A group of veterans from the US armed forces burnt their uniforms in a show of solidarity with the airman Aaron Bushnell, who died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington in a protest over the war in Gaza.
The Air Force identified the Airman who died after setting himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy on Feb. 25 as Senior Airman Aaron James Bushnell, a cyber defense operations specialist assigned to the 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing.
Originally from Whitman, Mass., the 25-year-old Bushnell first joined the Air Force on May 5, 2020. His duty station was the 531st Intelligence Support Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. His duty title was innovation services technician, and his decorations included the Meritorious Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal, Air Force Good Conduct Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Air Force Training Ribbon.
One of the last things Aaron Bushnell wrote was: “Many of us like to ask ourselves, “What would I do if I was alive during Slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or the apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?” The Answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.” The world would be a better place if people like Aaron Bushnell lived on, fought day after day, onward into the future. The courage Aaron Bushnell possessed to do what he did, would better serve us all if he had used it day after day, for as long as possible. Waking up to the reality of US foreign policy leaves one isolated, angry, frustrated, and confused. We all have to work on creating a path from there to here today, where we all work together to make the world a better place tomorrow.
Twenty years ago on March 16, the world got a tragic glimpse into what the state of Israel was going to become. Given the green light in the Oval Office by President George W. Bush, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon – “a man of peace,” Bush said at the time – started the now-inevitable march to apartheid and the murderous treatment of the Palestinians against whom the main battle would be waged.
On June 8, 1967, Israel attacked an American intelligence ship named the USS Liberty. The incident left two-thirds of the ship’s crew dead or injured, in an intentional assault by the Israeli military, yet the US government’s response was to move on and become closer with Tel Aviv. It could be argued that this set a precedent for Israel to kill US citizens with impunity.
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