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In this issue... Pg. 1 — Letter from Rochelle Gause, Project Coordinator Pg. 2 — 2012 Accomplishments — RCF Receives Awards Pg. 3 — PeaceWorks 2012– Arab Festival: A HUGE

SUCCESS! Pg. 4 — Trial Update from the Corrie Family

WINTER 2012 NEWSLETTER

Call to Action Campaigns: (Top) Chicago, IL (Middle) Oak Creek, WI (Bottom) Kufr Qaddoum, West Bank

Dear Friends, Since Rachel was killed, 10 years ago this coming March, we at the Rachel Corrie Foundation are continuously inspired by her reach. Thousands of people throughout the world are touched, and often moved to action by her story. We have done our best to continue her work, providing avenues for people to take action, educating about the immense role that we as Americans play through our tax dollars, and contributing in many other ways to further global peace and justice. Today, we call on you to help us secure our work for another 10 years. Our commitment to Gaza continues. This autumn, Cindy Corrie joined the Interfaith Peace-Builders to co-lead delegations in Gaza and the West Bank, continuing to create new connections between Palestinian people and those beyond their borders. We also continued our support of the Rachel Corrie Ramadan Soccer Tournament held in Rafah each year. And this past summer in Olympia, we hosted Amani Inshasi, a young teacher from Gaza, who shared her culture and stories about life under occupation. Over the past year we have supported church-based divestment and boycott efforts, building the momentum of the Palestinian-led BDS movement here in the U.S. We were present at both the Methodist National Conference and the Presbyterian General Assembly encouraging church leaders to align their values with their investments and purchases, and enormous gains were made in this effort. Locally, the Rachel Corrie Foundation supported the Olympia Food Co-op as it experienced an incredible victory for the BDS movement, when a Thurston County Superior Court Judge upheld the right to boycott. With the help of our volunteers, we also organized Olympia’s First Arab Festival in October which was a huge success. The festival was a powerful celebration of the diverse cultures of the Arab World. Many of you followed events in August when a Judge in Haifa, Israel, absolved the Israeli military of any responsibility in Rachel's killing. We took advantage of the heartbreaking, although not surprising, decision and engaged with a large variety of international media to bring attention to the issue. Our supporters responded nationally and internationally to our call to action, demanding an end to home demolitions and real accountability in the harming of our human rights defenders. Twenty actions occurred in cities across the U.S., many in concert with the We Divest Campaign, calling for TIAA CREF to divest from companies profiting from the occupation. Actions also occurred at the site of Rachel's killing in Rafah, Gaza, at the Israeli Courthouse where the verdict was read, and in multiple Palestinian communities. See pictures to the left. There is no doubt that here, in the U.S., the tide in awareness is beginning to shift. There is growing recognition about the need for dramatic change in our foreign policy in Israel/Palestine and for nurturing the grassroots movement for global justice. We at the Rachel Corrie Foundation ask you to please help us amplify our educational efforts this next year as we mark the 10-year anniversary of Rachel's killing. Help us bring more people to the BDS movement, and to expand our connections with Gaza and beyond. Give generously this year, so we may continue to broaden Rachel's reach, forging connections locally, nationally, and internationally!

Thank you for your support in all its forms. Rochelle Gause, Project Coordinator

As we approach the 10-year anniversary of Rachel’s killing, we ask you to consider making a donation to the Rachel Corrie

Foundation. With your help we can increase our educational efforts,

broadening Rachel’s reach worldwide, and rally more support for international peace

and justice for all! Thank you!

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National/ International Events Attended the National BDS Conference, Philadelphia PA Endorsed Resolutions and helped organize for the Methodist

Boycott and Divestment Effort, and attended General Conference in Tampa, FL

Endorsed Resolutions and helped organize for the Presbyterian Boycott and Divestment Effort, and attended the General Assembly, Pittsburgh PA

Launched Trial Call to Action campaign resulting in 20 actions in the US, 2 in Europe, and 4 in Israel/Palestine demanding an end to home demolitions and accountability in the harming/killing of our human rights advocates.

Held a post-verdict webcast with the Corries’ Aug 29 Attended US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation Annual

Conference, Detroit MI Received Goodness Award, Sunlifara, Turkey Received Lennon-Ono Grant for Peace on behalf of Rachel

Corrie, Reykjavik, Iceland Spoke at the Madison Rafah Sister City Project Fundraiser Skyped-in to the dedication of the Rachel Corrie House in Des

Moines, Iowa

Local Events Cosponsored BDS: A Call to Action with Omar Barghouti Attended regional BDS workshop with Palestinian activist Omar

Barghouthi and monthly meetings that followed Co-sponsored The Irvine 11, Islamophobia, and Palestine

Solidarity Activism with Osama Shabaik Held March 16 event Gaza On My Mind: the Ninth Anniversary

of Rachel Corrie’s Stand for Human Rights in Gaza Participated in Spring Arts Walk with Gaza Children's Art display

and screening of Mural film

Held Nakba - We Remember event with Bekah Wolf & Huda Giddens

Co-sponsored Richard Falk "The Economic, Legal and Moral Cost of War: A Forum on Israel, Palestine and the United States"

Hosted visiting Gazan Teacher, Amani Inshashi, organized several cross cultural exchanges including an embroidery circle, cooking class, youth art workshop, conversational Arabic class, and evening presentation

Held Arab Festival Fundraising Dinner and silent auction Brought forth Resolution to State Democratic Platform Organized a panel discussion following the showing of film,

Tears of Gaza, in partnership with the Olympia Film Society Supported bringing Jeff Halper, Director of ICAHD (Israeli

Committee Against Home Demolitions) Participated in SPSCC Brick Hoe Down, Make Olympia Street

Market, Fall Arts Walk, and Lacey Ethnic Festival Administered ISSC funds to Iraqi student studying at The

Evergreen State College (TESC), and administered RCF Scholarship award for TESC student

Endorsed letter of support for Olympia Food Co-op and supported the gathering of additional businesses and organizational endorsements

Organized on-location support during the 3 hearings in the Olympia Food Co-op Lawsuit

Participated in The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation's September TCTV program - Let's Meet our Arab Neighbors

Assisted with Mural Maintenance weekend work parties for the Olympia-Rafah mural in downtown Olympia

Hosted Shuruq: Olympia’s First Arab Festival Throughout the year, launched new website design, moved to

larger office, worked with 7 interns and over one hundred volunteers, and hired 2 new staff members

RACHEL CORRIE FOUNDATION FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

2012 Accomplishments

RCF Receives Awards Evan Welkin, Volunteer & Jennifer Martinez, Office Manager From September 21st through the 23rd, RCF Board Member Andrew Meyer and former Operations Manager Evan Welkin traveled to Șanliurfa, Turkey to accept a “Goodness Award” on behalf of the RCF. The International Abraham Meetings, a Turkish consortium of academics, religious representatives and municipal figures, hosted the 6th annual Goodness Awards as part of a conference highlighting the history of interfaith cooperation, community mindedness and “goodness” exemplified by the prophet Abraham. In addition to the RCF, the local hosts awarded UNICEF Turkey, a Japanese disaster relief organization, and several other organizations to recognize their work in the spirit of these principles. The ceremony was made particularly poignant by the fact that the Șanliurfa provenience is located on the Syrian border, and was the site of a cross-border shelling attack that killed 5 civilians just two days after the conference concluded. Just a few weeks later, Cindy and Craig Corrie accepted the 2012 LennonOno Grant for Peace from Yoko Ono on behalf of Rachel in Reykjavik, Iceland. Also honored were: activist/performer Lady Gaga, authors John Perkins and the late Christopher Hitchens, and at a previous event in New York, members of the Russian music group Pussy Riot who remain imprisoned for their stand for freedom of speech and expression. The grant, received by the Corries’ is a $52,000 award which was donated to the RCF. Following the award ceremony, the Corries, close friends, and community members boarded ferries to the island of Viðey, joining Ono and other grant recipients for the annual lighting of the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER. Cindy reflected on the events by observing that Iceland no longer has a standing military. She also noted that “The word ‘peace’ has strong meaning to the children we meet here. It [the PEACE TOWER] is a simple, yet visible, daily reminder of the values of this community.” The PEACETOWER will remain lit into late December. For more information about the award and the PEACETOWER, please visit www.rachelcorriefoundation.org.

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WINTER 2012 NEWSLETTER

PeaceWorks 2012- Arab Festival: A HUGE SUCCESS! Amirah Ziada — Project Development As this year’s annual PeaceWorks conference, the Rachel Corrie Foundation hosted Olympia’s first Arab Festival on October 5th through 7th in downtown Olympia. During the planning process our excitement took over and what began as a six hour event turned into a full weekend extravaganza! Together with the Olympia community we experienced, celebrated, and learned about the diverse cultures, traditions, and lifestyles of the Arab world through food, music, dance, educational panels, children’s activities, conversations, films and so much more! With so many misconceptions and misunderstandings about the Arab world, we were excited to take on this project as a way to help dispel stereotypes and negative images as well as to foster connections within our community and beyond to build understanding, respect, and appreciation for our differences and similarities. It was a HUGE success! The three-day event brought together several hundred people each day from our community and beyond as attendees and participants traveled from all over the northwest and the nation to take part in the festivities. Every aspect of the festival was very well attended. At times there was standing-room-only in the large decorated main room of the Olympia Center where the stage offered a non-stop series of performers including dance, music, and an Arab fashion show featuring traditional clothing from more than a dozen countries. Large posters displayed around the room featured each of the

Arab nations. There were vendors with craft items and information from many countries, and the well-attended children’s activities included making paper dolls with Arabic clothing. Throughout the day, a long line of people happily waited for their turn to get a spot in our traditional Arab café; we completely sold out of the delicious Arabic cuisine that was so generously catered by a Bil Hana Volunteers Group . Meanwhile, outside at the Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural site, a Hookah lounge, dance floor, and Arab style coffee shop were set up under canopies where Festival participants could drink coffee, eat Arabic sweets, participate in conversations about life in the Arab world, and enjoy preview performances of our main stage acts in a friendly, outdoor setting. In the side room, our panels and workshops were often fully packed with eager learners. Some of the highlights in the side room were the performance and discussion led by the Teen Council Theatre interactive group on combating anti-Arab racism, and the discussion panel, Arab and Muslim Women: Shattering Stereotypes. The evening event had guests laughing until they cried with the comedy of Khaled TheComic. They were inspired by the beautiful spoken words of Yusra Khogali, and danced and sang the night away with hip hop artist N.F. Not only did we have over 1,000 people come through as attendees but we also had 100+ volunteers helping with every aspect of the festivities. There were 15 diverse vendor and educational tables, and over 60 total performers and speakers! One of the vendors/volunteers at the festival, Zonia Ziada expressed to me, “As a person closely associated with and immersed in the Arab culture and way of life, I felt very proud of the way the whole event was put together and presented! It was done with class, distinction and professionalism while showing the friendly, multicultural and spontaneous nature of the Arab people! Looking forward to the 2nd bi-annual event, I have so many ideas going on in my mind to help make our ICTC [Islamic Center of the Tri-Cities] participation more effective in achieving a collective goal of understanding!”

Above: Samia El-Moslimany & Amal Eqeiq, Arab and Muslim Women: Shattering Stereotypes Panel. Below: Batiste Dabke Dance Team ©John Harvey.

Mohammed Ayub ©Ben Guss

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WINTER 2012 NEWSLETTER: RACHEL CORRIE FOUNDATION

203 Fourth Avenue East, Suite 402 Olympia, WA 98501

WINTER 2012 NEWSLETTER

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RCF Holiday Wish List

Canopy

Adobe Creative Suite PC Various Office Furniture

Please contact our office if

you are interested in donating one of these items.

Thank You!

Trial Update from the Corrie Family In a deeply disturbing ruling, an Israeli court dismissed the civil lawsuit brought by our family against the State of Israel for the wrongful death of our daughter Rachel. The case, originally filed by attorney Hussein abu Hussein on March 15, 2005, was sporadically heard in Israeli court over a period of sixteen months, with oral testimony beginning March 10, 2010. Our family traveled to Haifa, Israel to hear all 23 witnesses called to the stand. Everything we knew coming into this process, reinforced by all we heard in court, confirms our belief that at least one soldier in the D-9R bulldozer knew Rachel was in their path. The military unit had not only the ability to see, but also the obligation to know, who was in front of their machines. We believe someone in that bulldozer did know. A civil lawsuit is not a substitute for a credible investigation, which, according to

U.S. officials, we never had. There were no illusions about the uphill battle we faced in Israeli court, but this lawsuit offered a process where some of those responsible would be publicly questioned under oath and it remained the only legal recourse our family could take. Rachel, like all civilians killed by the Israeli military, deserved accountability. On August 28, before a packed courtroom, Judge Oded Gershon ruled that Rachel was killed as an act of war, which, according to Israeli law, absolves the military of responsibility. He added that she alone was to blame for her own killing and went on to commend the military police for their professionalism in carrying out such a credible investigation. Condemnation ranged from President Jimmy Carter to the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and numerous others, all pointing to the climate of impunity enjoyed by the Israeli military, as well as the court’s thumbing its nose at the Geneva Conventions.

The verdict sends a dangerous message for future protections of civilians and human-rights observers. Regardless of the personal outcome for our family, this verdict and others like it stemming from the Israeli justice system must be challenged. In seeking accountability, the diplomatic process between the United States and Israel failed an American citizen. On August 28, the Israeli court system failed itself, the world, and Rachel. There is never closure when you have a family member killed in such a way. There is only the ability to do everything in your power to see that there is some justice. That is what we have pursued for Rachel over the past nine and a half years. We are grateful for the outpouring of support. Our journey continues – together.

~Craig and Cindy Corrie

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