Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old active duty member of the United States Air Force, shared haunting final words on Facebook before setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C. on Sunday February 25th in an act of protest. His post posed the chilling question “What would I do if I was alive during slavery?”
Just hours later, Bushnell livestreamed a video of himself dousing his body in a flammable liquid and setting himself ablaze while shouting “Free Palestine.” He succumbed to his severe burns later that day. His self-immolation and chilling final Facebook post have sparked debate about the morality of United States support for Israel and the urgency of the human rights crisis in Palestine.
The Tragic Scene Outside the Israeli Embassy
Around 12:15pm on Sunday February 25th, 2024, 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell approached the Israeli Embassy located on International Drive in Washington D.C. In the livestreamed video, Bushnell can be seen walking calmly to the gates of the embassy carrying a red canister. He proceeds to pour its contents over his body and takes out a lighter. As the liquid ignites, Bushnell is engulfed in flames.
His screams of “Free Palestine” can be heard as Secret Service officers rush to extinguish the flames. Bushnell suffered severe burns over 30% of his body and was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition. He ultimately succumbed to his injuries later that evening.
The entire incident was captured in the livestream broadcast on Twitch. The harrowing footage quickly circulated on social media before being removed by the platform. In the video, Bushnell identified himself as an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force before stating his intention to protest Israeli treatment of Palestinians through self-immolation.
The Chilling Last Words Posted to Facebook
In a Facebook post shared just hours before his public act of self-sacrifice, Aaron Bushnell posed a haunting hypothetical about his own moral courage:
“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.”
The provocative post appears to compare America’s financial and diplomatic support of Israel to complicity in human rights atrocities. Bushnell seems to imply that through our government’s continued alliance with Israel despite the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, American citizens are enabling an act of genocide.
The Motivations Behind Bushnell’s Extreme Protest
Aaron Bushnell’s self-immolation appears to be an act of protest against Israel‘s treatment of Palestinians and America’s ongoing support of Israel in spite of allegations of human rights abuses.
In the livestreamed video of his actions outside the Israeli Embassy, Bushnell stated: ““My name is Aaron Bushnell, I am an active-duty member of the United States Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide. 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.”
Bushnell seems to be referencing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has caused immense suffering for Palestinian civilians. His statements suggest he viewed U.S. provision of military aid to Israel as enabling the subjugation of the Palestinian people.
Tensions between Israel and Palestine have been simmering for decades, but a violent escalation occurred last October when the militant group Hamas launched rocket attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip. Israel responded with overwhelming military force, launching airstrikes on densely populated Palestinian territories.
Over 10,000 Palestinian civilians are estimated to have been killed or injured in the resulting two-month conflict. There has been intense debate internationally about whether Israel’s actions constitute war crimes or genocide against the Palestinian people.
Bushnell’s self-immolation appears to be a dramatic act of protest motivated by a desire to draw attention to the human rights crisis in Palestine and object to U.S. financial support of Israel throughout this conflict. His chilling final Facebook post suggests he viewed silence and inaction in the face of Palestinian suffering as moral complicity.
The Broader Significance of Bushnell’s Final Stand
Aaron Bushnell’s public act of self-sacrifice and his haunting final words posted to social media have highlighted the urgency of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Palestine. His self-immolation joins a long tradition of political protest through self-immolation, from Buddhist monks protesting the Vietnam War to more recent acts by Tibetans opposing Chinese rule.
Bushnell’s defiant final Facebook post and livestreamed video broadcast seem designed to maximize the symbolic significance of his fiery suicide. By invoking thought-provoking hypotheticals about standing up to injustice throughout history, he challenged citizens today to reflect on our own complicity or courage in the face of modern atrocities.
This young Air Force member’s bold final stand has refocused public attention on Palestinian suffering and provoked moral outrage over U.S. support for Israel‘s aggressive policies. As the Middle East braces for more upheaval in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, Aaron Bushnell’s tragic final words and actions will echo through the public consciousness as a plea for justice and moral clarity.
