From Rachel Corrie to Heidi Levin... when America stands with Israel against its citizens

Writer: Bassam Zakarneh

The attack on American journalist Heidi Levin, a correspondent for the Washington Post, was subjected to by Israeli settlers while she was covering the olive harvest season in the village of Abu Falah, east of Ramallah, was not just an attack on a journalist performing her professional duty, but rather an incident that reveals once again the nature of the crimes to which our Palestinian people are exposed and the extent of the protection that their perpetrators enjoy in the absence of real accountability.

But what makes this incident more significant is that the victim is an American journalist. Will her nationality prompt the American administration to take a firm stance demanding that the aggressors be held accountable, or will American bias toward Israel remain stronger than the duty to protect American citizens themselves? This question brings us back to Rachel Corrie, the young American woman who in 2003 stood with her body in Rafah trying to protect a Palestinian house from demolition. She was run over by an Israeli bulldozer and killed in front of the world. However, we did not witness American anger commensurate with the gravity of the crime, nor decisive pressure to impose accountability and justice, nor criminal accountability equal to the seriousness of what was committed against her. Rachel was an American citizen, but her nationality was not sufficient to protect her from Israeli oppression. She did not make her life a priority for an administration that preferred protecting Israel from accountability over doing justice to its citizenship and respecting international and humanitarian law and the American values they pay lip service to.

Rachel left, and the chains of Israeli bulldozers continued their path over Palestinian land, trampling on homes, dreams, and bodies, claiming the lives of Palestinians, including children, while American silence and political complicity continued, giving the occupation a cover to continue its crimes. Rachel’s blood was mixed with the blood of the Palestinians, so that her story became a witness that the Israeli killing machine does not distinguish between a Palestinian and an American when he stands in its way, and that the American position is not always governed by the values of justice and human rights, but rather is always governed by considerations of political bias and protecting Israel from Punishment.

The picture is repeated in the case of Palestinian-American journalist Sherine Abu Aqla, who was killed by Israeli forces in the Jenin camp in 2022, and despiteThe American recognition that an Israeli soldier was responsible for her death. America did not demand that he be held accountable, and international efforts did not lead to holding Israel accountable in a manner commensurate with the crime, with the protection of the American veto. Other American citizens were also killed at the hands of Israeli forces or in the context of settler attacks, including Omar Asaad, Tawfiq Abdel-Jabbar, and Aisha Nur Iggy, without witnessing a firm American position that places actual accountability at the top of priorities. Rather, it rolled up its hands and showed its fangs against the courts. The international community imposed sanctions on it when it decided to prosecute Israeli war criminals.

The issue here is not related to the nationality of the victims alone, but rather to the principle of justice itself. The United States, which presents itself as a protector of freedom and human rights, is supposed to stand against the killing of civilians and children and attacks on journalists, regardless of their nationalities, and to demand that the perpetrators be held accountable, whether they are friends or allies. However, the reality reveals a clear duality when it comes to Israel, and the paradox becomes clearer in light of the killing, displacement, and destruction to which the Palestinians are exposed, and the crimes committed by settlers, including the burning of the child Muhammad Abu Khudair in 2014 and the burning of the Dawabsha family in Douma in 2015. As the crimes continue, successive American administrations continue to provide political and military support to Israel, while American pressure does not rise to the level of imposing respect for international law and holding those responsible accountable.

Here a question arises that cannot be ignored: Does American policy move in accordance with the interests of American citizens and the principles of justice that it proclaims, or does the influence of pro-Israel pressure groups inside America make protecting Israel from the consequences a priority?Advance the rights of victims even when the victims are Americans? The influence of these groups on American politics deserves discussion and accountability, but the ultimate responsibility remains with the administration, which makes decisions and possesses pressure tools.

If the American administrations do not take a firm stance when their citizens are killed or assaulted by Israelis, how can the Palestinians expect justice from them when they face the occupation and its crimes on a daily basis? How can talk about peace and human rights be believed while support for Israel continues without serious guarantees to stop crimes and achieve justice?

The attack on journalist Heidi Levin should not be viewed as an isolated incident, but rather as a new test of the credibility of the United States. What is required is not a passing statement of condemnation, but rather a clear position demanding that the aggressors be held accountable, protect journalists and civilians, and put an end to impunity.

From Rachel Corrie to Sherine Abu Aqla, all the way to elderly journalist Heidi Levin, the same questions are repeated and justice remains absent. Will the United States ever stand up for its principles when the aggressor is Israel? Or will the slogan “America First” remain subject to a political reality in which Israel appears first, even at the expense of the citizens of America itself?