On August 31, the Israeli military recovered the bodies of six Israelis who had been taken hostage on October 7, 2023 by Hamas. Israel and the U.S. said all six had been shot and killed by Hamas. Hamas has not confirmed killing them. However they were killed, taking these Israeli civilians hostage was a war crime, and they did not deserve to die. One of them, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was an Israeli with U.S. citizenship.

Biden immediately issued a statement condemning “vicious Hamas terrorists” who killed “an American citizen.” And he vowed, “Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes.” 

Kamala Harris’s statement was even more drenched in American chauvinism and threats of revenge: “With these murders, Hamas has even more American blood on its hands… Hamas’ depravity is evident and horrifying. The threat Hamas poses to the people of Israel—and American citizens in Israel—must be eliminated and Hamas cannot control Gaza. The Palestinian people too have suffered under Hamas’ rule for nearly two decades. As Vice President, I have no higher priority than the safety of American citizens...”

***

On September 6, Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, an activist from Washington state, was shot in the head and killed by an Israeli soldier in the West Bank Palestinian village of Beita. Palestinian witnesses, authorities, and an Israeli witness on the scene all described seeing the Israeli soldier shoot and kill Eygi. She had been participating in an unarmed vigil with residents of Beita and others, protesting the siege of the village by a nearby Israeli “settler” outpost. That outpost, illegal under international law, has been backed by the Israeli government and the Israeli military.

Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi came to the U.S. with her family from Turkey as an infant. She lived her entire life in the U.S., and was a U.S. citizen. Nevertheless, neither Biden or Harris said a word about her assassination. No condemnation of the “vicious terrorist” settlers who created the situation that resulted in Israel executing her. No acknowledgement of the horrifying depravity of Israel’s mass murdering rampage in the West Bank. No threats that her murderers would “pay for these crimes.” And, no recognition of the fact that Israel, with U.S.-supplied bombs, missiles, money, and diplomatic cover, has massacred tens of thousands more Palestinian civilians since October 7 than Hamas killed in Israel on that day.

The U.S. State Department and major ruling class media will not even acknowledge that Eygi was shot and killed by Israeli troops. The New York Times reported that “witnesses and Palestinian officials said that Israeli soldiers had fired the shots that killed her.” But the Times prefaced that by claiming, “It was not immediately clear who was responsible.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pulled out the worn-out script U.S. officials read whenever Israel carries out a crime so egregious that they have to say something while they wait for the outrage to pass. He said, “When we have more info, we will share it, make it available and, as necessary, we’ll act on it.” 

***

In a statement on her death, Eygi’s family said,

Today our family and our community are in shock and grief, as we wrestle with the reality that our beloved Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi is gone. Like the olive tree she lay beneath where she took her last breaths, Ayşenur was strong, beautiful, and nourishing. Her presence in our lives was taken needlessly, unlawfully, and violently by the Israeli military.

Ayşenur was a loving daughter, sister, partner, and aunt. She was gentle, brave, silly, supportive, and a ray of sunshine. She wore her heart on her sleeves. She felt a deep responsibility to serve others and lived a life of caring for those in need with action. She was a fiercely passionate human rights activist her whole life—a steadfast and staunch advocate of justice.

Ayşenur just turned 26 and graduated three months ago from the University of Washington, where she studied Psychology and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures. She was active on campus in student-led protests, advocating for human dignity, and calling for an end to the violence against the people of Palestine. Ayşenur felt compelled to travel to the West Bank to stand in solidarity with Palestinian civilians who continue to endure ongoing repressing and violence.

For the heartless, soulless monsters at the head of this heartless, soulless system, Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi’s life and death is an inconvenience, an obstacle to their agenda, and something to cover up, and get beyond. 

For anyone with a heart and a soul, Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi’s life and death inspires tears of pain, rage, appreciation, and love. Ayşenur was an American citizen, but it seems clear she did not look at the world as an “American.” Instead, as someone with responsibility for humanity. Her life and death are a rejection of the “values” of selfishness, individualism, and American chauvinism that seep from this system into how too many people look at the world, and serve to perpetuate complicity with a world of horrors.