Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old American soldier, set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington on Sunday, February 25, to protest the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. He died of his injuries a few hours later.
His last wish was the “liberation of Palestine”. Aaron Bushnell, 25, set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington on Sunday, February 25th. The live-filmed act, in which he introduced himself as an “active member of the American Air Force,” was intended to protest the deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza in the IDF's military response to the Hamas massacre on October 7. The fire department's quick intervention was not enough to save him. According to a spokesman for the American Air Force, he died of his injuries on Monday, February 26, before confirming that the young man actually served in this army corps. © since 2020. He served as a Cyber Defense Operations Specialist in San Francisco Antonio, Texas.
“My actions are not extreme at all.”
Shortly before 1 p.m. on Sunday, the young American started a live video on the Twitch platform: In a military uniform, with a youthful face and a determined tone, he explains that … he is ending his life in order to no longer be an “accomplice in a genocide” . He announces to the Internet users watching him that he is preparing for “an extreme act of protest”: “Compared to what the Palestinians are suffering at the hands of the colonizers, my act is not extreme at all.” Moving forward At the entrance to the building, he leads calmly goes through his choreography: he puts down the phone, pours gasoline on himself, puts on his hat, lights his lighter and sets fire to his pants. Before he falls to the ground, he screams in pain three times: “Liberate Palestine.” Aaron Bushnell is consumed for almost a minute. In the video, two police officers approach, one points his gun at him, while the second shouts: “I don't need guns, I need a fire extinguisher!”
According to the New York Post, the young man shared the link to his video in a Facebook post summarizing his thoughts: “Many of us like to ask ourselves, 'What would I have done if I had lived in slavery?' Or the Jim Crow laws in the South? Or during apartheid? What would I do if my country committed genocide? The answer is that this is already the case. “As we speak.” Authorities said Monday that intelligence agencies and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were still working with police. The Washington City Council should investigate this incident and the exact motives for the soldier's burning.
tribute
The young man's death comes amid growing discontent over the United States' support for Israel. As international calls for a ceasefire grow, the Israeli embassy in Washington has become a symbolic protest site for activists. On Monday evening, a few dozen protesters gathered outside the Israeli embassy in Washington to pay tribute to Aaron Bushnell. The burning of the young soldier is reminiscent of a similar act in late 2023. On December 1, a person burned himself to death in front of the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, Georgia in the southern United States to protest the Israeli offensive, according to the Gaza Health Ministry 30,000 people lost their lives.