Demands End to U.S. Arms Sales to Israel and an Immediate Cease-Fire
CovertAction Magazine
On Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024, active-duty Air Force Senior Airman Larry Hebert began a hunger strike in front of the White House to highlight the plight of the starving children of Gaza.
Hebert’s act of protest was set amidst the backdrop of the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.
His intent was to remind parents and their children that, while they are playing with Easter eggs on the White House lawn, children all over Gaza need eggs to stave off starvation as a result of U.S.-Israel policies.
Hebert continued his protest at the White House the week after Easter and has decided to camp outside the U.S. Congress beginning on April 8 when Congress goes back into session.
In mid-March, Hebert, age 26, from Portsmouth, 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 cease-fire in Gaza and to visit congressional offices to press for halting weapons shipments to Israel that violate several U.S. laws.
Hebert said: “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.”