Glorifying martyrdom won't free Palestine - opinion

The events of the past week have made one thing abundantly clear. This generation of Americans has no idea what terrorism is.

Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old US airman, died while setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC. Before doing so, Bushnell had live-streamed himself on the Twitch site, dressed in military uniform. Bushnell said his final words to the camera: “I am an active duty member of the US 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 in Palestine have been experiencing at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”

Bushnell shouted “Free Palestine” as he burned. He died seven hours later in hospital. Bushnell’s actions were a planned suicide, a sad and terrible tragedy, not a courageous move for Palestinian liberation. Yet the praise that Aaron received shows that too many people have the same mental illness as those who glorify Palestinian martyrdom.  

“Let us never forget the extraordinary courage and commitment of brother Aaron Bushnell, who died for truth and justice!” tweeted Cornel West. “I pray for his precious loved ones! Let us rededicate ourselves to genuine solidarity with Palestinians undergoing genocidal attacks in real time!”

West is running as an independent US presidential candidate.

It feels that the world has turned upside down and that, somehow, violence, murder, and death have become legitimate and normalized. The same people who praised Osama Bin Laden’s “Letter to America” are now honoring people who light themselves on fire.

Glorifying terrorism

Sure, there is plenty to be upset about when we look at the terrible and deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The entire situation is truly unfair, and most people, including Israelis, want to see an end to violence.

But glorifying martyrdom does absolutely nothing to help liberate Palestinians. Those who are encouraging these actions in the name of a “Free Palestine” have no interest in actually helping Palestinians and instead want to inflict political chaos in America.

In December 2010, widespread pro-democracy protests erupted, becoming known as the “Arab Spring,” following the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a young street vendor, who set himself on fire in protest against government corruption and harassment. Bouazizi’s act of desperation was posted all over social media and triggered protests all over the Arab world.

So why are Bouazizi’s actions different than Bushnell’s? The simple answer is that Palestinians have a better option: They can choose peace.

The Palestinians are not in their predicament because of Israel. They are in it because, for 75 years, they have chosen violence over statehood. The difficulties they are enduring are because their leadership rejected peace offers and instead, planned violent anarchy like the Intifada and the October 7 massacre – all these events aimed at harming not political leaders but innocent Israeli civilians.

The fighting in Gaza can stop tomorrow, once the hostages are returned and Hamas surrenders. Palestinian liberation will never be achieved by a man who likely never stepped foot in Gaza and used this cause as a means to plan out his suicide.

Those who encourage violence or martyrdom over peace don’t care about Palestinians at all. They, like Hamas, believe that martyrdom is the only option for Palestinian people. That is something that we Israelis refuse to accept.

The consequences of lauding someone like Aaron Bushnell and propping him up as a hero are explained brilliantly by The Jerusalem Post’s Mike Starr. 

“The line between self-immolation and a suicide bombing is one of the tools and the will to extend that violence onto others. Willingness to inflict violence on others is a matter of accepting the tactic as a justified objective and the legitimacy of a target.”  Americans have already seen what normalizing martyrdom in the name of political violence looks like. The September 11 terror attacks by Al Qaeda stem from the same ideological radicalization as Hamas and ISIS.

September 11 is not a lesson that Americans need to see again.

The writer is a social media activist with more than 10 years of experience working for Israeli and Jewish causes and cause-based NGOs. She is the co-founder and COO of Social Lite Creative, a digital marketing firm specializing in geopolitics.