Airman who torched himself outside Israeli Embassy grew up on controversial religious compound

The Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. | Wikimedia Commons/APK 

 By Samantha Kamman - Posted at The Christian Post:

Published February 28, 2024

The U.S. airman who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington was reportedly raised in a religious compound that has weathered accusations of abuse and creating an environment of control, allegations that the group has publicly denied.

Twenty-five-year-old Aaron Bushnell was an active-duty Air Force member when he doused himself in liquid and lit his body on fire, shouting "Free Palestine" as he burned on Sunday.

Bushnell posted a video of his self-immolation to Twitch, which has since been removed.

As The Washington Post reported this week, Bushnell was raised in a religious group called the Community of Jesus, according to Susan Wilkins, a former member from 1970 to 2005. Wilkins said she knew Bushnell and his family when they lived on the Orleans, Massachusetts-based compound, a claim the outlet reported others have corroborated. She said that she had heard from others since her departure that Bushnell had also left the compound.

She also claimed that Community of Jesus members often join the military, which she described as moving from "one high-control group to another high-control group."

Bonnie Zampino, a former member of the group in the 1980s, told the outlet that many who leave become involved in social justice causes.

"A lot of us that got out are very much into social justice, trying to defend those who don't or can't defend themselves because that is what we went through," Zampino said.

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