Rachel’s Words

Due to the opening of the play in NYC, the much discredited article written by Joshua Hammer (former Middle East Bureau Chief for Newsweek Magazine) is once again rearing its ugly head.

Mother Jones itself reposted it yesterday on its website. Below is an article by Phan Ngyuen which deconstructs the Joshua Hammer article. Please read it in its entirety and forward to anyone who references the Mother Jones article.

September 20, 2003

Mother Jones Smears Rachel Corrie
Specious Journalism in Defense of Killers
By PHAN NGUYEN

Originally published in Counterpunch, Sept. 20, 2003

Mother Jones demonstrated how low it could set its standards for investigative journalism when it hired Newsweek reporter Joshua Hammer to surf the web and write a 7000-word feature story on Rachel Corrie and the International Solidarity Movement (“The Death of Rachel Corrie”, Sept/Oct 2003). It appears that fact-checking and verification was not a priority in the production of this article. Before I had even finished reading the Hammer’s smear job I had already discovered that the writer had no shame in culling information from indiscriminate websurfing. Take, for instance, Hammer’s description of a memorial service held for Corrie in Rafah soon after she was killed:

Cheryl Brodersen, Rachel’s aunt

Thank you. It is heartwarming to know these activities are occurring. I along with several other members of the Corrie family will be attending the U.S. House of Representative’s Subcommitte on Africa, Human Rights and International Operations hearing on the U.S. State Dept.’s 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights. Rachel’s paragraph states the bulldozer was clearing land, speaks of IDF “investigations” without informing the Congress or U.S. citizens that the State Dept. does not consider them up to U.S. standards nor thorough, credible and transparent as Israel promised.

If any D.C.ers are free on March 16th and want to attend a lengthy hearing on the state of human rights in the world, come sit with several from Rachel’s family. You will recognize us by the buttons over our hearts expressing: Rachel Corrie – End the Occupation. (The site and time can be googled under the House of Representatives subcommittee site.) We have been told it will be at 2 p.m. in the Rayburn building on the House side of the Hill – but is always subject to change.

Thank you so much – this makes me smile.

Cheryl Brodersen
Rachel’s aunt