It is disappointing that an Israeli court rejected a $1 lawsuit brought against that country's military by parents of a U.S. activist crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer as she tried to block its path during a protest in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military has repeatedly denied culpability, saying Rachel Corrie could have avoided her death by getting out of the way of the bulldozer. Corrie's Olympia-Washington-based family counter that the bulldozer driver should have seen the girl in the bright orange vest wielding a bullhorn.

For the parents, the details are painfully simple: their daughter exercised her freedom of speech on behalf of her conscience. We take our American values to foreign countries at our own expense? Perhaps. But I wonder if Rachel Corrie had been mowed down during the Arab Spring, by the Syrian or Libyan Army - or even the military of an ally of ours say, Egypt, would the response by each of us be markedly different?

Corrie, was a student at The Evergreen State College in Olympia. Her death has inspired plays and a film. She remains a flash point for debate about Israel's tough stance against protests by Palestinians.

Photo: Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times