by Gennette Cordova
The Free Palestine movement was rocked, last week, with the news of the murder of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, a young woman born in Antalya, Turkey, and raised in Seattle, who was killed by Israeli soldiers. The former University of Washington student and organizer in the university’s Gaza encampment protests, was shot in the head while she participated in a protest against illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Ayşenur’s death serves as both a call to escalate action against Israel’s atrocities in Gaza and the West Bank, and as evidence of the ways in which our government, at every level, is aiding and abetting Israel’s behavior. By minimizing or staying silent about Israel’s brutality against Palestinians and refusing to name the specific abuses they endure — while constantly emphasizing the Oct. 7 attack — our elected officials are intentionally coaxing the public into supporting genocide and violent occupation, supported by our weapons and tax dollars.
For most American politicians and all mainstream American media, the subject of hostages is almost exclusively applied to Israeli hostages taken by Hamas. As a result of this, many people in our country are unaware that Israel is currently holding thousands of Palestinian hostages. In fact, prior to Oct. 7, they routinely held hundreds of Palestinians hostage, every year, with no charges brought against them and with no access to counsel. Too often, these hostages are children. Yet, the “bring them home” chants aren’t for them.
With Ayşenur’s tragic killing, we are seeing, especially at the federal level, yet another example of the alarming double standard in Israel’s war on Palestine. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden said, “If you harm an American, we will respond.” At the time that I’m writing this, Biden is backing Israel’s claims that the shooting was accidental, and he hasn’t spoken to Ayşenur’s family.
After news of the death of Israeli American hostage and former IDF soldier Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Vice President Kamala Harris put out a statement, saying she had spoken to Hersh’s parents to personally express her condolences. She calls Hersh’s murder brutal, she calls Hamas terrorists, she expresses heartbreak at the family’s anguish. She says the nation is mourning with them.
Harris has yet to comment on Ayşenur’s death nor has she spoken to her family. This lopsided response on the subject of Israel and Palestine isn’t at all without precedent. In her recent sit down interview with CNN, she refers to Hamas’ attacks on Israelis using expressive words like “horrific” and “massacre.” This is something she notably does not do for Palestinians despite a study in The Lancet conservatively estimating that up to 186, 000 or more deaths could be attributable to Israel’s current assault on Gaza.
Unsurprisingly, our city council, outside of Councilmember Tammy Morales, has been silent on the peace activist’s death, despite her growing up in West Seattle. The mayor’s office, when pressed for comment by The Stranger’s Hannah Krieg, offered condolences, though they didn’t feel compelled to put a statement out themselves.
Harris, like most of her colleagues, continues to repeat the line about Israel’s “right to defend itself.” Again, this is something that is rarely ever applied to Palestinians. Prior to the Oct. 7 events, 2023 was already the deadliest year on record for Palestinian children killed by Israel — for the second year in a row. Yet, the constant messaging about the right to self-defense, is not extended to Palestinians. As a rule, occupied, colonized, and oppressed people are never seen as justified for defending themselves. Resistance is regularly used as a pretext for increased subjugation.
I’m grateful to Rep. Pramila Jayapal speaking out on the tragic death of Ayşenur, at the hands of Israeli soldiers, while calling out settlement expansion and settler violence in the West Bank, encouraged by the Israeli government. It’s shameful that comments like this are so rare from our elected leaders.
For many in Washington State, Ayşenur’s death is reminiscent of the 2003 death of Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old American peace activist from Olympia, Washington, who Israeli soldiers crushed to death with a bulldozer, as she attempted to stop a Palestinian family’s home from being demolished.
Like Rachel, by all accounts, Ayşenur was a remarkable human and a fierce champion for justice. She graduated, this summer, from the University of Washington, carrying a Palestinian flag, with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in Middle Eastern languages and cultures. Speaking with reporters last week, Ayşenur’s professor Aria Fani spoke of her “deep conviction to participate in the tradition of bearing witness to the oppression of people and their dignified resilience.”
Recently, members of our community attended a vigil at Alki Beach to honor the life and work of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, a courageous 26-year-old who lost her life fighting against the violent oppression of Palestinians that our politicians and the media continue to manufacture consent for. Young people like Ayşenur, Rachel Corrie, the youth who protested Vietnam, the college students who held sit-ins to protest segregation, the high school kids who organized walkouts to draw attention to gun violence, have consistently proven to be on the right side of history. Please honor Ayşenur’s life, and the lives of all of the people who’ve pushed for radical change, by committing to stand with them and defend them as they continue their fight.
Editors' Note: This article was updated to correct typographical errors.
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Gennette Cordova is a writer, organizer, and social impact manager. She contributes to publications like Teen Vogue and Revolt TV and runs an organization, Lorraine House, which seeks to build and uplift radical communities through art and activism.