On Sunday, February 25, U.S. Air Force member Aaron Bushnell set fire to himself in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington D.C., showcasing to the world the fate of over 30,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Over 90% of children under five now face disease, starvation, and rampant poverty, the result of a merciless, barbaric assault from Bibi Netanyahu’s genocidal regime in Israel.
Bushnell live-streamed his self-immolation for millions to see. His action demonstrates, that the best young people in our nation, the most moral and patriotic, now believe there is no efficient recourse to averting the crime of genocide. There was no turning back from this act, no resistance from the pain that would follow. Bushnell’s act shows that we cannot ignore what is going on now in the Gaza Strip, in much the same way those who participated in the acts of the Nazi Regime, out of ignorance, fear, or malice, “knew, or should have known” the consequences of their actions. That same principle, set forth in the post-World War II trials of Nazi criminals at Nuremberg, applies to all of us now, where we see daily on our smart phones or computer screens the daily massacres now being committed in Gaza.
We mourn serviceman Bushnell, but we will act to give people a true, living alternative.
Consider the fact that you have now over 1 million young people in the region, who were not even born in the last election cycle that occurred in 2005. In order to give these young people hope, people who have known nothing but endless killing and violence for their entire lives, a real solution of peace and economic development must be realized for the Gaza Strip, and the greater region as a whole.
As an independent candidate for U.S. Congress in NY-15, I endorse American statesman and economist Lyndon LaRouche’s Oasis Plan as a first step towards peace for the region. First proposed in 1975, the Oasis Plan addressed the greatest barrier for development in the Middle East: The shortage of freshwater due to the arid nature of the region. Through the intervention of science and human ingenuity, the region could be transformed from a dry desert, into a blossoming oasis, utilizing a network of nuclear-powered desalination plants that could turn the plentiful sea water in the Mediterranean, into freshwater that would be used for irrigation and agriculture, along with greening the vast deserts of the region. Accompanying the water and power development would be a network of transportation, water-management, and other projects to provide the foundation for advanced, industrialized cities.
An immediate ceasefire is obviously the first step to ending the conflict, but a permanent solution can only come by considering the region 50 years from now. A lasting peace must be brought to this great historic region, a place which has brought us the wonderful religious and cultural achievements of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. By uniting these different cultures, through a principle of Reason which takes into account the common needs of the people in the region, a true and lasting peace will be brought about.
May we all honor U.S. Serviceman Aaron Bushnell’s wish, for an end to the genocide, and a truly free Palestine.