Remembering Alan Rickman’s pro-Palestinian play about Rachel Corrie, American activist crushed by Israeli bulldozer
The political actor created a play about a U.S. student killed by an Israeli soldier, which he said was “censored”
Rachel Corrie
Rachel Corrie (April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003) was an American Evergreen State College student and member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) who traveled to the Gaza Strip during the Second Intifada. She was killed in the Gaza Strip by a Caterpillar D9R armored bulldozer operated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) while protecting the family home of local pharmacist Samir Nasrallah from demolition by the IDF.
When American student Rachel Corrie put herself between a military bulldozer and the home of a Palestinian family in March 2003, she became a symbol of resistance during the Palestinian uprising.
Corrie was run over by the bulldozer during the protest against the demolition of houses by the Israeli government in the Gaza Strip.
Lest We Forget
Italian activist Nicola Arboscelli stands in front of graffiti memorializing American peace activist Rachel Corrie who was killed 15 years ago
Palestinian activists plant olive trees and hang Rachel Corrie’s photo in Qariyut to mark the anniversary of her death
Israel Ruled Blameless in Rachel Corrie’s Death
A judge in Israel has ruled that the state had no responsibility in Corrie’s death. And Israeli Supreme Court rejects appeal in Rachel Corrie case.
As usual, totally expected, and completely in line with the Zionist Mentality.
Similarly, Israel didn’t even bother to say sorry for sinking USS Liberty with tornadoes and murdered hundreds of American fine navy deliberately.
Why did Israel kill their only “friend”? Because the spy ship (USS Liberty) overheard the Zionists were massacring Egyptian POWs (in violation of international law, of course).
Guess the other reason is written in their “Bible” called Talmud … It’s perfectly okay to cheat, steal, maim all the Goys (goyim/gentiles) as the rest of humankind are subhuman … beasts and insects.
So, why do American still consider the “demon” as a “friend? Please ask your Congressman and don’t forget, the POTUS.
They may not tell you the truth, but they absolutely know the true answer.
Israel – The Shittiest Pariah Of Humanity On Earth
Tom Dale, a pro-Palestinian campaigner who witnessed the death of Rachel Corrie refutes the judgement of an Israeli court that the death of the American activist was “a regrettable accident”.
My Name Is Rachel Corrie
My Name is Rachel Corrie is a play based on the diaries and emails of activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an IDF soldier when she was aged 23. It was jointly edited by journalist Katharine Viner and actor Alan Rickman who also directed it.
Initial stagings and response
Alan Rickman first staged My Name is Rachel Corrie in April 2005 at the Royal Court Theatre, London, and the play went on to win the Theatregoers’ Choice Awards for Best Director and Best New Play, as well as Best Solo Performance for actress Megan Dodds.
The play was scheduled to be transferred to the New York Theatre Workshop in March 2006. However, the New York theatre decided that, because of its political content, the play was to be “postponed indefinitely”, after the artistic director polled numerous Jewish groups to get their reaction to the play. Rickman and Viner denounced the decision and withdrew the show.
Rickman said: “I can only guess at the pressures of funding an independent theatre company in New York, but calling this production “postponed” does not disguise the fact that it has been cancelled. This is censorship born out of fear, and the New York Theatre Workshop, the Royal Court, New York audiences – all of us are the losers.”
The play ran as a commercial production at the Minetta Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village in the fall of 2006.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Name_Is_Rachel_Corrie
British actor Alan Rickman died Thursday at age 69, after a battle with cancer. Although perhaps most known for playing the melancholy Professor Snape in the “Harry Potter” movies, Rickman had not only a legendary film and theater résumé, but also a firm commitment to progressive politics, and support for Palestinian rights in particular.
Rickman edited and directed a play in 2005 titled “My Name Is Rachel Corrie,” based on the life of a 23-year-old American activist who was killed by an Israeli soldier.
Rachel Corrie, a student at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, traveled to the occupied Gaza Strip as part of the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement in 2003. At a nonviolent protest against Israel’s illegal demolition of Palestinian houses on March 16 of that year, an Israeli soldier ran over Corrie with a bulldozer, killing her.
“My Name Is Rachel Corrie” was based on the young woman’s diary and emails. Rickman co-edited it with Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief of leading British newspaper The Guardian.
In an article published in the Guardian on the day of Rickman’s passing, Viner reflected on her collaboration with the late actor. “Alan had recognised that Rachel’s voice could work brilliantly on stage, and I was commissioned to help him turn her words into a play,” Viner wrote.
“The play we edited together, ‘My Name is Rachel Corrie,’ had a greater impact than we ever imagined, with two runs at the Royal Court, a West End transfer and productions around the world, from New York to Haifa,” Viner continued. “And on the opening night we each admitted that we couldn’t have done justice to Rachel’s words without the other.”
When theaters tried to produce the play in the U.S., however, they faced powerful backlash. An Off Broadway production of the play was being considered at the New York Theater Workshop, but was delayed after opposition and pressure from pro-Israel groups.
Rickman vociferously condemned the delay of the production, which he called a form of “censorship.” “Calling this production ‘postponed’ does not disguise the fact that it has been cancelled,” Rickman said. “This is censorship born out of fear, and the New York Theatre Workshop, the Royal Court, New York audiences — all of us are the losers.”
Overall, “My Name is Rachel Corrie” was very well received, despite the adverse reaction from pro-Israel groups. “I never imagined that the play would create such acute controversy,” Rickman told leading Israeli newspaper Haaretz in a 2007 interview. “Many Jews supported it. The New York producer was Jewish and we held a discussion after every performance.”
“Both Israelis and Palestinians participated in the discussions and there was no shouting in the theater,” he added. “People simply listened to each other.”
Still today, Corrie’s story lives on. She is seen as an important symbol around the world in the Palestinian solidarity movement.
In March 2015, Palestinians honored Corrie’s memory by hanging photos of the slain American activist on newly planted trees, along with pictures of fellow activists in the International Solidarity Movement who were killed or injured by Israel’s military. Israeli occupation forces responded to the peaceful vigil with violence, shooting bullets at Palestinians and tear gassing them, before uprooting the trees.
After more than a decade, the U.S. government has done virtually nothing to punish Israel for killing its citizen.
Corrie’s family sued the Israeli government for a symbolic $1. Their case crawled through Israel’s courts for years, until, in February 2015, the Israeli Supreme Court threw the case out, denying any liability.
Ultimately, they said they were “disappointed but not surprised.” “We had hoped for a different outcome,” Corrie’s family remarked, “though we have come to see through this experience how deeply all of Israel’s institutions are implicated in the impunity enjoyed by the Israeli military.”
Fellow pro-Palestinian activists present at the time of the young woman’s killing in March 2003 say Israeli occupation forces deliberately crushed Corrie with the bulldozer. The Israeli government, on the other hand, insists it was an accident.
An investigation by the Israeli military absolved the soldier of all responsibility for killing Corrie, instead blaming the young women and fellow activists for “illegal, irresponsible and dangerous” behavior.
The Israeli soldier operating the bulldozer claimed he did not see Corrie. Amnesty International did not buy this argument, making it clear that “she was wearing a fluorescent orange vest when she was killed,” adding that Corrie “and other non-violent activists had been peacefully demonstrating against the demolitions for hours when the Israeli military bulldozer ran over her.”
Amnesty “condemned” the Israeli court’s verdict, saying it “continues the pattern of impunity for Israeli military violations against civilians and human rights defenders in the Occupied Palestinian Territories” and “shields Israeli military personnel from accountability and ignores deep flaws in the Israeli military’s internal investigation of Corrie’s death.”
“Israel’s military investigations have lacked independence, impartiality, transparency, appropriate expertise and sufficient investigatory powers,” Amnesty added, noting that the Israeli court “ignored substantial evidence.”
In the wake of Corrie’s killing, even Israel’s closest ally criticized it. Then U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro told the Corrie family that the Israeli investigation was not thorough, credible or transparent.
While the U.S. may have criticized Israel, however, it did not punish it. Today, the U.S. continues to give more than $3 billion per year in military aid to Israel, and the Obama administration considered increasing this figure to $5 billion.
Rickman brought the world’s attention to Corrie’s story.
Israel – The Shittiest Pariah Of Humanity In The World
Shame On Israel, Shame On All Those Supporting Israel
Lest We Forget
Related: –
Alan Rickman’s Gaza play censored by theater staging David Bowie’s “Lazarus”
“Censorship born out of fear”
A wild success in London, the play was set to be staged at the New York Theatre Workshop in 2006, but the legacy of Rachel Corrie was to meet with very different treatment than that of David Bowie.
As Viner told Democracy Now!, “The production schedule was finalized. Both sides of the Atlantic had agreed on a press release that was going to go out to the press, announcing the production of My Name is Rachel Corrie, and then the Royal Court, as I was told, received a telephone call saying that the play was to be postponed indefinitely.”
“Calling this production ‘postponed’ does not disguise the fact that it has been canceled,” said Rickman. ”This is censorship born out of fear, and the New York Theatre Workshop, the Royal Court, New York audiences – all of us are the losers.”
Artistic Director James C. Nicola cited a variety of reasons for the “postponement” including the recent stroke of Israel’s then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and “distorted accounts of the actual circumstances of Rachel’s death.”
While the Israeli government has always denied any responsibility for Corrie’s death, the circumstances of her killing remained the subject of active litigation in the United States, and later in Israel, through 2015.
“It seemed as though if we proceeded, we would be taking a stand we didn’t want to take,” Nicola told The New York Times, claiming that he had consulted “local Jewish religious and community leaders” to inform the decision.
Alan Rickman at the opening night of “My Name Is Rachel Corrie,” at the Minnetta Lane Theatre in New York City, 15 October 2006. The play had been canceled by its original venue, the New York Theatre Workshop.
Bridgett Austin
I just learned about Rachel and I am deeply moved by her story. I can’t believe that more people don’t know about this incident the ended her life. I always enjoyed Mr. Rickman’s work and now have a greater respect for him as well. Thank you.