Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Jimmy Carter Blasts Ruling on Rachel Corrie Death

Former President Jimmy Carter called “unacceptable” a court ruling that declared the State of Israel is not responsible for the death of an American activist.

“The killing of an American peace activist is unacceptable. The court’s decision confirms a climate of impunity, which facilitates Israeli human rights violations against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Territory,” Carter said in a statement from the Atlanta-based Carter Center.

A district court in Haifa dismissed all charges Tuesday in a civil suit brought by the parents of Rachel Corrie, the American activist killed in Gaza in 2003 after being run over by an Israeli military bulldozer.

District Court Judge Oded Gershon ruled that Corrie, a pro-Palestinian activist with the International Solidarity Movement, entered the Gaza Strip despite knowing it was a war zone with live fire being exchanged daily.

Corrie, 23, was acting as a human shield for a house that was about to be demolished by the Israeli army when she became enveloped in the pile of dirt created by an armored bulldozer as it moved toward the house, according to her supporters. She died soon after in a nearby hospital. The Israeli military denies that a house demolition was taking place.

Carter also stated, “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.”

The former president, who has garnered much criticism in recent years for his harsh words about Israel, will address the Democratic National Convention Sept. 4 via video on the second day of the convention in Charlotte, N.C.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.