Freethinker Sunday Sermonette: Billy Bragg on Rachel Corrie

Rachel Corrie, again. I keep coming back to her (see here, here and here). Tribalism kills. It doesn't matter if the Tribe is God based or flag based or race based or village based or language based or party based.

Rachel Corrie's murder gnaws at me. I'm not the only one. This from musician Billy Brag:

Rachel Corrie was killed in Gaza in March 2003 by a bulldozer driven by an Israeli soldier. She was an unarmed peace activist dedicated to non-violent resistance.

This week, a British court found that Tom Hurndall, a 22 year old unarmed British peace activist was unlawfully killed in Gaza in April 2003 after being shot dead in broad daylight by an Israeli soldier who later claimed that his commanding officers had issued orders to kill unarmed civilians.

This came only days after the Israeli military had been found guilty of unlawfully shooting and killing James Miller, an unarmed British journalist, three weeks after Tom Hurndall and just one mile away in southern Gaza.

The reason why we feel such revulsion towards terrorists is because they kill with impunity. If we hope to defeat them, we must respond to their atrocities in ways which clearly demonstrate our respect for the right to life and the rule of law. If we fail to live up to our own hard won standards, we should not be surprised if neutral observers should find our stance hypocritical and our methods repugnant. (HuffPo)

Billy Bragg has penned a song, 'The Lonesome Death of Rachel Corrie,' borrowing from Bob Dylan.

.mp3 of his eulogy and song here.