FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 26, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
Candlelight Vigils to Honor Aaron Bushnell's Self Sacrifice for Peace
"I'm 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." - Aaron Bushnell
Multiple Cities – CODEPINK, along with allied organizations, invites the community to join candlelight vigils honoring the life and sacrifice of Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old active duty U.S. Airman who tragically took his own life in protest against Israel's genocide in Gaza.
Aaron Bushnell made the ultimate sacrifice for peace, protesting the United State's role in the ongoing genocide with a public act of self-immolation in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. His final act against our forced complicity in genocide serves as a poignant reminder of the collective trauma being inflicted on humanity each day we go allow this genocide to continue.
Aaron's final words, "Free Palestine!" echo the sentiment of countless individuals worldwide who want an end to the genocide in Gaza and the occupation of Palestine. He follows the lasting memory of other courageous humans in history whose public acts of self-immolation sparked a change in consciousness worldwide, such as Thich Quang Duc, Norman Morrison, Alice Hertz, and Tarek El-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi.
Make no mistake, the blood of Aaron Bushnell is on President Biden’s hands. Let us honor Aaron Bushnell's memory as a catalyst for peace and justice.
MONDAY:
Washington, DC:
Date & Time: February 26, 2024, from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm (EST)
Location: Israeli Embassy, 3514 International Dr NW, Washington, DC 20008
Contact: Danaka - [email protected]
Los Angeles, CA:
Date & Time: February 26, 2024, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm (PST)
Location: Israeli Consulate, 11766 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Contact: Jodie Evans - [email protected]
San Francisco, CA:
Date & Time: February 26, 2024, from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm (PST)
Location: Israeli Consulate, 456 Montgomery St, San Francisco , CA 94104
Contact: Cynthia Papermaster - [email protected]
TUESDAY
New York, NY:
Date & Time: February 27, 2024, 7:00 pm (EST)
Location: Army Recruitment Office, 200 W 43rd Street, NY, NY 10036
Contact: PYM - [email protected]
WEDNESDAY
Chicago, IL:
Date & Time: February 28, 2024, 5:00 pm (CST)
Location: Northside Vigil at Broadway United Methodist Church (3338 N. Broadway St.) | Southside Vigil at Healthy Hood Chicago (2242 S. Damen Ave)
Contact: ANSWER Chicago - [email protected]
SATURDAY
San Diego, CA
Date & Time: March 2, 2024, 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm (PST)
Location: Entry to Ocean Beach Sunset Cliffs Blvd and W Point Loma Blvd, San Diego, CA 92107
Contact: Nathan - [email protected]
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