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Coverage of the Rachel Corrie Verdict

(The Volokh Conspiracy) David E. Bernstein - Reading different accounts of an Israeli court's decision to deny a judgment for Rachel Corrie's parents, I've come up with a pretty clear dividing line for sound coverage and poor coverage. Sound coverage at the very least mentions that Corrie was working for the International Solidarity Movement, an organization that supports Palestinian terrorism, has served as cover for terrorists, and encourages its participants to insert themselves in dangerous situations where they may suffer "martyrdom." The real reason the Rachel Corrie story stays alive is that the International Solidarity Movement has made her into a secular saint, portraying her as an innocent "peace" and "human rights" activist whose life was cruelly shortened by the same Israeli military that is oppressing the Palestinians. But anyone who cares to look up the ISM can see that it's not a "peace" or "human rights" organization, but an organization dedicated to Palestinian "liberation" that supports violence against Israeli civilians. Most Westerners, and certainly most Americans, have some real problems with bestowing sainthood on someone who was working on behalf of a pro-terrorism organization, which is precisely why her supporters try to obscure exactly what she was doing, for whom, and for what purpose, at the time. The writer is a professor at the George Mason University School of Law.
2012-08-30 00:00:00
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