Al-Awda - Voices of Resistance and Liberation

Yahya Barakat's film, Rachel: An American Conscience, was screened several times throughout the area at showings attended by the director between May 2 and 7, at events sponsored by the Palestinian American Congress of New Jersey and New York. Barakat's film focuses on Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old American Palestine solidarity activist who was killed in March 2003 in Rafah in the Gaza Strip of Palestine by a Caterpillar bulldozer as she stood protecting a Palestinian home from demolition. Interviewing friends, family members and fellow activists of Corrie's, as well as other delegation members and international activists in Palestine and Palestinian activists and organizers, the film presents a human portrait of Corrie as well as a look into the ongoing occupation of Palestine.

The new film, while targeted primarily at American audiences, was powerful and affecting to the largely Palestinian and Arab audiences in New Jersey and New York who viewed it at the screenings. Held at Brooklyn's Widdi Hall, the Passaic County Community College in Paterson, NJ, the Islamic Center of North Hudson, and the South Paterson Public Library, the showings brought many to see the film and discuss it with Barakat, currently on a tour of the United States to introduce the film to various audiences.

Tracing the involvement of solidarity activists on the ground in Palestine, the film establishes the connection Rachel and her fellow activists felt with the Palestinian struggle. Containing excerpts of interviews with Rachel herself, quotations from her now-famous emails to her family, and footage of Rachel at mock trials and dance events held with youth organizations in Gaza, the film presents a closer look at Rachel Corrie and at the ongoing crimes in Palestine. Utilizing Rachel as a symbol of Palestinian and international resistance to Zionist occupation, the film highlights the encroaching apartheid wall, illegal settlements and the policy of home demolitions. Sales of copies of the film's DVD were brisk at the events, as viewers discussed additional possible screening locations.

This article may be shared, reproduced or distributed under a Creative Commons License.

Al-Awda is published monthly by New Jersey Solidarity-Activists for the Liberation of Palestine. We welcome submissions, letters to the editor, cultural works, and other proposals for publication.

Contact us: Al-Awda Newspaper
(973) 954-2521
info@newjerseysolidarity.org
http://www.newjerseysolidarity.org

New Jersey Solidarity
344 Grove Street, Suite 131
Jersey City, NJ 07302

Our editorial collective is responsible for editing, laying out and developing this publication. We are open to new members who are in accord with the mission and principles of this newspaper.

Please contact us about your upcoming events and activities of interest to readers of this publication.

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May 2005	http://alawda.newjerseysolidarity.org
Film Highlights Life and Death of Activist Yahya Barakat's film, Rachel: An American Conscience, was screened several times throughout the area at showings attended by the director between May 2 and 7, at events sponsored by the Palestinian American Congress of New Jersey and New York. Barakat's film focuses on Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old American Palestine solidarity activist who was killed in March 2003 in Rafah in the Gaza Strip of Palestine by a Caterpillar bulldozer as she stood protecting a Palestinian home from demolition. Interviewing friends, family members and fellow activists of Corrie's, as well as other delegation members and international activists in Palestine and Palestinian activists and organizers, the film presents a human portrait of Corrie as well as a look into the ongoing occupation of Palestine. The new film, while targeted primarily at American audiences, was powerful and affecting to the largely Palestinian and Arab audiences in New Jersey and New York who viewed it at the screenings. Held at Brooklyn's Widdi Hall, the Passaic County Community College in Paterson, NJ, the Islamic Center of North Hudson, and the South Paterson Public Library, the showings brought many to see the film and discuss it with Barakat, currently on a tour of the United States to introduce the film to various audiences. Tracing the involvement of solidarity activists on the ground in Palestine, the film establishes the connection Rachel and her fellow activists felt with the Palestinian struggle. Containing excerpts of interviews with Rachel herself, quotations from her now-famous emails to her family, and footage of Rachel at mock trials and dance events held with youth organizations in Gaza, the film presents a closer look at Rachel Corrie and at the ongoing crimes in Palestine. Utilizing Rachel as a symbol of Palestinian and international resistance to Zionist occupation, the film highlights the encroaching apartheid wall, illegal settlements and the policy of home demolitions. Sales of copies of the film's DVD were brisk at the events, as viewers discussed additional possible screening locations. This article may be shared, reproduced or distributed under a Creative Commons License. Al-Awda is published monthly by New Jersey Solidarity-Activists for the Liberation of Palestine. We welcome submissions, letters to the editor, cultural works, and other proposals for publication. Contact us: Al-Awda Newspaper (973) 954-2521 info@newjerseysolidarity.org http://www.newjerseysolidarity.org New Jersey Solidarity 344 Grove Street, Suite 131 Jersey City, NJ 07302 Our editorial collective is responsible for editing, laying out and developing this publication. We are open to new members who are in accord with the mission and principles of this newspaper. Please contact us about your upcoming events and activities of interest to readers of this publication. Please contact us for advertising rates and information, or for material on becoming a distributor.

Film Highlights Life and Death of Activist