This is the story of Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old American student at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, she took a semester off to be a peace activist, shielding Palestinians from Jewish aggression in Gaza. She was murdered by an Israeli soldier on 16 March 2003.

Before the killing, the IDF soldier had already menaced the activists by using the Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer (serial number 949623) to press huge piles of dirt and rubble against them, pushing Rachel back against a fence on one occasion and pushing another activist (Will) into some coils of razor wire.

In doing this, the bulldozer driver was intimidating the activists by demonstrating his disregard of their safety. "Don't get in my way, or I'll hurt you!" is what he was conveying with his actions.

The peace activists refused to be intimidated, so the Israeli bulldozer driver became murderously resolute. He aimed his bulldozer at Rachel Corrie, who was initially sitting in between the bulldozer and a house belonging to Dr. Samir, a Palestinian physician. The IDF soldier wanted to knock down the doctor's home. Rachel Corrie was determined to protect that house. She would either move or she would die, decided the bulldozer driver.

As the bulldozer approached Rachel, she stood up and climbed a pile of dirt that the bulldozer had shoveled up, in order to remain in the driver's direct view. She was the most visible object in the driver's forward direction, since not only was she in plain sight, she was also wearing a high-contrast fluorescent orange jacket.

Rachel got so high onto the mound of dirt that she was at eye-level with the cab of the bulldozer. Her head and upper torso were above the bulldozer's blade, and the bulldozer driver and co-operator could clearly see her. Despite this, he continued forward, which pulled her legs into the pile of rubble, and pulled her down out of view of the driver. If he'd stopped at this point, he may have only broken her legs, but he continued forward, which pulled her underneath the bulldozer.

We ran towards him, and waved our arms and shouted, one activist with the megaphone. But the bulldozer driver continued forward, until Rachel was underneath the central section of the bulldozer. At this point, it was more than clear that she was nowhere but underneath the bulldozer, there was simply nowhere else she could have been, as she had not appeared on either side of the bulldozer, and could not have stayed in front of it that long without being crushed. Despite the obviousness of her position, the bulldozer began to reverse, without lifting its blade, and drug the blade over her body again. He continued to reverse until he was on the boarder strip, about 100 meters away, and left her crushed body in the sand.

This is a reported account of the crime by Joseph Smith, ISM peace activist (American), Tom Dale, ISM peace activist (British), Greg Schnabel, ISM peace activist (American), Richard Purssell, ISM peace activist (British), Richard Purssell, ISM peace activist (British)

Elizabeth Corrie said the Bush administration acted with ''cowardice".  "Citizens of the United States should ask themselves how it is that an unarmed U.S. citizen can be killed with impunity by a soldier from an allied nation receiving massive U.S. aid, using a product manufactured in the United States by a U.S. corporation, and paid for with U.S. tax dollars," she wrote.

Peace activists are also angered because Corrie's death was the first in a number of Israeli attacks on foreign citizens and peace activists in the West Bank and Gaza.

The Israeli army has cracked down particularly hard on activists from the International Solidarity Movement, saying they have hampered military operations in the occupied territories.

British citizen Tom Hurndall was shot in the head Apr. 11, 2003 and died Jan. 13, 2004.

U.S. national Brian Avery was shot in the face Apr. 5, 2003 and seriously injured, despite the fact he reportedly had his hands up and was wearing a vest that identified him as an international worker.

British journalist James Miller was also shot and killed in April 2003.

The groups contrast the treatment of the injured and slain activists with the killing of three U.S. citizens, presumably by Palestinian gunmen, in an explosion Oct. 15, 2003 as they traveled through Gaza. Within 25 hours, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrived to investigate their deaths.

"While the U.S. government has assisted in the investigations into cases of U.S. citizens killed by Palestinian armed groups, it has failed to do so in Corrie's case, raising the appearance of a double standard," said AIUSA in a statement.

"After one year, neither the FBI nor any other U.S.-led team has done anything to investigate the death of an American killed by an Israeli," said Elizabeth Corrie. "Why the double standard? Perhaps this reveals the most disturbing truth of all."

Elizabeth Corrie herself has become the subject of hate mail and incitement on right-wing websites. The "Right Thinking" homepage wrote: "one more Corrie, somewhere there is a bulldozer waiting for this girl."

The activists say their congressional resolution is not anti-Israel or anti-Semitic.

"On the contrary, this resolution strengthens the U.S.-Israel relationship by encouraging the two countries to work together to ensure the protection of the lives of American citizens engaged in human rights and humanitarian work," they said in their statement.

"I think her death brought home to a lot of people that the cause that we are working for is serious and takes lives, and is a reminder to us why we have an obligation to keep working for justice and peace," said Josh Ruebner of Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel.

See Learning Bridge for Published Lectures, Friday Sermon, Audio & Video Lectures

Stories Should NOT be told