SPENCER BISPHAM / MANAGING EDITOR

Trigger Warning: Suicide 

In a recent incident of protest, 25-year-old active-duty senior Airman Aaron Bushnell took his own life in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. Bushnell self-immolated (lit himself on fire)   for    the stated cause   of the liberation of Palestine: a hot-button political issue around the world during the last several months. The former U.S. Air Force veteran was “outraged” at the U.S.   government’s  response to the Israel-Hamas conflict and had previously expressed his desire to “take a stand against all state-sanctioned violence.”

“I  am   an active duty member of the United States Air Force, and I will no longer be complicit in genocide,” Bushnell said, moments before dousing himself in flammable liquid. “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   is   not  extreme at all.”

In a video that circulated online, Bushnell is seen striking a match and shouting “Free Palestine” once his uniform erupts in flame. First responders to the scene are also heard shouting, “get him on the ground” while simultaneously holding him at gunpoint and searching for a fire extinguisher. 

USD  senior Niah Ayala had a strong initial reaction to the news about Bushnell’s protest.

“It  was   shocking,” Ayala said. “It takes a lot of bravery to put yourself in that position and to prove a point.  I know especially for the  Palestinians themselves, they   feel like no one is really listening  to them, because there is no action being taken.”

Ayala also shared how the incident played against the current national backdrop.Since Oct. 7, Joe Biden has expressed his support for Israel.   

“I think, because of how Joe Biden and everyone feels, his specific contribution proved that not everyone in the U.S. agrees with Israel or wants to do this,” Ayala said.

To    those   familiar with Biden’s foreign policy stance regarding Israel, Bushnell’s “extreme act of protest” may have come as a shock. The two nations have enjoyed a long-standing military   and political partnership, which is reflected in the U.S.’ influence  in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. American tax dollars   have been sent to Israel in the form  of both weapons and cash  payments,  totaling  over $130 billion since Israel’s founding. 

Since The USD Vista’s latest coverage  on   Israel   and  Palestine,   the temporary ceasefire between Israel  and  Hamas has ended.  Both parties resumed  fighting   back  in  early  December 2023,  and  have driven   the death toll to over 30,000 casualties, as reported by the Gaza Health Ministry.  The vast majority of these deaths are Palestinian civilians without direct ties to Hamas, causing an increasing number  of people around the world to question   Israel’s actions.

For USD junior Andrew Fullerton, the situation is far from black and white.

“I mean obviously the U.S. funds   Israel  [and]  is obviously pro-Israel, anti-Palestine,” Fullerton said. “I   don’t   think Israel really gives a single [expletive] about   that guy lighting himself on fire,  that’s not doing anything.” 

He spoke on how his personal ties to the situation add a layer of confusion.

“I have a lot of  friends that are Israeli, who are  obviously pro-Israel, but  I also do think that Israel  is  certainly  unethically wiping out a lot of  Palestinians,” Fullerton  said.  “I    think   if   you were to lift up a board  between  the two [groups], Israel  is targeted by a lot of the Islamic countries.  I need to do more research… at the same time, does that mean they need to wipe out  all of  Palestine?  I’m not sure; it’s really complicated.”

On Dec. 29, 2023, South Africa filed a case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) claiming the latter’s government is attempting to commit genocide against the Palestinian people. The case accuses Israel of breaching the 1948 Geneva Convention, which was designed to protect innocent civilians from the brutal realities of war.

USD senior and political science major Lex Padilla spoke to the importance of the United Nations (UN) and its bodies, such as the ICJ, when mediating  international  conflicts.

“Even though the UNHRC [United Nations Human Rights Charter]  is  not a  binding  piece of legislation   that   you can actually use in court, it’s used as a basis in cases with   people in other countries,”   Padilla   stated.  “People will be like, ‘I don’t understand why the UN is so important,’ but it’s less about binding  legislation  and more the fact that after WWII, all these countries  got    together  and decided  that this was the standard.” 

In 2024, there    was    also a  resolution for immediate ceasefire  introduced to   the  United Nations  Security Council, which was vetoed by the U.S.   in late February. Meanwhile, South Africa’s case against   Israel remains undecided.

Despite Bushnell’s actions and these cries for peace across the world, Israel’s war against Hamas rages on. 

At a vigil, hundreds of people gathered to remember Aaron Bushnell. Photo courtesy of @gzt/Instagram