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The Los Angeles Times and AP Refuse to Correct False Claim About Rachel Corrie
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by Tamar Sternthal
Rachel Corrie St. in Ramallah. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Associated Press (AP) and Los Angeles Times have both neglected to correct erroneous reports in recent days, which incorrectly claimed that US activist Rachel Corrie was killed 2003 by an Israeli military demolition, while she was protesting a home demolition in the Gaza Strip.
In fact, a 2012 Haifa court ruling found that the bulldozer that accidentally killed Corrie was clearing brush used for attacks against Israeli troops, and was not demolishing homes.
In their Sept. 7 AP article, “Israeli soldiers fatally shot an American woman at a West Bank protest, a witness says,” Julia Frankel and Aref Tufana reported:
American Rachel Corrie was crushed to death as she tried to block an Israeli military bulldozer from demolishing a Palestinian home. [Emphasis added.]
Similarly, The Los Angeles Times’ Laura King’s Sept. 9 page A1 article (and also online), “Pattern of impunity alleged after activist’s killing… ” erred:
In 2003, another American activist with the organization, 23-year-old Rachel Corrie, was crushed by an Israeli army bulldozer as she tried to block home demolitions in the Gaza Strip. [Emphasis added.]
The Haifa court that ruled on the Rachel Corrie case found that the bulldozer was clearing brush, not demolishing homes. The court stated:
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. [Emphasis added.]
While both AP and The Los Angeles Times failed to correct their reports even after CAMERA supplied them with the court document, The Jerusalem Post last week commendably corrected the identical error.
Tamar Sternthal is the director of CAMERA’s Israel Office. A version of this article previously appeared on the CAMERA website.
