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Monday, February 2, 2004

On the life and death of Rachel Corrie   

Some disturbed fool named Dennis Prager (who from what I can tell from skimming his website appears to be a very socially conservative, right-wing, anti-gay, pro-Israel, Jewish, American radio talk-show host) wrote a an entirely repugnant article on Beliefnet...
... anyone with a conscience must regard Rachel Corrie's activities with contempt. One hopes that it is not asking too much of people to entertain simultaneously two conflicting emotions -- grief for the parents and contempt for the daughter. Rachel Corrie chose to side with a society that breeds some of the cruelest murderers of innocent people in the world. Rachel Corrie gave her life trying to protect people whose declared aim is to annihilate another country. In the name of saving children's lives, Rachel Corrie chose to defend a society that teaches its young children to blow themselves up and which deliberately targets children for death. And Rachel Corrie went to America's enemies to burn her country's flag. ...

I'm glad to say that this article got some wonderful feedback from Beliefnet members...
The one stupid comment:
Your article describes the truth as it really is and with even far greater frightening implications. While it is truly unfortunate that this young girl was so misguided and so naive as to allow herself to become a pawn for terrorists, she is however being lauded as a martyr by those (here in the USA and abroad) who would use the opportunity to do so as a veiled "politically correct" statement of anti-Semitism.

Was followed by numerous excellent ones (I've edited them down a bit, made minor grammatical corrections, being the anal grammar freak that I am):
What kind of Orwellian world do we live in where people who try to stay in their homes and keep land that should be theirs are called "terrorists"? Prager is also being disingenuous when he writes that Rachel Corrie was just protecting "a house." Perhaps he wouldn't mind if someone bulldozed his home to make way for another one.

Prager misrepresents the ISM, who are not "dedicated" to an "armed struggle."
[from their website]
"As enshrined in international law and UN resolutions, we recognize the Palestinian right to resist Israeli violence and occupation via legitimate armed struggle. However, we believe that nonviolence can be a powerful weapon in fighting oppression and we are committed to the principles of nonviolent resistance."

I particularly like the concept that the entire Palastinian race is, apparently, evil. By protecting one house she sided with an entire "society that breeds some of the cruelest murderers of innocent people in the world."
Didn't someone say similar things about Jews about 70 years ago? A plague on society, criminals, theives, con artists, murderers. The world is better off without them. No such thing as a good Jew.
No such thing as a good Palastinian.
Oh, if only we'd learn.

To refer to Israel as a peaceful nation is truly absent of the facts. Please sir, do educate yourself on a subject before you write again.

To disagree with the policies of Israel does not make one an anti-Semite; to disagree with the policies of the U.S. does not make one anti-American...[AMEN!]

I think it should also be said that no matter how upsetting it may be to some people, it is not a crime to burn the American flag.

...To hold her in contempt, as this writer does, speaks more about him than her...

This article by Dennis Prager is simply vile. It's disgusting, and having read it I feel like I need to take a shower.
Israel and America are "peace-loving"? Is this a satire, are we supposed to laugh at this?
A woman was murdered, and the murderer will get away with it. Israel is calling this an "accident." Just like the many children they've gunned down, those were "accidents," too. The IDF seems to have a lot of "accidents."
The hatred and ignorance on display here is truly sickening. The crimes against Rachel Corrie didn't end with her murder...

I wish that Beliefnet would remove this piece. I'm not going to read it. [I admit to only scanning the second half of it, as it is so truly repulsive!]

Hey Prager. What would you do if an invader pushed you into a little postage stamp corner of your own country[?] The Palestinian people are fighting to hold onto what little is left of their land...

To which I added mine:

I agree with a previous commenter that this disgusting article has no place on Beliefnet. Dennis Prager reveals himself to be an ignorant, heartless fool. Rachel Corrie was indeed a martyr, a hero, someone whose courage and committment to justice and freedom should be honored and emulated. The state of Israel is a violent, oppressive, murderous occupier. A number of Palestinians are violent, murderous resisters, and I do not support their actions, though I do support their cause. Israel kills many times more Palestinians every year than Palestian suicide bombers kill Israelis—and most importantly, Israel does so as a sovereign nation, using supposedly legitimate, mutli-billion dollar, US-backed, heavily armed, world-class military forces, often against defenseless, unarmed people, while the Palestinian terrorists are simply misguided, understandably desperate, oppressed individuals fighting back the only way they know how against the repulsive tactics of an unrepentant invader and occupier.

Rachel Corrie's death and those of other peace activists in Israel are abhorrent, and any American who has managed—despite a serious lack of media coverage—to become aware of them should raise an outcry against US support of the Israeli military machine! The IDF (Israeli Defense Force) is completely out of control and out of line, raining a stream of never-ending destruction and despair upon the defenseless people of Palestine. Prager disparges Corrie for "screaming anti-American invective while burning an American flag", and yet that is what every one of us ought do to protest our government's support of the state of Israel and its military's actions! He objects to the International Solidarity Movement's cause of an "armed struggle" against Israel (a claim which is disputed by a previous commenter), but apparently has no problem with Israel's armed invasion and ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories.

Prager writes: "In the name of saving children's lives, Rachel Corrie chose to defend a society that teaches its young children to blow themselves up and which deliberately targets children for death." This is such an absurd statement. To begin with, all Palestinian people do not support the actions of terrorist suicide bombers. Furthermore, even if Palestinian society as a whole did support suicide bombers, that would in no way justify the Israeli army murdering people and bulldozing families' homes! As an earlier commenter said, "Perhaps [Prager] wouldn't mind if someone bulldozed his home to make way for another one."

I don't know what qualifications he supposedly has, but allowing this fool to write articles here reflects very badly on the whole of Beliefnet.

Fortunately there are also some good articles on Beliefnet on the topic. Here is one that I don't agree with but that is well-written and not disgusting. I disagree with this Israeli man's pro-Israel stance and his assessment of the situation and his apparent idea that it is EVER justifiable to bulldoze a family's home! But he has written a thoughtful and respectful piece.

This is a very moving letter written by a Palestinian man, Hamza Yusuf Hanson, to Rachel Corrie's parents, and this is an article by Starhawk who was in Israel, teaching nonviolent activism, at the time of Rachel's death.

Along with many thousands of compassionate and loving individuals, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Pagans, Buddhists, Israelis, Palestinians, people from the US, Europe, the Middle East, and around the world, let me finish by saying:
May the tragedy of Rachel's death not be in vain; may her spirit of compassion and her hunger for peace and justice inspire mercy, wisdom, and reason on all sides of all conflicts, that peace and justice upon the Earth may be swifter in coming than even in our greatest hopes and prayers. So mote it be.



|  12:41:59 AM  |  This is Post #103  |  Permanent URL:   |    |

P.S. George W. Bush is "a miserable failure on foreign policy and on the economy and he's got to be replaced."
George Bush Has Got to Go! *** Flush Bush! *** Anyone But Bush in 2004! *** Have you taken a good look at George W. Bush lately?

 
 
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