OLYMPIA, Wash. – When 23-year-old American Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza, she was protesting the impending demolition of a Palestinian home. More than two years later, Craig and Cindy Corrie say they are trying to carry on their daughter's work.

In a bid to raise money to rebuild the bulldozed house and others nearby, the Corries have started a seven-state tour with Khaled and Samah Nasrallah – one of two Palestinian families who lived in the house Rachel died protecting.

On Friday, the tour comes to Rachel Corrie's hometown of Olympia.

"Rachel, when she was in Gaza, wrote to us about her own thinking in terms of making a commitment to that place," Cindy Corrie said. "She didn't want to feel guilty when she left, knowing that she could come and go as she pleased. When she was killed, those words resonated with us."

Rachel Corrie was killed in 2003, after Israel moved to raze a house under a decades-old policy of destroying the homes of Palestinian suicide bombers and gunmen. Khaled Nasrallah, an accountant for Palestine Airlines, said his family was not involved with terrorism.

An Israeli army investigation concluded that Corrie's death was accidental. Officials said the driver of the machine could not see the woman – a claim activists have fiercely disputed and her parents are challenging.

At the time of her death, Craig Corrie was an actuary nearing retirement; his wife was a flutist and vocalist. Now, they travel the country to talk about their daughter and her cause. About a year ago, they joined up with the Rebuilding Alliance, an organization that helps rebuild Palestinian homes and schools.

In March, the Corries sued Caterpillar Inc., the maker of the bulldozer, arguing that the company knew its machines would be used to demolish homes and endanger people. Caterpillar said in its defense: "We have neither the legal right nor the means to police individual use of that equipment."

The Corries are also pursuing claims in Israel against the Jewish state and its military.

Human rights groups have condemned the demolition of Palestinian homes as a violation of international humanitarian law. In February, Israel abandoned the policy, saying it was ineffective.

Israel has characterized the International Solidarity Movement, the group Rachel Corrie was working with when she was killed, as meddlers whose activism in some cases has amounted to abetting terrorism. Others argue that the young people who join these kinds of groups are naive.

"I think she just made bad decisions for herself," said Keren Bar-nir, with the American Zionist Movement in New York. "I think it's based on really extreme groups persuading people. The kids these days are so disillusioned."

A scholarship has been created in Rachel Corrie's name at her alma mater, Evergreen State College. And a one-woman play called "My Name is Rachel Corrie," based on Rachel's journals, letters and e-mails and directed by actor Alan Rickman, opened in London in April.

The Corries have become friends with the Nasrallahs, who witnessed Rachel's death from a hole in their garden wall. The Corries traveled to the home, which was then still standing, to see the spot where she died. The house has since been demolished.

"Rachel had this relationship with our family and our children, so she stood to defend our children and to protect the principle of staying in your home," Khaled Nasrallah said.