Watan-Many questions emerged about the American soldier in the Air Force, Aaron Boshnack, after he set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, protesting against the brutality of the Israeli occupation and its savage war on the Gaza Strip.
Just before carrying out his act, the 25-year-old Aaron Boshnack, dressed in military uniform, said in a live broadcast on the internet, “I will not be complicit anymore in genocide.”
Boshnack poured a transparent liquid over himself and set himself on fire, shouting “Palestine is free” repeatedly. A spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force confirmed that the incident involved an active-duty pilot.
The Israeli embassy has long been a target of ongoing protests against the war on Gaza, leading to widespread pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the United States and many parts of the world.
In the footage, one of the embassy’s police officers can be heard saying to the American soldier, “Can I help you?” and “Lie on the ground,” while another officer says, “We need a fire extinguisher, not a gun.”
Who is the soldier Aaron Boshnack?
According to information gathered by the Turkish newspaper “Yeni Akit,” the late American soldier Aaron Boshnack holds a bachelor’s degree in software engineering from Western Governors University in Utah, USA. He studied computer science and obtained a CompTIA Security+ certification in cybersecurity in September 2020 from the University of Maryland.
According to Boshnack’s personal LinkedIn profile, he participated in basic and technical training with the U.S. Air Force for 7 months.
He also participated in monitoring information technology infrastructure for two years and worked as a software engineer for “Dave Ops” within the U.S. Air Force.
The late American soldier also worked as an IT specialist and network developer at Paraclete Press, as reported by Anadolu Agency.
According to his Facebook account, the American soldier who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington in support of Gaza follows the page of the “Students for Justice in Palestine” community founded at Kent State University.
The full story of Aaron Boshnack’s operation in front of the occupation embassy On Sunday at one in the afternoon, a soldier in the U.S. Air Force, named Aaron Boshnack, walked for 30 seconds towards the occupation embassy in Washington.
As he walked, he held a bottle containing some liquid and recorded a video of himself saying, “I am a member of the U.S. Air Force. I will not be complicit anymore in genocide.”
He added, “I will engage in an extreme act of protest, but compared to what people in Palestine are going through at the hands of the colonizer, it is not extreme at all.”
Aaron Boshnack continued, “This is what our ruling class has decided is normal.”
When the American soldier reached the gate of the Israeli embassy, he placed the camera facing him on the ground and put on his cap to complete his American military uniform.
He then poured the contents of the bottle over himself, revealing it to be a flammable substance, and set himself on fire, shouting, “Palestine is free.”
Aaron Boshnack continued screaming for Palestine for about a minute as he melted standing on his feet before collapsing to the ground and members of the Secret Service extinguished his flames.
A man sets himself on fire outside Israeli embassy in DC pic.twitter.com/8tkZJ2Rkhn
— Cedar News (@cedar_news) February 25, 2024
The American soldier Aaron was taken to the hospital by firefighters in critical and life-threatening condition, later succumbing to his injuries.