Max Jacobi reflects on Aaron Bushnell’s extreme act of self-sacrifice in protest of Israeli genocide.
On February 25th (2024), 25-year old USAF serviceman and activist Aaron Bushnell self-immolated (set himself on fire) in an extreme act of protest against Israel’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinians, and the complicity of the US state in it. He carried out his protest in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. It was streamed live on livestreaming website Twitch.TV, and as the stream began, he addressed the viewers, stating:
“I am an active duty member of the United States Air Force. And I will no longer be complicit to 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.”
A long time activist and supporter of communist causes, Aaron was of sound mind when he decided to carry out this self immolation. Liberals and conservatives alike have tripped over themselves to denounce Aaron Bushnell’s act as the act of an insane person, demonstrating how discourse around mental health and mental illness can be weaponized to de-legitimize opposition to the system.
Bushnell’s protest was acknowledged by sections of the Palestinian resistance, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and leading faction Hamas.
“The act of a U.S. soldier sacrificing himself for Palestine is the highest sacrifice and a medal, and a poignant message to the U.S. administration to stop its involvement in the aggression. […] The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine affirmed that the act of Aaron Bushnell from the U.S. Air Force by setting himself on fire in front of the Zionist embassy in Washington, D.C., in protest against the war on Gaza, in which he called for the “liberation of Palestine,” confirms the state of anger among the people in the U.S. due to the official U.S. involvement in the Zionist genocide war being waged on the Gaza Strip. […] Palestine will be victorious as long as it has deeply engraved itself in the consciences of the world, and history will record in golden letters the names of all the sympathizers and free people of the world who stood with it and sacrificed their lives for its sake.” (PFLP, excerpt)
We in the RCO and at Direct Action! acknowledge his immense sacrifice and strength of conviction, and call on all who share his sentiments and courage to join in collective struggle against imperialism.
PARTISAN! 
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