“We Are Slaves to Capitalism” Said Man Who Set Himself Ablaze Near Israel’s Boston Consulate

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New details emerging about violent Boston-area anti-Israel protesters suggests they are opposed not only to Israel but also to capitalism.

“We are slaves to capitalism,” says a video posted by Matt Nelson before he set himself on fire on September 11 near the Israeli consulate in Boston. “A democracy is supposed to serve the will of the people, not the interest of the wealthy. Take the power back. Free Palestine.”

Nelson was at least the third known person in the past year to set themself ablaze near an Israeli diplomatic facility in the U.S. In December 2023, a protester self-immolated outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, and in February 2024, Aaron Bushnell committed suicide by lighting himself afire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington. 

A New York Times profile of Bushnell reported him "throwing himself into leftist and anarchist activism, talking often about alleviating poverty and opposing capitalism." The article went on, "In November 2022, fresh off a vacation to Hawaii with his younger brother, Mr. Bushnell showed up alone at an event hosted by the Party for Socialism and Liberation in San Antonio, where he quickly made a new group of friends." Wikipedia describes the Party for Socialism and Liberation as a communist party. 

Meanwhile, screenshots taken from a social media account of Caleb Gannon, who was shot Thursday in Newton, Massachusetts, during a fight with pro-Israel activists that he appeared to have initiated, include retweets of an account called the “victims of capitalism memorial foundation.” 

“I’m so ready for the post-American world,” Gannon tweeted on September 10.

On September 11, Gannon retweeted another account’s comment on the Trump-Harris debate: “One worse that the other, they’re both a horror scene, both Warmongers, both Zionists, both will service the interests of Wall St —Why was there no discussion on US imperialism? America is a terrorist state and a cancer to the world.”