Aaron Bushnell Will Be Venerated Like Rachel Corrie Was Before Him

Twenty-one years ago, Rachel Corrie gave her life to serve the Palestinian cause. Today, her legacy lives on.

In These Times Editors

American peace activist Rachel Corrie, 23, burns a makeshift U.S. flag during an anti-war, pro-Iraqi rally by Palestinians on February 15, 2003 in the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza strip. A month later, Corrie was run over and killed by an Israeli bulldozer when she tried to stop it from destroying a Palestinian house in Rafah. (Photo by Getty Images)

Rachel Corrie, an anti-occupation activist from Olympia, Wash., was murdered by the Israeli military March 16, 2003, while she was in Gaza trying to prevent Palestinian homes from being destroyed in the Rafah refugee camp. Shortly after her death, Geov Parrish, an In These Times contributor, wrote about his worry that Corrie would be forgotten despite her bravery. But her legacy has only grown.

"Many of us like to ask ourselves, 'What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?' The answer is, you're doing it. Right now." – Aaron Bushnell

Even during the current onslaught in Gaza, Corrie’s story is brought up when people ponder what it means to be in solidarity with Palestinians, to truly put your body on the line.

Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old U.S. service member who was stationed in San Antonio, answered that question for himself with a Facebook post February 25, the morning he lit himself on fire in his military uniform in what he called an extreme act of protest”: Many of us like to ask ourselves, What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?’ The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.”

In memoriam, in Jericho, Palestinians have already named a street after him.

In 2003, Geov Parrish wrote:

Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old senior at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, was killed by Israeli soldiers in the Rafah Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip on March 16.

Corrie was run over-and run over again, when an army bulldozer backed up over her a second time – as she tried to prevent soldiers from demolishing a Palestinian home in the camp. She was in Palestine as a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), the most prominent of several nonviolent groups that in the last year have been bringing international activists – primarily Americans and Europeans – to work as peacekeepers: witnessing Israeli treatment of Palestinians, trying to provide assistance to Palestinian civilians, and afterward bringing the stories of what they see back home to their own countries.

The circumstances of her death were disputed by the Israeli military and government, which claim that the bulldozer’s driver was unaware of Corrie. This is flatly denied by other ISM volunteers who witnessed Corrie’s death; in their version, Corrie talked with the driver only a few minutes before the incident and was wearing a bright, fluorescent orange jacket.

The Israel-Palestine conflict has largely disappeared from American news reports, but that’s not because the violence has ended. Quite the opposite: It has become routine, with daily violence and humiliation inflicted upon many Palestinians, deaths (often children) almost every day, and periodic cycles of suicide bombings – all, at least rhetorically, inflicted by each side either to retaliate against the other side or prevent” future violence.

It hasn’t; the level of economic deprivation, house and crop demolitions, shoot-to-kill curfews, restrictions on employment and movement, random arrests, beatings, torture, and worse inflicted by the Israelis have all essentially become background noise for most Americans. A few, however, have been intentionally putting themselves in harm’s way.

The logic behind programs like ISM, which was launched by the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement in late 2001, is similar to that of human shield” programs in the past. As in many conflicts where the protagonists are averse to publicity-especially in America-Israelis have often hesitated in inflicting their usual levels of violence when there are Western witnesses. Israel itself has tacitly acknowledged the effectiveness of such programs; in recent months, the IDF has begun arresting the volunteers, and both deportations and denial of entry into Israel (the only way to get into Palestine) have also increased.
It’s worth taking a moment to remember not only Rachel, but all of these brave activists. They’re putting their lives on the line for their beliefs, for the love of humanity, and because they feel a need to take responsibility for the actions of our elected government. We should all be so committed.
Corrie’s death was the first among the international volunteers. However, ISM volunteers and other advocates for Palestinians argue that such volunteers have likely saved countless others, either by defusing confrontations or, by their mere presence, dissuading Israeli soldiers or settler” vigilantes from attacks on individuals or families.

Repeatedly, over the last year, returning American volunteers have reported the same thing: Ordinary Palestinians and their families both thank the internationals for caring enough to come, and beg them to tell their countrymen – that’s us – what is being done in our name and with our tax money. The munitions scattered like confetti around Palestinian streets all have made in USA” on them; likely, the bulldozer that killed Corrie was manufactured in her home country.

Had Corrie been killed by Saddam Hussein’s soldiers, of course, she’d be an instant national hero, and America would be enraged. Instead, with the war in Iraq now underway, it’s likely that the death of Rachel Corrie will be soon forgotten by most. But there are now hundreds of other Americans serving as nonviolent peace- keepers and witnesses in both Palestine and Iraq. It’s worth taking a moment to remember not only Rachel, but all of these brave activists. They’re putting their lives on the line for their beliefs, for the love of humanity, and because they feel a need to take responsibility for the actions of our elected government. We should all be so committed.
Sign up for our weekend newsletter
A weekly digest of our best coverage
Please consider supporting our work.

I hope you found this article important. Before you leave, I want to ask you to consider supporting our work with a donation. In These Times needs readers like you to help sustain our mission. We don’t depend on—or want—corporate advertising or deep-pocketed billionaires to fund our journalism. We’re supported by you, the reader, so we can focus on covering the issues that matter most to the progressive movement without fear or compromise.

Our work isn’t hidden behind a paywall because of people like you who support our journalism. We want to keep it that way. If you value the work we do and the movements we cover, please consider donating to In These Times.

Get 10 issues for $19.95

Subscribe to the print magazine.