In front of the Israeli Consulate in downtown San Francisco, a memorial to Aaron Bushnell took place on Wednesday February 25. This date marks the second anniversary of what Aaron called his “extreme protest” against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The demonstration was organized by Veterans for Peace and Noise Against Genocide. Leaders of local Veterans for Peace chapters spoke about the significance of Aaron’s action in 2024. At the time, VFP published an eloquent statement titled “Madmen Arsonists Strike Again: They as Much as Lit Aaron Bushnell’s Match for Him.”
Others spoke about how Aaron has been honored around the world including in the West Bank city of Jericho where a street has been named after him. A Palestinian woman on the Jericho City Council said, “I felt that he was family, someone so close who shares our deep pain. I cried when I saw the video and I cry every time I do. This is the ultimate sacrifice at at time when no one seems to see us. We feel so alone.” The Jericho Mayor said, “Palestinians in Jericho owe this serviceman. Jericho is a tourist city and we wanted his street to link to the main street so that people would know that Palestinians are strongly connected to those who share their love for freedom, independence and human rights.”
A young woman Air Force veteran described how Aaron’s action deeply moved her. “What Aaron did, I just related with him so much for that. It hit me really hard… There’s a lot of people that feel like me in the military but they are afraid to even talk about it. It’s kind of like a hush-hush thing that would be seen as going against your country or being an infiltrator.” She learned about the San Francisco protest action the day before and drove up 20 miles to be there on Wednesday.
This demonstration commemorating Aaron was the day after Trump’s State of the Union address. Another speaker talked about Trump’s lies and threats against Iran while continuing to supply Israel’s genocide in Gaza and apartheid in the West Bank. An Iranian flag flew alongside Palestinian flags.
There were flowers, memorial cards and powerful posters memorializing Aaron. Some cars passing in front the demonstation honked their approval. Chalk messages on the sidewalk remained after the demonstration.
