Larry Hebert stood in front of the White House holding a rectangular sign that read, “Active-duty airman refuses to eat while Gaza starves.” Next to the wording was a photo of a malnourished Palestinian child with hollow brown eyes that stared wherever the sign pointed.
Behind Hebert and his poster, throngs of children and their families enjoyed the White House’s annual Easter Egg Roll that was being hosted by President Joe Biden.
Hebert isn’t the first active-duty airman to take a very public stand in support of Gaza.
The self-immolation of US Air Force Airmen Aaron Bushnell in front of the Israeli Embassy on February 26, 2024, gained international attention. The 25-year-old, who had been raised in a religious cult, livestreamed his suicide. Bushnell yelled, “Free Palestine!” as he burned.
Busnell’s death inspired Hebert to act. The Veterans for Peace (VFP) member took leave from his duty station in Spain to protest in Washington, DC on behalf of Gazans. He did not plan to follow Bushnell’s extreme measures but hoped to raise awareness via a modified hunger strike. The airman held his sign in solidarity with Gazans, protesting in front of young children as they searched for Easter eggs.
VFP is a nonprofit organization of military veterans who oppose military spending and war. Among the numerous recognizable names on the organization’s advisory board are political activist Ralph Nader, filmmaker and Vietnam veteran Oliver Stone, presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West, and Ukrainian peace activist Yurii Sheliazhenko. Its national director, Mike Ferner, told The Media Line that VFP has marched in numerous pro-Palestinian rallies “all over the country by the score, plus national ones in DC.”
Veterans challenge 'Genocide Tax'
VFP provided The Media Line with a press release titled “Veterans Express April 15th Outrage Over ‘Genocide Tax’” in which the organization says it joined “millions of Americans outraged to have our pockets picked again on April 15, to pay a Genocide Tax of $17.8 billion for military aid to Israel on top of $250 billion in current dollars sent since 1970.”
However, this opinion does not reflect the majority of allies in the US-initiated Global War on Terror, a military campaign launched by the US after September 11, 2001. Some service members have trained alongside their Israeli counterparts in military exercises like Juniper Oak.
Referring to pro-Palestinian protesters, former US Army Specialist Meir Ben David told The Media Line via Threads: “[Operation Iraqi Freedom] 1-2 vet here. Launch them into the sun. They’re terrorist sympathizers … a threat to democracy, civil society, and anyone they dislike. Launch them into the sun.”
Retired US Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jerry “Buckeye” Yates, who received two Purple Heart medals for injuries incurred during combat operations in Iraq, provided a blunt response when asked how he felt about US college students embracing Islamic terrorist groups such as Hamas.
“F*ck them. I’m with the Jews,” Yates told The Media Line.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have also drawn the ire of combat veterans in the US Congress.
“I encourage people who get stuck behind the pro-Hamas mobs blocking traffic: Take matters into your own hands. It’s time to put an end to this nonsense,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a former US Army infantryman who served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne Division, said on his X account after keffiyeh-clad protesters blocked traffic across the US in support of Gaza.
According to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, 82 US military veterans currently serve in the US House of Representatives. Seventeen veterans hold seats in the US Senate. The bulk of these veterans voted for the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act that passed last week.
Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), who served in the elite SEAL Team Six unit, was one of a handful of veterans who voted no on Israel aid, but not for his lack of support for Israel.
“I’ve been to a lot of battles in my life, and I’ve never seen the president of the United States send aid to the enemy while allied troops are under fire. This bill included more than $9 billion for Biden’s USAID to send money to Gaza, and thereby sending it directly to the front lines of Hamas. No aid for Gaza until an unconditional surrender and release of hostages,” Zinke said in a press release.
It was more of a symbolic vote as this bill had overwhelming support and passed the US House of Representatives 366-58.
Hamas continues to hold over 130 hostages, including six Americans, who were taken during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. A proof-of-life video of American Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin was released by Hamas on April 24, 2004.
Clint Van Winkle is a Washington, DC-based correspondent for The Media Line and a US Marine Corps combat veteran who led Marines in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.