On March 16, 2003, Craig and Cindy Corrie lost their daughter, Rachel, when she was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip while trying to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home.  Rachel Corrie, at age 23, became the first U.S. peace activist killed in the region since the start of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In September 2003, the Corrie family visited Israel to retrace the life and untimely death of their daughter, get to know her friends, and meet the families whose homes she had sought to protect.  Since then the Corrie family has been speaking around the country to lawmakers, local community groups, university students and concerned citizens about the tragedy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  In the past two years, Israeli forces have demolished more than 3,000 Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories, in violation of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Fourth Geneva Convention which prohibits collective punishment and the destruction of personal property in occupied lands.

The circumstances of Rachel Corrie's death have been condemned by several nonviolent and human rights organizations, including the Fellowship of Reconciliation and Amnesty International USA. The Corries, in conjunction with several concerned organizations, have called on the U.S. Congress to conduct a full, independent investigation of the incident.  In a statement, the Corries said: “We are greatly concerned for the nonviolent internationals volunteering in the Occupied Territories. We ask that members of Congress call upon the Israeli government to cease harassment of these individuals and, specifically, to cease firing upon them when they are engaged in protecting the Palestinian water supply, protecting Palestinian homes from illegal demolitions, and retrieving bodies of murdered Palestinians for return to their families – all events Rachel witnessed.”  So far, Congress has failed to act on their request or on behalf of nonviolent international volunteers.

The Corrie family is dedicated to raising public awareness of the events shaping the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to reflecting upon and honoring the life and memory of their daughter, and to pressure the U.S. government to work vigorously for a stable and just peace in the region. Guiding them is one of the last e-mails they received from their daughter before she died.

Rachel wrote, "This has to stop. I think it is a good idea for us all to drop everything and devote our lives to making this stop. I don’t think it’s an extremist thing to do anymore. I really want to dance around to Pat Benatar and have boyfriends and make comics for my co-workers. But I also want this to stop.  Disbelief and horror is what I feel.  Disappointment.  I am disappointed that this is the base reality of our world and that we, in fact, participate in it. This is not at all what I asked for when I came into this world. This is not at all what the people here asked for when they came into this world. This is not what they are asking for now. This is not the world you and Dad wanted me to come into when you decided to have me.”