Vigil held for U.S. Air Force member who set himself on fire to protest Gaza war
SAN JOSE, CA - A vigil for Aaron Bushnell was held tonight in downtown San Jose. Bushnell was an active-duty member of the Air Force who died after he set himself on fire to protest the war in Gaza.
People attending the vigil for Bushnell say they gave his life for peace in Gaza, and they continued to call for an end to the war.
Dozens of people gathered on the steps of the MLK Library in downtown San Jose to remember 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell. Bushnell, a member of the U.S. Air Force, set himself on fire Sunday to protest the war in Gaza near the Israeli Embassy in D.C.
"He says the pain of my burning myself compared with the Palestinian people in Gaza. There’s no comparison," said Nancy Tsou, of San Jose.
Video of Bushnell was posted on social media and the Metropolitan Police believe Bushnell set up his phone to live stream his actions, doused himself with an accelerant and lit himself on fire.
"For Aaron Bushnell to really give the ultimate sacrifice for peace in the way that he saw fit, I was very moved by that, and I thought I needed to be here," said Harry Adams, a U.S. Air Force Veteran.
Bushnell was a cyber defense operations specialist with the 531st Intelligence Support Squadron in San Antonio, TX. He had served on active duty since May 2020. Harry Adams, a U.S. Air Force veteran, served in Vietnam from 1966 to 1970.
"Clearly he wanted to make a strong statement for peace without killing anybody," said Adams.
This week, President Biden said he believes there’ll be a temporary cease-fire in the Hamas-Israeli war by next Monday. Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking approval for a military operation in the city of Rafah if hostages are not freed by March 10.
"It’s very timely that the Biden Administration, particularly Joe Biden himself, has said with an ice cream cone in his hand, ‘Yeah, we should have a cease-fire by Monday,’ as if it’s something casual," said Mamu Tonantzin, of San Jose
The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began.
Israel has also said it’s making plans to evacuate civilians from the city of Rafah before they use military force.
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