April 2, 2024 (EIRNS)—Senior Airman Larry Hebert, 26, an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force, has joined the protests against the Biden Administration’s support of the Israeli genocide in Gaza by going on a hunger strike. “In mid-March, Senior Airman Larry Hebert, age 26, from rural New Hampshire and a member of Veterans For Peace, took authorized leave from his assignment at Naval Station Rota, Spain to participate in demonstrations demanding a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and to visit Congressional offices to press for stopping weapons shipments to Israel, which violate several U.S. laws,” reports a Veterans For Peace press release.
“I was deeply touched when I saw that Aaron Bushnell took his own life at the Israeli Embassy for the people of Gaza and knew that I had to raise my voice in opposition to the U.S. government supplying Israel the bombs and rockets to commit genocide in Gaza. Active-duty members are afraid to speak out and I hope that my example and that of others, like Aaron, can change that,” Hebert said.
The silence from leadership after Bushnell’s death that really propelled Herbert’s desire to speak out. “The response afterwards by the military, specifically my command and then our government—basically just not uttering a word, like not even saying his name or anything and just trying to sweep the whole situation under the rug—that’s what really infuriated me and gave me the resolve to come to D.C.,” he told Task & Purpose.
