Parents of peace activists fight on

[Resistance]

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EB6AEE51-9A32-4FD3-A0FB-CB6301A538BE.htm

The grieving parents of two International peace activists - one of whom is dead and the other lying in a coma after being shot by the Israeli army - vowed to continue their fight for truth and justice.

Jocelyn Hurndall, mother of Tom Hurndall – who was shot in the head by a sniper whilst attempting to shepherd Palestinian children away from danger – delivered a letter of protest to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, demanding that he pressure Israel to carry out a full and transparent enquiry into the death of her son.

“As we watched our son on the verge of death, the family submitted to the Israeli Foreign Ministry our own detailed report and request for a fully transparent inquiry,” Jocelyn Hurndall wrote in the letter delivered to the British prime minister Thursday.


Separately, American’s Craig and Cindy Corrie – who have spent the past month walking the same paths as their daughter Rachel did before she was run down and crushed by an Israeli bulldozer in March - said a book has been published to explain why their daughter gave her life to stop the bloodshed.

(snipped the rest)

[laura888]

1. hurray for these peace activists!

anyone who fights for justice in the face of possible violence is a true hero.

[Resistance]

3. unfortunately

their stories have been seriously marginalized by the American media - to the point where anyone reasonable can only conclude that there has been a cover-up.

Which is fairly disgusting, given that one of the murdered activists was an American citizen.

[laura888]

4. agreed - how is that Jessica Lynch...

...gets a movie-of-the-week and not Rachel Corrie?

Jessica Lynch followed the call to duty in Iraq. She probably found herself there after she joined the military to obtain financial aid or some such. Obviously, self-serving (but no more than that of a normal person).

Rachel Corrie selflessly put her own desires, dreams, etc. on hold for a cause she believed in.

People, which of these is the true heroine?

[Darranar]

5. Jessica Lynch...

is part of the propaganda campaign to glorify the iraq war. The whole "rescue" thing was a show.

Rachel Corrie was part of a movement to help the innocent Palestinians.

As some pro-Israel people here are prone to saying, "there is no moral equivalency." Rachel Corrie was bad, evil, immoral, and a terrorist sympathizer. Jessica Lynch was a great hero, and those who rescued her were very brave to run through no enemy fire in the middle of an area already occupied by American troops.

(In cse you didn't notice, that last paragraph was meant to be very sarcastic.)

[bluesoul]

6. Just wondering...

I am wondering (since I am not from the US), how much attention did the whole Rachel Corrie story get in the USA big media? Was there any real outrage? Thanks..

[laura888]

7. almost no coverage whatsoever

if you asked the average joe who Rachel Corrie is, they would give you a blank stare...

But almost everyone has heard of Jessica Lynch

[Resistance]

8. and, the attention she did get

came in the form of the obnoxious right-wing mafia showing pictures of her burning a flag. In newspapers, on internet message boards, it was everywhere. And you still see it even today.

A friend of mine had recently sent around to an email list an article which compared Corrie to Lynch, showing the differences between media treatement, etc.. Well, her conservative son nearly immediately replied, pasting a picture of Rachel burning a flag, and screaming about what a bad girl she is, and how it "hurts the peace process" to have "dumb liberals" like her meddling in situations they don't understand. Out of respect for my friend, I ignored the vile message from the son, but it was just another reminder for me of the vicious, mindless campaign of the reactionary Right that they've been engaged in ever since the day Israel murdered Rachel Corrie.

There will be no justice for Rachel, either. Hell, Israel got away with the murder of 34 American servicemen, nearly sinking their vessel entirely back in '67 - why should we be so dumb as to believe that a young leftist peace activist would be treated with the respect she deserves, in the form of a fair investigation? Very doubtful.

[Darranar]

9. There are two reactionary Rights...

on opposite ends of the spectrum here.

There were plenty of anti-semitic websites which used the event to demonize Jews and Israelis as a whole.

[Resistance]

10. You're right Darranar

and both of them are completely disgusting and wrong. Thanks for pointing that out.

[Darranar]

11. Exactly...

and any attempt to demonize Rachel Corrie by comapring her to the second is also a load of junk.

[Darranar]

2. Keep it up, people!

Hopefully, justice will eventually be served.