Free Republic

The bulldozer driver who crushed to death American activist Rachel Corrie seven years ago struggled Thursday just to recall her name. "It's Rachel-something," he testified in a Haifa courtroom. "Carrie?" The former Israeli reservist's courtroom appearance, his first public comments since the college student's 2003 death, was expected to be the dramatic climax of the Corrie family's long-running civil lawsuit against the Israeli government. But during more than four hours of testimony, the 38-year-old Russian immigrant, speaking from behind a screen to hide his identity, said he remembered little about that day and the young woman he ran over. ***...

JERUSALEM – The parents of an American protester crushed to death seven years ago by an Israeli bulldozer are getting their first chance to confront the man who drove the vehicle that killed her. But the contact in an Israeli courtroom is indirect: The unidentified bulldozer driver is being shielded behind a wood-and-plastic partition, his voice floating into the hall over a microphone. Rachel Corrie's parents were seated about 15 feet (five meters) away as he testified publicly for the first time Thursday in their civil lawsuit against the Israeli government.

The Olympia Food Co-op announced last week that no more Israeli products will be sold at its two grocery stores. Last week, the board of directors of the Olympia Food Co-op in Washington state decided that no more Israeli products will be sold at its two grocery stores in the city. "We met last Thursday for the board members meeting and a pretty large group – about 40 people – presented the boycott project and answered our questions," Rob Richards, a board member, told Haaretz. "A couple of board members were concerned about what will be the financial effect on...