The Christian Century

I have two files on my computer desktop labeled “Rachel” and “Shaden.” They remind me of the deaths of an American woman and a Palestinian woman. One contains stories and editorials about Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old native of Olympia, Washington, who was crushed to death on March 16 by an Israeli bulldozer. Rachel died as she was protesting the demolition of a Palestinian home in Rafah, Gaza. The other file contains clippings about Shaden Abu Hijleh, a 62-year-old Palestinian grandmother who was shot by Israeli soldiers on October 11, 2002, as she sat with members of her family on her front porch in Nablus, a city in northern Palestine.