Rachel, Rachel

I suspect that we all know who Rachel Corrie was. A far left wing American peace protester who was accidentally killed when she walked in front of an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza. Her parents traveled to Ramallah to accept a plaque from Yasser Arafat, circulated her emails and diary entries to the MSM for publication and have written op-ed pieces, including a recent one in the Guardian. Alan Rickman and Guardian journalist Katharine Viner co-created My Name is Rachel Corrie, a play which leaves out some details of Rachel Corrie's short, unhappy life.



She participated in American flag burnings in Gaza, incited crowds against Israel and the United States and represented the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), described by the MSM as a "peace group". The ISM's mission statement holds that "'armed struggle' is a Palestinian 'right'". The ISM's media coordinator, one Flo Rosovski, says, "Israel" is an illegal entity that should not exist." Other ISM representatives met with British suicide bombers Omar Khan Sharif and Asif Muhammad Hanif a few days before they blew up Mike's Place, a Tel Aviv pub, killing three and injuring dozens, including British citizens. The ISM sheltered in its office one Shadi Sukiya, a shadi character and leading member of Islamic Jihad. Peaceful, all right.

Here are some other Rachels who bear mentioning.

Rachel Thaler, aged 16 - blown up at a pizzeria in an Israeli shopping mall. She died after an 11-day struggle for life with a nail embedded in her head following a suicide bomb attack on a crowd of teenagers on 16 February 2002. Even though Thaler was a British citizen, born in London, where her grandparents still live, her death has never been mentioned in a British newspaper.

Rachel Levy - aged 17, blown up in a grocery store.

Rachel Levi - 19, shot while waiting for the bus

Rachel Gavish - killed with her husband, son and father while at home celebrating a Passover meal.

Rachel Charhi - blown up while sitting in a Tel Aviv cafe, leaving three young children.

Rachel Shabo - murdered with her three sons aged 5, 12 and 15 while at home. She is at the back, far right. One of the sons murdered with her is the 5 rear-old on her right.

Rachel Kol - 53, who worked at a Jerusalem hospital and was killed with her husband in a Palestinian terrorist attack in July a few days after the London bombs.

Rachel ben Abu - 16, killed with 4 others in a bomb blast in the crowded Netanya mall.

No one has written a play about any of these Rachels. They haven't had their stories told in the MSM (at least, not outside Israel) as has Rachel Corrie (some 57 articles in the Guardian, alone). They haven't had their photos published around the world, as has Rachel Corrie. They didn't participate in peace groups or war groups or any other political groups. They weren't trespassing in a foreign land. They weren't protesting against nor cursing their native country or anyone else's native country, for that matter. They weren't burning their country's flag nor my country's flag nor your country's flag nor anybody's country's flag. They weren't sheltering nor encouraging murderers and about-to-be murderers.

They were sitting in restaurants, cafes, shopping for food or sitting at home with their families when they were murdered along with their husbands, babies and friends.

Rachel Corrie wasn't murdered. She walked in front of a D9 Cat expecting the operator to stop. He didn't see her and squashed her like the bug she was. So she is elevated to heroine status while the other Rachels are ignored.

Dead Jews aren't news.

TAGS: Rachel Levy, Rachel Levi, Rachel Gavish, Rachel Charhi, Rachel Shabo, Rachel Kol, Rachel ben Abu, Rachel Thaler, International Solidarity Movement, ISM, Rachel Corrie, terrorists, racists