An Olympian Struggle
A DANIEL PEARL INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM INITIATIVE PROJECT
The nation’s first and only boycott of Israeli products by a food co-op ignites a fiercely personal community and legal battle in Olympia, Washington, the hometown of Rachel Corrie.
It’s a rare blue skied day in Olympia’s historic downtown strip. At Traditions Cafe—a fair-trade coffee shop and bakery—a slightly grainy black-and-white poster of a young Rachel Corrie hangs in a window. She’s smiling and tucking a lock of her straight, straw-colored hair behind her ear. Beneath her photo is a single word: “Peacemaker.” Below that is another, smaller poster that reads “This property has been declared a Caterpillar-free zone. Stop corporate human rights abuses.”
These posters and their political message are right at home in Washington’s humble state capital, 60 miles south of Seattle. With views of the Olympic Mountains, the...