Matt Nelson, a man who set himself on fire near the Israeli Consulate in Boston, has become the third person in the United States to self-immolate in protest of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and U.S. support for the onslaught. On September 11, at approximately 8:15 p.m., Nelson, in an act he described as “extreme protest,” doused himself in gasoline and set himself ablaze. His protest, largely ignored by mainstream media, aimed to bring attention to what he described as the genocide in Gaza and the U.S. government’s complicity in the violence.
Nelson’s act of self-immolation is the latest in a series of similar protests since Israel began its latest military assault on Gaza. In a video uploaded to YouTube before the incident, Nelson declared, “We are all culpable in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. We are slaves to capitalism and the military-industrial complex. Most of us are too apathetic to care.” He called on the U.S. government to stop supplying Israel with the military and financial support it uses to carry out what he described as the systematic imprisonment and murder of Palestinians.
Though the severity of Nelson’s injuries was confirmed by first responders and he was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital with serious burns, local media failed to focus on the political motivations behind his actions. NBC Boston reported the location of the incident as being outside the Four Seasons Hotel, avoiding mention of its proximity to the Israeli Consulate, which prompted criticism on social media for downplaying the context of Nelson’s protest.
This is not the first time the United States has seen such drastic acts of protest in connection to the Israel-Gaza conflict. In December 2023, an unidentified woman self-immolated outside the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta while carrying a Palestinian flag. She was hospitalized in critical condition, and authorities confirmed her protest was politically motivated. The incident drew condemnation from Israeli officials, with Israeli Consul-General Anat Sultan-Dadon referring to it as an act of “hate and incitement toward Israel.”
Earlier in February 2024, 25-year-old U.S. airman Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., screaming, “Free Palestine” as he was engulfed in flames. Bushnell, who had videotaped his protest beforehand, explained his actions as a rejection of the U.S. government’s involvement in what he described as genocide. In a Facebook post made on the morning of his death, Bushnell wrote, “Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide? The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.” He died later that day from his injuries.
Nelson’s protest is part of a broader and more urgent critique of U.S. involvement in the Israel-Gaza conflict. The U.S. has long provided Israel with substantial military aid, with nearly $4 billion in annual assistance, much of which is used to support Israel’s defense operations. Israel’s most recent assault on Gaza, which has left over 41,000 Palestinians dead—nearly 16,500 of them children—has prompted global outrage. Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have accused Israel of apartheid and systemic violence, pointing to these assaults as potential war crimes. These organizations also argue that the U.S. is complicit in enabling Israel’s military actions, given its ongoing financial and military support.
Nelson’s protest video called for the U.S. government to take action by ending this support, urging citizens to hold their government accountable. He stated, “The protest I’m about to engage in is a call to our government to stop supplying Israel with the money and weapons it uses to imprison and murder innocent Palestinians, to pressure Israel to end the genocide in Gaza, and to support the ICC indictment of [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of the Israeli government.”
Nelson’s act of self-immolation, like Bushnell’s and the unnamed protester in Atlanta, reflects the desperate frustration among a segment of the American public regarding the ongoing conflict and the U.S.’s role in it. These acts of protest, although extreme, are intended to force a reckoning with what many activists view as the U.S.’s passive endorsement of violence against the Palestinian people.
While public protests against U.S. support for Israel’s military campaigns have grown in recent years, with tens of thousands of Americans marching in major cities, these acts of self-immolation highlight the emotional and moral weight carried by those who feel complicit in the violence. The Biden administration, despite facing pressure from progressives, has maintained a policy of unwavering support for Israel, drawing sharp criticism from both lawmakers and activists.
Vanessa Cárdenas, the executive director of America’s Voice, responded to these extreme protests by noting that they should serve as a warning of the dire consequences of inaction. “The lies and conspiracies about Palestinians are part of a larger volume of anti-immigrant and dehumanizing rhetoric that actively courts political violence,” Cárdenas said. She emphasized that while the acts of self-immolation are shocking, they are reflective of the “ongoing genocide in Gaza” and the U.S.’s role in perpetuating the conflict through military support.
Furthermore, the U.S.‘s ongoing military aid to Israel is seen as a primary enabler of these military actions. Human rights activists argue that without this financial and military backing, Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and its violent actions would not be sustained at the current scale. Nelson’s protest aimed to amplify this message, arguing that Americans must take a stand to demand accountability from their government. As Nelson said in his final recorded words, “A democracy is supposed to serve the will of the people, not the interests of the wealthy. Take the power back. Free Palestine.”
COMMENTS