Corrie attempting to prevent a bulldozer from clearing brush which provided cover for attacks on Israeli troops (Screenshot from CNN, which had falsely reported that she was preventing a home demolition)
CAMERA’s Israel office today prompted correction of a The Jerusalem Post article which had erroneously reported that U.S. activist Rachel Corrie was killed 2003 in the Gaza Strip while preventing a home demolition.
The Sept. 6 article, “American-Turkish activist killed by Israeli forces at West Bank protest,” had erred:
In March of 2003, American activist Rachel Corrie was killed in Rafah while attempting to prevent an IDF bulldozer from demolishing a home near the border with Egypt.
But, as the Haifa court ruling on the case found in 2012, the bulldozer was clearing brush used to provide cover for attacks on Israeli troops, not demolishing a home. The court ruled:
The mission of the IDF force on the day of the incident was solely to clear the ground. This clearing and leveling included leveling the ground and clearing it of brush in order to expose hiding places used by terrorists, who would sneak out from these areas and place explosive devices with the intent of harming IDF soldiers. There was an urgency to carrying out this mission so that IDF look-outs could observe the area and locate terrorists thereby preventing explosive devices from being buried. The mission did not include, in any way, the demolition of homes. The action conducted by the IDF forces was done at real risk to the lives of the soldiers. Less than one hour before the incident that is the focus of this lawsuit, a live hand-grenade was thrown at the IDF forces. [Emphases added.]
The Jerusalem Post has in the past reported on this correctly. A Feb. 13, 2015 article rightly noted (“Supreme Court rejects Rachel Corrie wrongful death case“):
Rather, the court said that the only stipulation for the area to be defined as a “combat zone” from a legal standpoint, was that the zone had been a high-risk area where there was a presumption of danger and that the bulldozers were part of an IDF military operation to clear areas where enemy forces could hide. [Emphasis added.]
In response to communication from CAMERA, editors commendably and quickly amended the article to accurately report:
In March of 2003, American activist Rachel Corrie was killed in Rafah while attempting to prevent an IDF bulldozer from clearing the area near the border with Egypt.
Contrary to common journalistic practice, editors did not append a correction to the article alerting readers to the change.