Rachel’s Words

Photos of the March 22nd event by Matthew Weinstein

March 22, 2006 - In the light of the cancellation by the Manhattan Theater Club’s production of My Name Is Rachel Corrie, several thousand New Yorkers turned out tonight at Riverside Church to hear writers, artists, playwrights and activists speak her writings. The play would tell the story - in her own words and emails - of the courageous 23-year old American woman who travelled to Gaza to protect innocent Palestinians and who stood in front of an Israeli bulldozer in an attempt to prevent the driver from destroying a Palestinian home. The bulldozer drove over her and then reversed and crushed her a second time. “My back is broken,” she said before she died.

Declaring that the Sharon government could destroy her body but could never kill her spirit, people have stood up to those who would cave in to the new McCarthyism that attempts to stifle opposition and protest to the unjust policies of the U.S. and Israeli occupations.

First, I must admit that when the Corrie play controversy started I was one of the voices in our email circle least upset, or at least most in the vein of “let’s hear what they have to say before we send out the lynching party.” I engaged in dialogue but not nearly as passionately as some of my peers, feeling like while the larger issues raised were ones I wholeheartedly agree with, that people were jumping to conclusions based on past and politics, not on this case. Tonight made me see and remember a whole host of other sides to this story. Somehow you managed to put together people who spoke to the context, the personal, the political, the intersection of the two, the larger controversy yet never leaning to diatribes or political posturing. I was SO impressed with the quality of writing and speaking, with the moving turnout, and with the smooth organization and orchestration of the whole event. It was amazing to see what you pulled together so professionally in such a short time.

The crowd entering the church.

Malachy McCourt reading the words of Rachel Corrie as others wait to read.

by James Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI)
Published at The Huffington Report

Three years ago Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old American peace activist was murdered. She sat down in front of a Palestinian home in Rafah attempting to stop its destruction by an Israel bulldozer. The bulldozer’s driver crushed Rachel, brutally ending her life.

As quickly as news spread about Rachel’s death, websites began publishing selections of her writings: emails to her parents and journal entries that included observations about her life and experiences.

Especially powerful were her vivid portrayals of daily life in Gaza. Those who read Rachel’s words were moved by the suffering she depicted, the fierce determination and passion for justice she displayed, and the hope she inspired.

It was not surprising, therefore, that a British theatrical group found merit in Rachel’s life and writings. They edited her emails and journal entries into a one-woman play, “My Name is Rachel Corrie,” which has, since 2005, had two critically acclaimed runs on the London stage.

“My Name” has yet to appear in the US and given recent developments the play may never be performed on a major US stage.

By Makeba Scott Hunter
Published by the New Jersey Herald News

NEW YORK. Rachel Corrie’s legacy just might prove that the pen is mightier than the sword.

Despite the cancellation of a theater production based on the writings of the late human-rights activist, some 1,200 people packed into Harlem’s Riverside Church Wednesday night for an alternate production – pulled together in two weeks by friends and supporters — that celebrated Corrie’s life and protested perceived censorship.

“This is a powerful outcry, not just by people who love and know Rachel and know the work in Palestine, but anybody who champions free speech and who champions a plethora and diversity of ideas and opinions,” said Adam Shapiro, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, to which Corrie belonged.

Corrie was 23 when she was crushed to death under an Israeli bulldozer as she stood between it and the home of a Palestinian family. She had been living in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip for nearly two months as a member of the ISM, which sent Westerners to the Palestinian territories to serve as “human shields” against what they termed Israeli aggression in the settlements.

by Jonathan Tasini
NY Democratic candidate for US Senate
Published at Daily Kos

Yesterday, I spoke at an event in New York City called Rachel’s Words. Two years ago, Rachel Corrie, a human rights activist, was crushed to death by an Israeli Army bulldozer as she tried to protect the home of a Palestinian pharmacist from demolition in Rafah, Gaza Strip. She was 23. A play based on her writing, “My Name is Rachel Corrie” was scheduled to open yesterday in New York City but it’s debut was postponed indefinitely, in all likelihood because of the controversy it would cause in a city with such a large Jewish audience.

As a Jew who lived in Israel for seven years and whose family still lives there and has deep roots going back more than 80 years, it breaks my heart that there is a refusal to grapple with an almost untouchable topic in our country: why does the United States have such a one-sided policy in the Israel-Palestine conflict? And it’s the reason I agreed to speak at the event which honored Rachel’s life and her beliefs.

Rachel Corrie is the new Anne Frank

From the Brian Lehrer Show, WNYC
Download show segment [.mp3]

Katharine Viner, features editor at London’s Guardian newspaper and the co-editor of the play, My Name is Rachel Corrie on the controversy over the postponement of her play.

Related articles:
“Let Me Fight My Monsters” - an article on Rachel Corrie by Katharine Viner.

This has to stop. I think it is a good idea for us all to drop everything and devote our lives to making this stop. I don’t think it’s an extremist thing to do anymore. I still really want to dance around to Pat Benatar and have boyfriends and make comics for my coworkers. But I also want this to stop. Disbelief and horror is what I feel. Disappointment. I am disappointed that this is the base reality of our world and that we, in fact, participate in it. This is not at all what I asked for when I came into this world. This is not at all what the people here asked for when they came into this world. This is not the world you and Dad wanted me to come into when you decided to have me.

–Rachel Corrie, in an email to her mother, February 27th, 2003

From Democracy Now!
Download the program [.mp3]

“My Name is Rachel Corrie” - a play based on the words of the American peace activist crushed to death three years ago by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza - is causing controversy after the New York City theater that was scheduled to run it postponed production. We host a discussion with Katharine Viner, the editor of the play in London and James Nicola and Lynn Moffat, the two top directors of the New York Theater Workshop.

We turn now to the controversy over the play “My Name is Rachel Corrie,” which is based on the words of the late U.S. peace activist.

Three years ago this month Corrie died at the age of 23 after she was crushed by an Israeli military bulldozer. At the time Corrie was attempting to block the demolition of the home of a Palestinian doctor in the Gaza town of Rafah.

The play opened last year in London to rave reviews and sold out audiences. It was scheduled to come to New York and open tonight at the celebrated off-Broadway New York Theater Workshop.

But there will be no opening night.

RACHEL’S WORDS
MARCH 22nd, NEW YORK CITY
Co-hosts: Amy Goodman and James Zogby
Riverside Church
490 Riverside Drive
8.00 pm
$20 Suggested donation (No one turned away for lack of funds. Doors open at 7.30)
[Make reservations securely online]

UPDATED March 22nd: If you are buying your ticket(s) online after 1:00 PM on March 22nd, you must bring a printed copy of the confirmation email you will receive from PayPal with you for purchase verification!

A portion of the proceeds will go to The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice

Thank you to everyone who has offered to participate in the event! So many people have been moved by Rachel’s amazing life and writings and we wish we could include everyone in the event itself. At this time we are not seeking anymore participants but we do encourage you to help us by spreading the word about the March 22 event and bringing as many people with you as you can!

Participating by video or statement
• Maya Angelou will read an email of Rachel’s by video,
• Patti Smith will perform “Peaceable Kingdom” dedicated to Rachel by video,
• Eve Ensler (Vagina Monologues).
• Vanessa Redgrave
• Mariam Said (wife of the late Dr. Edward Said)
• Najla Said
• Alice Walker
• Howard Zinn