Vigils were held in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere Monday for Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty U.S. Air Force member who died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington to protest the genocide in Gaza. The 25-year-old, who live-streamed his self-immolation, yelled “Free Palestine!” as he was consumed by the flames. Marione Ingram, an 88-year old artist, activist and Holocaust survivor, was at the D.C. vigil Monday.
Marione Ingram: “I urge you, Mr. President, I urge you, Congress, start defunding Israel. Start making peace. It is time we stop killing children. I do not wish that people burn themselves to bring the point home. Mr. Biden, you should stop supporting the genocide in Gaza.”
She was carrying a sign that said, “Survivor says peace not wars in our name.” Click here to see our interviews with Marione Ingram.
In response to Aaron Bushnell’s act of protest, Palestinian poet and journalist Mohammed El-Kurd said, “If you are a soldier sacrificing yourself to protect U.S. interests, you are a rational, noble hero. But if you sacrifice yourself to protest the genocide your country is funding, you are mentally ill.”