On the 2nd of March, pro-Palestine supporters gathered at Orlando’s Lake Eola for a vigil to remember Aaron Bushnell. The vigil drew a wider community that I have seen at the marches. Nobody had expected that a game-changing stand against genocide in Gaza would come from an active-duty US Airman.

As far as I am concerned, he showed the courage of those who fought in WWII’s battle of London, those who took to the skies to stop Nazi Germany’s bombing raids on London civilians. All gave some, some gave all…

Two factors may have halted Israel’s plans for an all-out attack on Rafah. First came Aaron’s sacrifice, which shocked the conscience of the world the way the Buddhist monks in Vietnam who took similar measures against Diem in 1963 did. This created unfavorable political conditions for further escalation by Israel. Then came the decision by Biden (under enormous pressure) to airdrop food to civilians in Gaza. Those airdrops mean US airmen putting forth for Gaza for the second time in less than a week. The combination of the Bread Massacre with Aaron’s sacrifice may well have forced Biden’s hand on the airdrops.

For Israel to launch an all-out air and armored assault on Rafeh while the US was dropping food, or worse yet to shoot at the planes would have generated pressure on Capitol Hill to return AIPAC donations and cut off US military aid to Israel. That would go double if another US airman was killed by Israeli fire.