From: Dr. Aaron Lerner
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2012 2:57 PM
To: DHAKES@emory.edu
Subject: Is Carter Center Challenging the Haifa Court's statement that
Rachel Corrie died during operation that did not involve the demolition of
houses?

Dear Deborah Hakes - Carter Center,

The first sentence of your 29 August press release, "Carter Center Calls for
Accountability After Corrie Verdict", asserts that "Rachel Corrie...was
crushed by an Israeli bulldozer as she attempted to nonviolently prevent the
demolition of a Palestinian home in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah."
http://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/rachel-corrie-verdict-082912.html

The verdict of the Haifa court (Summary of the Verdict (T.A. 371/05) Estate
of the Late Rachel Corrie, etc. v. The State of Israel – Ministry of
Defense) states that the "mission of the IDF force on the day of the
incident was solely to clear the ground...to expose hiding places used by
terrorists...The mission did not include, in any way, the demolition of
homes. "
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Law/Legal+Issues+and+Rulings/Civil_suit_Rachel_Corrie_28-Aug-2012.htm

Question: Is the position of the Carter Center that the court was incorrect
and that the mission that day was, indeed, "the demolition of a Palestinian
home"?

Follow up question: Is there any specific evidence that served as the basis
for the Carter Center to determine that the mission of the IDF force at the
time of the incident was the demolition of a home and not ground clearing?

Final follow up question: Is it the contention of the Carter Center that
the Geneva Convention prohibits the IDF from engaging in activity to "clear
the ground...to expose hiding places used by terrorists?"

We will publish your reply in full and with no editing.

Best regards,
Dr. Aaron Lerner - www.imra.org.il

================

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 29, 2012
Contact: Deborah Hakes 1-404-420-5124

Carter Center Calls for Accountability After Corrie Verdict

http://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/rachel-corrie-verdict-082912.html

Atlanta….On Aug. 28, the district court in Haifa, Israel, ruled that the
State of Israel was not responsible for the 2003 killing of Rachel Corrie, a
23-year-old U.S. peace activist who was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer as
she attempted to nonviolently prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home
in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. Israel's policy of home
demolitions has been widely criticized by human rights organizations as a
form of collective punishment. It violates Israel's obligations under the
Geneva Conventions. The Corrie family had requested $1 in symbolic damages
and legal expenses.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro and human rights groups and have
criticized Israel's investigation of the case for a lack of thoroughness,
transparency, and credibility.

"The killing of an American peace activist is unacceptable," said former
U.S. President Jimmy Carter. "The court's decision confirms a climate of
impunity, which facilitates Israeli human rights violations against
Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Territory."

Approximately 94 percent of Israeli military investigations of soldiers
suspected of violent criminal activity against Palestinians and their
property end without indictments, according to the Israeli human rights
organization Yesh Din. 91 percent of investigations into crimes committed by
Israeli civilians against Palestinians in the Occupied Territory also end
without indictment. In this case, the district court judge ruled that the
drivers of the bulldozer could not see her, despite eyewitness testimony to
the contrary.

In response to the verdict, Rachel Corrie's parents Cindy and Craig stated
"We are deeply saddened and troubled by what we heard today in the court of
Judge Oded Gershon. This was a bad day, not only for us, but for human
rights, for humanity, the rule of law, and the country of Israel…Rachel was
a human being who deserved accountability, and we as her family deserve that
too."

In contrast, the family of James Miller, an Emmy Award-winning British
filmmaker killed by Israeli forces in Rafah two months after Corrie's death,
ultimately received over $2 million in damages from the Israeli government.
The government of the United Kingdom had threatened to seek the extradition
of the Israeli soldiers in question.

"I hope that the U.S. government will use all reasonable means to ensure
that the rights of American citizens are protected overseas and that justice
is done for the Corrie family," said former President Carter.

####

"Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope."
A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped
to improve life for people in more than 70 countries by resolving conflicts;
advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing
diseases; improving mental health care; and teaching farmers in developing
nations to increase crop production. The Carter Center was founded in 1982
by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter,
in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.