And here is a good,fairly long, but well worth reading, piece from today's Observer about Rachel and the impact is having - Making of a martyr :
Corrie and her fellow ISM activists chose to live there to bring attention to the misery of the Palestinians and show solidarity with people perceived as terrorists by most Americans. They are respected and welcomed by the Palestinians, and often act as human shields to protect children from Israeli gunfire by accompanying them as they walk to school.
Rachel had become politically conscious only since 11 September, 2001. She was no Hamas or Islamic Jihad militant, groomed for martyrdom and soothed by the promise of a privileged place in heaven.
Perhaps there really is a chance that her death, unarmed and non-violent, philosophically as well as tactical, might point the way to a different type of of self-sacrificing struggle for desperate young Palestinians who have been sucked into the madness of the suicide bombings.