American Air Force officer sets himself on fire outside Israel embassy to protest Gaza genocide

An American Air Force officer who set himself on fire outside the Israel Embassy in Washington DC on Monday morning to protest the genocide in Gaza has died of his injuries.

Aaron Bushnell, 25, on active duty since 2020, filmed his self-immolation, shouting ‘Free Palestine’ before falling to the ground while paramedics tried to control the fire. In a live stream, he said that the step he was about to take was not as extreme as what the Palestinians are going through, clearly calling Israel’s assault, a “genocide in Gaza”.

While mainstream Western media ignored the reason for the self-immolation in its headlines, social media paid rich tribute to the cyber defence operations specialist. His final post was reproduced endlessly on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook:

“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 post read. “The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.”

Many chose his last image, standing straight while the fire raged on his body, to make art and posters:

Others reproduced his words with Rest in Power written beside them:

Many people appeared at an impromptu vigil held for the officer outside the Israel embassy in Washington DC:

The US government is yet to release a statement on Bushnell’s death.