Call to Confession (based on Mark 24-37)

The following is a Call to Confession I wrote for Wellington Ave. United Church of Christ (my home church) for our service on September 9, 2012. It was followed later at the end of the service with an invitation to attend the Chicago Faith Coalition on MIddle East Policy presentation on Boycott Divestment and Sanctions to learn what different faith groups are doing on BDS and the US Response to Kairos Palestine.

“There was a family behind that wall. She knew that family. She slept on the floor in the parent’s bedroom because they couldn’t sleep in the children’s bedroom because Israeli soldiers were firing at them. She knew that family and she knew they stood behind that wall.” These are the words of Cindy Corrie, mother of Rachel Corrie, spoken after the end of a nearly 7-year battle with the Israeli Civil Court system to hold them accountable for the death of her daughter.

 Judge Oded Gershon said her death was a “regrettable accident” because she did not “distance herself from the area as any thinking person would have done.” Though this was the official pronouncement that she shouldn’t have been there in a wartime situation other testimony centered on whether or not her bright neon jacket was visible to the driver.

And still other evidence, submitted to the court extracted from battalion operations log on the day she was killed, March 26, 2003 stated: “We must not, as an army, allow such incidents to disrupt the ongoing missions. We are aware of the problem of foreigners in the area and, as a policy, we do not halt activity because of the presence of foreigners in the area in order to avoid creating a dangerous precedent…but again this incident was unavoidable and these foreigners should be dealt with and prevented from entering the Strip.”

Like the Palestinians she came to protect as her own family, she, like them, was “dealt with” ----killed. She has joined the over 400 children killed by the Israeli army, over half from Rafah.

Like the obstinate Syro-Phonecian woman from the Gospel of Mark, her parents demanded justice for their daughter, not just crumbs off the floor, sorry for this accident.  They failed in their attempt to get a just verdict where the Israeli military would admit its responsibility but they did establish that her death was not arbitrary but rather one of a pattern of killings for the Israeli army pursued a daily routine of attacks and demolitions to terrorize the Palestinian population into submission.

The young 23 motherless Rachel Corrie was also the Syro-Phonecian woman; she was this demanding in your face foreign woman who refused to back down or away from the charging militarized Caterpillar. She is a martyr in Palestine, her image is plastered on banners and the apartheid wall with words like “Your body disappeared but your spirit will always fly over Palestine.” There is even a street named after her.

Just as Jesus finally heard the cries for justice from a foreign woman so should we hear the cries from Rachel and her mother.  For me, Rachel’s witness and legacy should be remembered by fulfilling her mother’s words, “There were children behind the walls of th home Rachel was trying to protect…we should have been there.”

“We should have been there.”  Her bold assertion after years of battling unsuccessfully the Israeli court system is inspiring.  In one short sentence she affirms the right and responsibility of not only her daughter’s decision to be there but calls all of us “to be there” too now.

There are many ways “to be there”, to speak up about the injustices that continue to make Gaza not only an open-air prison but also target practice for the Israeli military. There is one particular way that directly speaks back to this murder and atrocity of justice and that is to challenge Caterpillar Inc. through divestment. The Corrie Family and the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice have asked that supporters join them in demanding that TIAFF-CREF, which has invested over $1 million, divest from Caterpillar until they stop profiting from the systematic demolishing of Palestinian homes, water supplies, and communities in Gaza, The West Bank and East Jerusalem.

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will,” said Fredrick Douglas. Let us this morning confess that we have not yet put our money where our political values or faith are, we have not gone the extra mile to make sure our investments our truly for the “common good.” Let us put the same amount of energy into exploring our personal and collective investments as we have put into our tithing and capitol campaign, as we put into attacking or defending the federal budget.  Let us examine our investments and make commitments to divestments so that Rachel and her death stand for something.

The following is a list of organizations and faith communities who are committed to divestment as a strategy for ending the occupation and working for a just peace. The list comes from AFSC.

We Divest – This is the site of the We Divest TIAA-CREF Divestment Campaign. It includes background information on the campaign, resources for activists, and a link through which you can sign the We Divest petition.
http://wedivest.org/

Who Profits - Who Profits is dedicated to exposing the commercial involvement of companies in the continuation of Israeli occupation. The project publishes information about companies, produces in-depth reports, and serves as an information resource center.
http://www.whoprofits.org/

Global Exchange: Economic Activism for Palestine Project – This site provides excellent information on many of the companies targeted by the We Divest Campaign.
http://www.globalexchange.org/programs/economicactivism

Quakers with a Concern for Palestine-Israel – This website brings together information from Meeting around the country related to Quaker activism on Israel-Palestine issues.
http://www.quakerpi.org/default.shtml

United Methodist Kairos Response – This website includes information and resources put together by members of the Methodist church who are working to develop an internal investment screen for their church.
https://www.kairosresponse.org/UMKR_Home.html

The Presbyterian Israel-Palestine Mission Network – This site includes excellent background information and resources regarding the overall conflict and divestment.
http://israelpalestinemissionnetwork.org/main/

Jewish Voice for Peace – The JVP site includes excellent background information on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/

The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation – The US campaign is a coalition of over 300 US based organizations working to end Israel’s occupation and realize peace with justice in Israel and Palestine. This site includes excellent resources for activists, including materials on divestment.
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/

The Boycott National Committee – This is the website for the Palestinian body that initiated the Palestinian BDS call in 2005. The committee speaks for the over 250 Palestinian organizations that signed on to the initial BDS call.
http://www.bdsmovement.net/

Kairos Palestine – This website is maintained by the coalition of Palestinian church leaders who came together in 2009 to issue the Palestine Kairos Document. The site includes links to the Kairos document and information on the current situation in Palestine and Israel.
http://www.kairospalestine.ps/
From video of event on Faith Communities and BDS in Chicago highlighting the faith communities actions at their general assemblies. Video also includes highlights from Rabbi Alissa Wise from Jewish Voice for Peace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u47zEGFJw_A&feature=player_embedded

End The Occupation invites you to Take Action by signing their petition for an investigation of Rachel Corrie's death

Take Action: Verdict in Corrie Case Requires U.S. Invest...

www.endtheoccupation.org