FEATURED JOBS
Comments (0)The family of Rachel Corrie, a U.S. activist who was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza, is suing Israel.
The case is scheduled to be heard March 10 in Haifa.
Four witnesses who were with Corrie when she was killed, members of the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement from Britain and the United States, will testify at the trial, The Guardian reported.
The witnesses had been denied entry to Israel since the incident, but following pressure by the United States they will be permitted to enter so they can testify, according to the newspaper.
Corrie’s parents, Cindy and Craig, will be present in the Israeli courtroom.
A Palestinian doctor from Gaza who treated Corrie after the incident has not been given permission to enter Israel to attend the trial, the Guardian reported.
Corrie, 23, of Olympia, Wash., was wearing an orange vest and attempting to stop a bulldozer from demolishing a Palestinian home when she was killed seven years ago.
An Israeli army investigation following Corrie’s death found that the driver of the bulldozer did not intentionally run her over because he could not see the activist. The report accused Corrie and the International Solidarity Movement of “illegal, irresponsible and dangerous” behavior.
Witnesses say that Corrie was clearly visible and that activists shouted for the bulldozer to stop before it hit her.
Demolition Orders Distributed in Silwan
Demolition notices were distributed in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.
Security forces accompanied municipal inspectors Wednesday during the operation, Ynet reported, quoting area residents.
“This is a provocation by Mayor Nir Barkat, who is implementing the settler ‘price tag’ policy following the court order to seal off Beit Yonatan,” a Jewish-owned building in Silwan, Peace Now told Ynet.
Barkat said earlier this month in a letter to state Prosecutor Moshe Lador that he would execute the sealing and demolition orders pending against Beit Yonatan, a seven-story building that is home to eight Jewish families. The building was built five years ago by the rightist organization Ateret Cohanim without the proper permits, a Jerusalem court found.
But the letter also said that the municipality would destroy 70 illegally built Palestinian structures in Silwan in the interest of enforcing the rule of law uniformly.
On Feb. 8, the Jerusalem municipality canceled the distribution of eviction notices for Beit Yonatan after police said that such an action requires coordination with local police.
Oren: Dispute at Wall Will Require ‘Compromise’
Israel’s U.S. ambassador said resolving the controversy over prayer at the Western Wall will require “compromise on everyone’s behalf.”
Michael Oren, speaking Sunday night at the annual plenum of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs in Dallas, responded to a question about Israel’s police investigation into women who wore prayer shawls openly and read from the Torah at the Western Wall.
The controversy, which came to a head in January when the leader of the group Women of the Wall was questioned by Jerusalem police, has galvanized liberal Jewish groups in the United States.
“I will only assure you that I think there are good solutions for the problems at the Kotel,” Oren said in response to a question on the subject. “They are at the top of my agenda. And that at the end of the day, it will require compromise on everyone’s behalf.”
Rabbi Steven Wernick, the president of the Conservative movement’s congregational arm, welcomed Oren’s remarks, saying “they show he understands that the status quo isn’t working and that some changes and compromises need to be made.”