to challenge the pending war with Iraq. I spent a day in workshops and came across mothers planning to take Mothers Day back to its roots in this country, to Julia Ward Howe and her Declaration calling for a Mothers Day of Peace, and her model of challenging injustice and violence wherever it might be.

     There have been, since Rachel's death, others who have urged me to consider the power of mothers. On a radio call-in show out of Washington DC-the only call-in we have done -- I was nervous but quickly heartened when two of the first calls came from mothers of Evergreen students who had learned of Rachel through their children.

     Then came one from a kind man who told me that I was talking to the wrong people in Washington DC -- that instead of trying to communicate with the President, I needed to get in touch with Laura and Barbara Bush-- with the mothers of the world. I told the gentleman that I have a great deal of confidence in mothers. And I do. I am bonded to mothers. I feel something deep in our core, something that happens when a child comes into our lives that keeps us grounded in our awareness of the sanctity of that being and by transference keeps us grounded in our awareness of the sanctity of all human beings.

     I believe that the policies of this country and the money that follows them in the world, should reflect values that most mothers here hold -- the sanctity of each life, the equal value of each human being, and a commitment to justice applied equally through adherence to law.

     My attention, of course, has been drawn to injustices in the U.S./ Israeli/ Palestinian conflict. I meant today to talk with you about other mothers -- brave Palestinian and Israeli mothers -- but I have just learned of things that concern me greatly and that I must share with you.

     The International Solidarity Movement, the group with which Rachel worked, "was founded to provide the Palestinian people with a resource, international protection and a voice with which to resist nonviolently, an overwhelming military occupation force.

     In the last couple days the Israeli military has increased pressure on foreigners in the West Bank and particularly in the Gaza Strip and appears to be specifically targeting the ISM.

     Two British members, Nick and Alice, were held at a checkpoint for twenty-eight hours, with no arrest and no charges and are now being held at a settlement apparently for deportation. I believe Alice, is the woman who comforted Rachel as she was dying. Alice is Jewish and has cousins in Israel whom she fears for when she hears of a suicide bombing.

     Friday, approximately twenty military vehicles surrounded the ISM media office, seized ISM computers and video equipment, pillaged files and photos, broke equipment and damaged office space. Three females in the office (one from Human Rights Watch, a Palestinian volunteer, and an American volunteer) were taken away.

     The Palestinian has been released. The internationals are apparently still being held -- most likely for deportation. It is reported that these incidents are part of an overall plan to remove ISM from the West Bank and Gaza.

     The Associated Press states, "Under Israel's new rules, foreigners entering Gaza must sign a document in which they agree not to enter military areas along the Israeli-Egyptian border and 'other areas of combat' and in which they absolve Israel of all responsibility in the case of their injury or death."

     While the new regulations appear aimed at the ISM, the Associated Press states, "the regulations appear also to give the military considerable discretion in keeping away other foreign nationals -- journalists, aid workers, and those trying to monitor the fighting between the Israelis and Palestinians."

     Amnesty International has issued a statement saying it is concerned that "one aim of these new and drastic restrictions is to prevent outside monitoring and scrutiny of the conduct of the Israeli army."

     Our family does not know what reason the Israeli military is using for its actions against ISM. We do know that they said our daughter was in the Occupied Territories illegally. When we questioned our own State Department about this, they said they knew of absolutely no law that Rachel broke.

     I want to point out that the "the areas of combat" that the Israeli military speaks of are the residential streets of Gaza and the West Bank -- on land that belongs to the Palestinian people.

I want to point out that it is to these densely populated neighborhoods that the tanks and bulldozers come to carry out their military operations -- operations that include destroying homes, greenhouses, olive tree orchards, and wells. These are the neighborhoods over which American-made and financed Apache helicopters fly and where the snipers in the Israeli watchtowers that surround the area direct their ammunition.

     I want to point out that this past week, 19 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed by the Israeli military. The dead include five children, an old man, and a handicapped male.

     Thirteen of these deaths occurred in Gaza City's al-Shojaeya neighborhood where additionally forty Palestinians were wounded. Access to ambulances and medical staff was obstructed. Walls of some homes were destroyed.

     One thirty-six year old and his family were forced out of their house, ordered to take off their clothes and were then used as human shields to protect the Israeli soldiers from Palestinian resistance men confronting the forces. This use of civilians as human shields is illegal under international law.

     This week, in other Palestinian areas, other children were killed and injured when Israeli forces opened fire damaging houses and hitting a hospital and school. One child was killed when forces opened fire on stone throwers.

     A British journalist, James Miller, making an HBO documentary on the lives of Palestinian children in Rafah, was killed by Israeli forces though he and others had come out of a house waving a white flag and wearing vests marked "TV."

     Eighteen houses were destroyed in Rafah this week, leaving more than 100 more Palestinian civilians homeless.

     According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Regugees, since the beginning of the current strife in 2000, 12,737 Palestinians have seen their homes demolished. A great many demolitions have occurred near Gaza's border with Egypt where Israel is building what they call a security fence.

     On May 2 Israeli military with heavy vehicles and bulldozers moved into a Gazan village and razed fifteen pieces of Palestinian land planted with wheat, onions, wild figs, and olives. Iron-roofed rooms and irrigation networks were also destroyed.

     These occurrences of the past week are not unique. They happen day after day in Palestine.

     I do not need to point out, because you all know, that there are suicide bombings in Israel. These are horrible, indiscriminate, illegal acts of violence. Though there is no balance of power between the Israeli and Palestinian people, the fear is very real on both sides. The violence, however, inside Israel is a direct result of the 36 year occupation of Palestine and of the ongoing abuse of Palestinian human rights.

     There are no home demolitions in Israel, no gardens and orchards destroyed there, no wells and cisterns damaged and water taken away, no land taken away to create settlements, roads, and apartheid walls.

     We in America see the horror of the suicide bombings. We seem to see much less the ongoing, violence against the Palestinian people. Our blindness is an enormous contributing factor to this problem. We need to remember that as we have watched the deaths of some of the 773 Israelis who have died since September 2000, that there have also been 2298 Palestinian deaths.

     In this booklet now dedicated to Rachel are the names and some of faces of the children who have died since September 2000 -- Israeli, Palestinian. We need to remember them all.

     The news of the past couple days has left me no choice but to come to you with the hope that some of you will be moved to action this Mothers' Day. I urge you to take your voices to members of Congress, to the White House, to the State Department, to the Israeli Embassy.

     Tell them that the International Solidarity Movement and other international human rights activists in Palestine need their support.

     Tell them that, of course, the Israeli military does not want these activists watching and interfering as it commits one human rights violation after another.

     Tell them that the United States, which funds the out-of-control military activity in Palestine, should insist that international human rights observers be in the area but that until they do, it is imperative to support the non-violent activists who are there now.

     Tell them that the timid response from the U.S. and British governments to Rachel's death and that of journalist James Miller, and to the shootings of Brian Avery and Tom Hurndall gives Israel the green light to establish these new, harsh tactics to further intimidate the non-violent activists. It has been pointed out to me that the response to date by the U.S. and British governments to these incidents is sending a chilling message to human rights activists round the world. Our government must take a much stronger stand.

     There have been times when I have been quiet because I felt there were others who knew more. There are some who would like to quiet me now and who would like to quiet the power of Rachel's message, too. I am no longer intimidated by experts and critics and certainly not by the name-callers. After all, my daughter stood in front of a bulldozer in order to protect the Palestinian home of a family with three young children.

     I believe that I can speak out and that I have a responsibility as a mother to speak out and to demand that the experts, the policymakers, Congress, and the White House reflect our values -- our beliefs in the sanctity of each life, in the equality of each human being, and in justice and the rule of law.

     I want to close with a few short excerpts from a few of the letters we have received from around the world:

     From the Director Emeritus of a Jewish Studies Program at a major U.S. University where these words were spoken at a Memorium for Rachel:

"Our Jewish Scripture says in * Deuteronomy, Chapter 16, verse 20) "Justice, justice you shall pursue." The obverse of this biblical injunction is "Injustice, injustice you shall oppose!" And Rachel Corrie opposed injustice. For that we will honor her. For that we will remember her. But more importantly, for her sacrifice, for her premature death to have the greatest meaning, we must, as best we can, continue the struggle she so ardently undertook. May her example, and her life be a blessing to us all and may her dream of a better world come about speedily and in our time.

"From a woman in Israel who wrote to her friend here in Olympia,

"We need all our young people, ours and theirs."

     From a woman in New York state:

"My grandparents fled the pogroms of Russia a hundred years ago and spent decades working for the creation of a Jewish homeland. I'm certain that if they were alive, they would weep for all that is happening there now, as I do."

     From a group of thirty-five in North Carolina:

"We mourn Rachel's death, as we mourn the death of every Palestinian and Israeli man, woman, and child. We are a group of Jews who believe that the Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza is unjust, immoral, and completely contradictory to the best interests not only of the Palestinian people but of Israel and the Jewish people. We work to help people, both Jewish and non-Jewish, to find their voice, to speak up and speak out, to understand that criticism of the Israeli government and its inhumane policies is not only important, but absolutely critical to our future."

     And from a Muslim in the Middle East:

"I write to you as a parent myself and also as a Muslim who believes passionately in the freedom and dignity of every individual on our earth. It seems to me that we too carelessly forget or disbelieve our shared identity across all times and cultures, when in fact we are one human family desperately in need of peacemakers."

Cindy Corrie can be reached at: corrie@counterpunch.org.

[Deut. 16:20 in the King James says: "That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest inherit the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Question: Is it possible to 'justly' kick people out of their homeland (the Palestinians) who have lived there for thousands of years? Is it possible to 'justly' take over their homes, their orchards, their gardens that have been lovingly tended for centuries? If you haven't read the intro to this section, you may want to. Check out the 'territory' the Talmudists claim as their 'biblical heritage'. - Jackie - May 22nd, 2003]

Introduction to Israel By Jackie Patru What IS this all about? First we should attempt to determine what a Jew is, or isn't. Is a Jew a person who embraces a particular religion known as Judaism? Or, is it a Semitic person who traces his/her bloodline to the ancient tribe of Judah? Or is it both? Actually, it is neither. Their Biblical territory? The WORLD. A Jewish Defector Warns America BENJAMIN FREEDMAN SPEAKS. In 1961, at the Willard Hotel, Mr. Freedman warned of the cabal laying plans for WWIII, and the genocide being committed by Israel on the Palestinian people figured heavily then as now. This is a repost, taken verbatim from the taped version of the speech. The Zionist State (Harbinger of WWIII) By Douglas Reed A microscopic look behind the scenes at the manipulations, threats, bribes and murders committed in order to secure the vote by the United Nations, mandating the 'state' of Israel as a homeland for the so-called Jews. A gruesome picture of the bloody terror in Palestine that began simultaneously with the UN mandate. This a MUST READ, even for those who believe they know the facts. Rothschild-Israeli Connection Baron Edmond James (Avrahim Binyamin) de Rothschild (1845-1934) is known as the "Father of the Settlement" (Avi ha-Yishuv). The Independence Day coin is dedicated to the memory of Rothschild and marks the centenary of his first projects in Israel. The Kol Nidre The first and most important prayer of the Talmudist (Jewish) Holiday. "All vows , obligations, oaths, and anathemas. . . from this Day of Atonement until the next. . . we do repent.. May they be deemed absolved, forgiven, annulled, and void, and made of no effect; they shall not bind us nor have power over us. The vows shall not be obligatory; nor the oaths be oaths." Purim: What's It All About? G.W.Bush announced 'his' decision to sack Iraq on Purim Eve, March 17th, 2003. WHY? Why Purim Eve? It was not his plan, it was the plan of his advisors/handlers. On CNN that evening, a boxed quote told the viewers, it was "A Time Of Our Choosing." Whose choosing? Read this about Purim -- the Feast of Lots, and you will KNOW who chose the time for the massacre in Iraq. "On Purim, the Jews reaffirm their allegiance to Judaism -- and reach new spiritual heights. But then come masquerades, parodies, and serious drinking and feasting." Celebrating the death of their named 'enemies'. Samuel Untermeyer's Speech A transcript of Samuel Untermyer's speech made on WABC, declaring a 'holy war' by the Jews against Germany, and appealing to the masses of non-Jewish humanity to boycott German-made imports and all merchants who have German-made items in their establishments. The entire speech was published in the New York times on the morning following the broadcast (August 7th, 1933) which was mentioned by Benjamin Freedman in his talk before a group of patriots. The Protocols A chapter from the Controversy of Zion, by Douglas Reed "Uncanny knowledge, therefore, again seems to have inspired the statement, made in 1905 or earlier: 'Ever since that time' (the French Revolution) 'we have been leading the peoples from one disenchantment to another... By these acts all States are in torture; they exhort to tranquility, are ready to sacrifice everything for peace; but we will not give them peace until they openly acknowledge our international Super-Government, and with submissiveness'." Israel: The Jewel-Box of the World ISRAEL - THE ARTIFICIAL 'NATION/STATE' IS THE WEALTHIEST 'NATION' IN THE WORLD! READ: Message To Israel: May 1971: "See how this central piece of land, that is given the preeminence over all other land by God is, 'The Jewel Box of the World'. . . They [minerals in the dead sea] are estimated to have a total market value of about $1700 billion [$1.7 trillion] which is far more than the total wealth of the United States. . . This means that the Dead Sea will be a perpetual source of wealth to the nation that controls it." The Cost of "Occupied" Israel to the American People By Richard Curtiss "Put another way, the nearly $14,630 every one of 5.8 million Israelis had received from the U.S. government by October 31, 1997, cost American taxpayers $23,241 per Israeli. That's $116,205 for every Israeli family of five." The Finest Senate Money Can Buy By Uri Avenim, member of Israeli Knesset "One thing, however, is quite clear: Israel is not the 51st state of the United States of America, as some would like to think; rather, the US Congress is one of the occupied areas of Israel." Israeli Lobby Slips Anti-Israel Speech Bill Through U.S. House of Representatives This bill was introduced some time ago by Rick Santorum, 'Christian' Senator from Penna. The original bill would withhold 'federal funds' from a college that allowed ANY criticism of Israel. WHO controls the U.S. Congress? Oscar Levy, a Jew, Admits His People's Error "We (Jews) have erred, my friend; we have most grievously erred. And if there was truth in our error 3,000, 2,000, nay, 100 years ago, there is now nothing but falseness and madness... a madness that will produce an even greater misery and an even wider anarchy. There has been no progress, least of all moral progress. . . And it is just our Morality, which has prohibited all real progress, and -- what is worse -- which even stands in the way of every future and natural reconstruction in this ruined world of ours." Disraeli's "Coningsby' - An Excerpt (London, 1844) "And at the moment, in spite of centuries, or tens of centuries, of degradation, the Jewish mind exercises a vast influence on the affairs of Europe. I speak not of their laws, which you still obey; of their literature, with which your minds are saturated, but of the living Hebrew intellect." The Ship Wreckers By George Lincoln Rockwell "... in spite of all the fronts and cover-ups, there is one sure way of knowing who is the real boss anyplace." Israel-Backed Firm Buys U.N. Plaza Capital Real Estate, a New York-based company backed by Israeli shekels is now in contract to buy the glamorous green glass U.N. Plaza from the United Nations Development Corp. for approximately $161 million. Israeli Extremists and Christian Fundamentalists - The Alliance By Grace Halsell "By the time my book came out those "crazies" were on the front page of every American newspaper and on every news channel. we are seeing how the Christian Zionists, motivated by religious beliefs, are working hand in glove with politically motivated, militant Jewish Zionists around the world." A Lobby to Reckon With: Pro-Israel Christian Zionists BBC Broadcast and transcript. America's new Christian Zionists lobbying for Israel. "From this we see that the engine driving the U.S. and Israel into an all out world conflagration is -- along with the money from the Jewish PACs which control the U.S. Congress -- the Christian Zionists. Judeo-Christian wasn't quite 'Jewish' enough. What an oxymoron, and what a spit-in-the-face of Jesus." Jackie Patru Israel Wants U.S. to Pressure Syria Associated Press: In remarks published Monday, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Israel has "a long list of issues we are thinking of demanding of the Syrians, and it would be best done through the Americans." Greater Israel: What Does It Really Mean? The U.S. led war on Iraq... and eventually many other Muslim nations may be part of an Israeli plan to let others die for the goal of its expansion into Greater Israel. Extremist Zionist sympathizers in Bush's administration are the perpetrators of this scheme to have American military men and women die for Israel. See the arguments for this claim. Webmaster's note: This document is lengthy and is full of maps and other images. Please allow extra time for loading. American Murdered by Israeli Soldier Hoffman Wire: "Rachel Corrie, 23, is the American woman who was killed by an Israeli soldier operating a giant, D-9 armored bulldozer (paid for with your tax dollars). Congress, the president and the war-Zionist media are all silent. Imagine if she had been killed by an Iraqi!" Rachel Corrie's E-mails Home The Guardian - UK: "23-year-old American peace activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by a bulldozer as she tried to prevent the Israeli army destroying homes in the Gaza Strip. In a remarkable series of emails to her family, she explained why she was risking her life." Four Eye-witnesses Describe the Murder of Rachel Corrie "Her faced showed she was panicking and it was clear she was in danger of being overwhelmed. . . They pushed Rachel, first beneath the scoop, then beneath the blade, then continued till her body was beneath the cockpit. They waited over her for a few seconds, before reversing. They reversed with the blade pressed down, so it scraped over her body a second time. Every second I believed they would stop but they never did." Rachael Corrie's Memorial Service Disrupted by Israeli Army The Guardian - UK: "Israeli forces fired teargas and stun grenades yesterday in an attempt to break up a memorial service for Rachel Corrie, the American peace activist killed by an army bulldozer in Gaza on Sunday." Rachael Corrie's mom speaks up and out . . . about the Israeli genocide on Palestinians: "Friday, approximately twenty [Israeli] military vehicles surrounded the ISM (International Solidarity Movement) media office, seized ISM computers and video equipment, pillaged files and photos, broke equipment and damaged office space. Three females in the office (one from Human Rights Watch, a Palestinian volunteer, and an American volunteer) were taken away." Israel - The Secret Arsenal of the Jewish State MSNBC Interactive: "Despite Israel's refusal to acknowledge its nuclear weapons status, its secret arsenal is an open secret that Israeli policy makers don't go out of their way to deny." Look at the dots on this map! 2 Air Bases, 7 Strategic Weapons Plants and 3 Missile Facilities! It appears that no nation should have WMDs except U.S., U.K and Israel. Israeli Professor: 'We Could Destroy All European Capitals' "We have the capability to take the world down with us. And I can assure you that this will happen before Israel goes under." [It's called The Samson Option, folks.] What Christians Don't Know About Israel By Grace Halsell “We believe with absolute certitude that right now, with the White House in our hands, the Senate in our hands and The New York Times in our hands, the lives of others do not count the same way as our own.” —Israeli journalist, Arieh Shavit Jewish Calendar for Soldiers and Sailors Actual calendar, showing Bush family heritage. Tell a Joke, Go to Jail "In Hungary, the democratically-elected Parliament just last week passed a law stipulating a two-year prison term for 'someone who publicly insults a Jew'. What's more, if the insult amounts to an expression of 'hatred', the sentence goes up to three years! Fortunately, at the last moment, Hungary's President declined to sign the bill. It will be back, just like the American Federal hate-crime legislation kept coming back until it was passed recently. Israel's Mossad Black Ops and False Flags. Summary - MUST SEE! You WILL believe! New Order > From the President of the United States Jewish American Heritage Month, 2006 For our visitors who haven't read "Jewish Persecution", go to Chapters 12 and 18 if you would like to see the influence these people have had in the past -- early, early settling America, including the not-so-spontaneous American Revolution. A tough, bitter pill to swallow. -Jackie Related Link: www.come-and-hear.com (Links outside of sweetliberty.org) Come-and-Hear is: "A secular and pragmatic view of Talmud law as it advances into American law and society." Read: "America Under the Talmud: Will It Work for US? by Carol A. Valentine — Each essay is amply documented by hotlinks to the Talmud and other Rabbinical/Judaic sources. Learn what Talmud law says about: Religious Freedom; Atrocities & Just War; Animal Sacrifice and Blood Ritual; The Death Penalty; Marriage & Divorce; Sexual Fulfillment; Pederasty and Homosexuality; Polygamy; The Special Place of Gentiles" Also features is: "The Babylonian Talmud — A searchable hypertext version of the Jews' College (London) translation of the Babylonian Talmud, published through Soncino Press between 1935 and 1948: Tractates Sanhedrin, Berakoth, Shabbath, Yebamoth, Kethuboth, Nedarim, Nazir, Sotah, Gittin, Baba Kamma, Baba Mezi'a, Baba Bathra, Abodah Zarah, Horayoth, Niddah, and Tohoroth. This was the first complete English translation, produced by the most authoritative Judaic scholars in the world. It is the gold standard of English Talmuds, but chances are you won't find it in your local public library." “W Back to Israel main page | America's New War or War on Americans? | Issues Index | CDR Home