A dozen protesters with the Boston Coalition for Palestine marched outside of the Israeli Consulate in Boston on Tuesday on the one-year anniversary of Aaron Bushnell’s death, and in support of the Palestinian cause.
On Feb. 25, 2024, Bushnell, a 25-year-old U.S. airman, set himself on fire in his military uniform outside of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. in what he called “an extreme act of protest” to U.S. support of Israel.
“I think it’s important to remember what Aaron did, because he saw what was happening and could not be complicit,” said Ann Antonellis, who carried a sign with a picture of Bushnell.
The sign featured Bushnell’s final message: “I will no longer be complicit in genocide, Free Palestine,” words he spoke as he live-streamed his self-immolation.
Months later, on Sept. 11, 2024, Matthew Nelson, 45, self-immolated outside of the Boston Israeli consulate and died four days later. In a video posted on YouTube that has since been deleted, he echoed Bushnell’s sentiment.
“The protest I’m about to engage in is a call to our government to stop supplying Israel with the money and weapons it uses to imprison and murder innocent Palestinians, to pressure Israel to end the genocide in Gaza and support the [International Criminal Court] indictment of Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of the Israeli government,” Nelson said in the video.
The signs and chants of the protesters displayed their own disapproval of the U.S. support for Israel. “Israel bombs, America pays. How many kids have you killed today?” was yelled repeatedly.
Since its founding in 1948, Israel has received the largest amount of U.S. foreign aid—almost two and a half times more than the second-largest recipient, Egypt. Since October 7, 2023, the United States has enacted legislation to provide at least $12.5 billion in direct military aid to the country.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump shared his vision of a U.S. takeover of Gaza, saying that “the Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting.” In a joint press conference with Trump, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the idea “worth paying attention to.”
A six-week ceasefire deal was reached between Israel and Hamas in the final days of the Biden administration, but is set to end on Saturday, March 1. There has not been an agreement to extend the deal.
Late Tuesday night, Trump posted an AI-generated video of a transformed Gaza, in which scenes of destruction are transformed into a resort-style vacation landscape. Scenes include palm trees, beaches, and landscapers, including a building labeled “Trump Gaza,” as well as a child carrying a golden balloon of Trump’s head through the streets, the president sharing a dance with a belly dancer and multiple clips of Elon Musk, one in which he dances under U.S. bills.
“Minority voices have to get out there so they eventually become the majority voice,” said Bill Cunningham, who came to the Bushnell memorial directly from an environmental protest at the state house. “We don’t want to have politicians deciding what kind of life we’re gonna live. We want the people to decide what kind of life they want and what programs they want to support.”
He said the group has been protesting outside of the consulate every Tuesday at noon since November.
After marching for 20 minutes, the protesters stopped outside of the entrance to the consulate to recite Bushnell’s final words.
“Compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, [this act is] not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal,” they shouted in one voice.
