An active-duty member U.S. airman is dead after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. on Sunday. The self-immolation was a protest against Israel’s assault on Gaza, which has been occurring since October.
Aaron Bushnell was a 25-year-old soldier in the United States Air Force. Before the action he uploaded a video to Twitch explaining his motivation. A censored version of the stream was uploaded to Twitter by journalist Talia Jane.
“I will no longer be complicit in genocide,” says Bushnell in the video. “I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”
In the clip Bushnell, who is wearing his fatigues, douses himself in gasoline and lights himself on fire while yelling, “Free Palestine!” The flames were eventually put out by Secret Service members. Bushnell succumbed to his injuries at a DC hospital later that night.
Content Warning: Graphic Video
Multiple people who knew Bushnell reached out to Jane to share their memories of him.
“He is one of the most principled comrades I’ve ever known,” said one. “He’s always trying to think about how we can actually achieve liberation for all with a smile on his face,” offered another.
Bushnell also made a Facebook post the morning before he set himself on fire. “Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?’ The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now,” it read.
Since October, thousands of Americans have protested Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza and the United States government’s support for the bombing. In December, a protester was critically injured after lighting themself on fire outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta. A Palestinian flag was found at the scene.
Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking cabinet approval for an invasion of Rafah, despite the fact that a temporary ceasefire is currently being negotiated. “It has to be done,” said Netanyahu recently. “Because total victory is our goal, and total victory is within reach.”
More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, more than half of the deaths have been women and children.
How sad, and how brave. I recall the image of Thich Quang Doc, the Buddhist monk in Vietnam who immolated himself in 1963. The image made a lasting impact on me, and on many who saw it, but of course the war continued for many years, with countless deaths. I hope that Bushnell’s sacrifice will have a greater impact.
Only many years after our war in Vietnam did I hear a talk by Thich Nhat Hanh in which he placed Thich Quang Doc’s action in context–not only of the events in Vietnam at the time, but also in ancient traditions of the “Medicine Buddha.” Some may see a parallel with Christ’s sacrifice.
Scott Ritter – A Reflection on Duty and Conscience: Aaron Bushnell
“We unveil the background of Bushnell’s fateful decision, rooted in the orders that drove him to the brink of despair—an expectation to deploy to Israel on short notice, a demand that challenged his very principles.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWUjRDEm2bw
Aaron Bushnell Burned Himself Alive To Make You Turn Your Eyes To Gaza
He remained standing for an unbelievable amount of time while he was burning. I don’t know where he got the strength to do it. He remained standing long after he’d stopped vocalizing.
By Caitlin Johnstone
February 27, 2024
“I watched the uncensored video of US airman Aaron Bushnell self-immolating in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington while screaming “Free Palestine”. I hesitated to watch it because I knew once I put it into my mind it’s there for the rest of my life, but I figured I owe him that much.
I feel like I’ve been picked up and shaken, which I suppose was pretty much what Bushnell was going for. Something to shake the world awake to the reality of what’s happening. Something to snap us out of the brainwashed and distracted stupor of western dystopia and turn our gaze to Gaza.
The sounds stay with you more than the sights. The sound of his gentle, youthful, Michael Cera-like voice as he walked toward the embassy. The sound of the round metal container he stored the accelerant in getting louder as it rolls toward the camera. The sound of Bushnell saying “Free Palestine”, then screaming it, then switching to wordless screams when the pain became too overwhelming, then forcing out one more “Free Palestine” before losing his words for good. The sound of the cop screaming at him to get on the ground over and over again. The sound of a first responder telling police to stop pointing guns at Bushnell’s burning body and go get fire extinguishers.
He remained standing for an unbelievable amount of time while he was burning. I don’t know where he got the strength to do it. He remained standing long after he’d stopped vocalizing.”
https://informationclearinghouse.blog/2024/02/27/aaron-bushnell-burned-himself-alive-to-make-you-turn-your-eyes-to-gaza/14/
I read that while Aaron Bushnell was burning, a cop aimed his gun at him. WHAT???
In my entire life have never seen anyone put their life on the line for a strong cause normally its hunger strikes. I did not think an U.S,A.F personnel has done anything like this that am aware of.
Aaron Bushnell with his sacrifice how will it effect his parents and siblings if has any,
Now we know how Mossad really feels about their allies when they state “Our Enemies Kill Themselves” Yet Biden is like Israel’s puppet for now states nothing and U.S Fact Checkers state its Fake..
https://pravda-en.com/world/2024/02/26/343066.html