The Center on Conscience and WarCenter on Conscience and War (CCW) helps about 50 to 70 U.S. military personnel per year who seek to end their service as conscientious objectors, but the number is rising due to the conflict in Gaza. Because few in the military see any path of dissent, some have resorted to more extreme methods to express their opposition to the genocide in Gaza, such as U.S. airman Aaron Bushnell who set himself on fire in February in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
Bill Galvin, a longtime activist at the CCW said, “Almost everyone that I’ve talked to has at least cited what’s happening in Gaza as a factor in causing them to rethink what they’re doing. Some have actually said: ‘I know that the airplane that I’m doing maintenance on is delivering weaponry to Israel and so I feel complicit,’” according to The Guardian.
