On the 25th of February, 2024
In protest against a US-sponsored genocidal war
As bombs were falling and exploding all around
Burning up the bodies of the children on the ground
Huddling in tents and just waiting to die
This young man could no longer stand to hear the cries
On International Drive in Washington, DC
A young Airman walked up to the Israeli Embassy
As mothers buried babies, who had no milk within
As white phosphorous munitions burned off the peoples’ skin
As the troops were firing on those trying to find bread
As the body count was building up to 30,000 dead
Dressed in his fatigues, there on Embassy Row
He announced into the camera this was where he’d meant to go
An act of desperation, and one designed to share
The horrors of the crimes being committed over there
Like a mirror to the world, so no one could look away
From what’s happening in Gaza every minute of each day
He stood in front of the building, as ready as he’d get
He put his phone down so he could livestream it on the net
When he lit the fire, on the day he chose to die
With no way to stop the slaughter, at least he had to try
As the flames rose up – yellow, red and blue
Did he look up at the cross and wonder what would Jesus do?
The Secret Service came to point a gun at Aaron's face
The Airman didn't move, he just stood in place
He'd come to make a spectacle, that was understood
If he couldn't stop the war, he'd do what he could
As his body burned before us, in an unmistakable sign
Again and again he shouted out, “free Palestine”
On the 25th of February, 2024
In protest against a US-sponsored genocidal war
As bombs were falling and exploding all around
Burning up the bodies of the children on the ground
Huddling in tents and just waiting to die
This young man could no longer stand to hear the cries
On International Drive in Washington, DC
A young Airman walked up to the Israeli Embassy
As mothers buried babies, who had no milk within
As white phosphorous munitions burned off the peoples’ skin
As the troops were firing on those trying to find bread
As the body count was building up to 30,000 dead
Dressed in his fatigues, there on Embassy Row
He announced into the camera this was where he’d meant to go
An act of desperation, and one designed to share
The horrors of the crimes being committed over there
Like a mirror to the world, so no one could look away
From what’s happening in Gaza every minute of each day
He stood in front of the building, as ready as he’d get
He put his phone down so he could livestream it on the net
When he lit the fire, on the day he chose to die
With no way to stop the slaughter, at least he had to try
As the flames rose up – yellow, red and blue
Did he look up at the cross and wonder what would Jesus do?
The Secret Service came to point a gun at Aaron's face
The Airman didn't move, he just stood in place
He'd come to make a spectacle, that was understood
If he couldn't stop the war, he'd do what he could
As his body burned before us, in an unmistakable sign
Again and again he shouted out, “free Palestine”
On the 25th of February, 2024
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Bearing Witness
On February 25, 2024, Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old serviceman of the United States Air Force, died after setting himself on fire outside the front gate of the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. Immediately prior to the live-streamed act, Bushnell said that he was protesting against "what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers" and declared that he "will no longer be complicit in genocide", after which he doused himself with a flammable liquid and set himself on fire.
As he burned, Bushnell repeatedly shouted "Free Palestine!" while one Secret Service officer pointed a gun at him and two others attempted to extinguish him.
Self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell - Wikipedia