I watched the video of the Active Duty Serviceman, Aaron Bushnell, who self-immolated in front of the Israeli Embassy. The man was blurred/censored in the video I saw as soon as he lit himself on fire but you can see the flames obviously and the audio is clear.
I will not share the video here. You can find it yourself if you wish. But I will share his final words. Very few people in history have done this (most often buddhists, I wonder if he was buddhist) extreme act of self-sacrifice for a cause. Bushnell is the second I know of to attempt this about the current #IsraelGaza war. The first, I believe, to perish. Here are his words from the video:
"I am an active duty member of the United States Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide. 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's not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”
— He places his camera/tripod on the ground pointing towards the embassy fence, puts on his uniform cap, douses himself in fuel, takes a deep breath, says "Free Palestine”, and lights himself on fire. —
He screams Free Palestine a couple more times.
RIP sir.
I won't describe how the rest unfolds, his act should stand alone.
"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion."
"He said he’d received hundreds of private messages of support from fellow teachers and students who were too frightened to go public, and showed several to the Observer."
Jordan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ayman Safadi, calls on countries that suspended UNRWA funds to reverse the decision.
"UNRWA is the lifeline for over 2m Palestinians facing starvation in Gaza. It should’t be collectively punished upon allegations against 12 persons out of its 13000 staff", he added.
After only 4 days of student protests, Trinity College Dublin (TCD) vows to pull its investments in Israeli companies that feature on a UN blacklist, and set up a taskforce to explore engagement with Israeli institutions.
"Hours after appearing on a live interview with Al Jazeera last night, Israeli occupation forces killed political analyst Dr. Ayman al-Rafati in a targeted airstrike this morning in Gaza, according to local and medical sources."
Representatives from Aish Hatorah synagogue in Toronto, Canada, insult a pro-Palestine man who registered for a #kellerwilliamsrealty seminar where stolen Palestinian land in illegal settlements in occupied West Bank is listed for sale, all with the help of Toronto police despite the sales being illegal under Canadian and international law.
Breaking | Reuters reports that the Japanese company "Itochu" has terminated its collaboration with the Israeli defense company "Elbit" following the International Court of Justice's decision regarding the Gaza war.
Belgian MEP Marc Botenga: "The genocide of the Palestinians would have been impossible without the support of European countries. Now that one mass grave after another is being discovered, there is still no sanction against Israel. Unforgivable complicity."
"I am personally proud of the ruins of Gaza, and that every baby, even 80 years from now, will tell their grandchildren what the Jews did".
Stated May Golan, the Israeli Minister for Equality and Advancement of Women, during her speech in the Knesset, advocating for the expulsion of a member who showed compassion with Palestinians and opposed the Israeli war in Gaza.
“Music, art and academia,” he wrote, “is about crossing borders not building them, about open minds not closed ones, about shared humanity, dialogue and freedom of expression.”
Thom Yorke on why it's cool to play in Israel while they're doing a genocide.
Edit: also Elton John.
"I have always believed that music inhabits a world set apart from politics"
At this point it's easier to assume everyone's pro-Israel unless stated otherwise #IsraelApartheid#FreePalestine#Music https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/3/16/play-in-israel-just-dont-pretend-you-didnt-know
"Israeli army arrests the entire Al Jazeera crew and destroys the broadcasting vehicles in the yard of the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, according to local sources."
"Israel has done more to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza than any other known army in the world"
John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point
(extracted from article in Jerusalem Post, 30th January 2024) #IsraelApartheid#FreePalestine
Arizona State University (ASU) bans Dr. Jonathan Yudelman, who appeared in a video harassing a pro-Palestine Muslim woman.
According to the university president, he is "no longer permitted to be on campus and will never teach here again”
A pro-Palestine march took place in Belfast, Northern Ireland, calling for a boycott of Eurovision due to Israel's participation and denouncing the prohibition of any Palestine-related protests at the concert regarding the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Graduates of Virginia Commonwealth University staged a walkout during their commencement ceremony in protest against their university's complicity in Israel's genocide in Gaza.
Yesterday, Israeli occupation authorities, under the demand of the Israeli Ministry of Communication, arrested journalists suspected of working for the Al Jazeera channel.
Orthodox Jews joined yesterday's rally outside an Israeli real estate event in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, demanding an end to the "sale of stolen Palestinian land".