17 jan 2017

By: Ramzy Baround
Ramzy Baroud is an internationally-syndicated columnist, author, and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story.
For some, the ‘manslaughter’ conviction -- following the murder by Israeli army medic Elor Azarya of already incapacitated Palestinian man Abd al-Fattah al-Sharif -- is finally settling a protracted debate regarding where Israelis stand on Palestinian human rights.
Nearly 70 percent of the Israeli public supports calls to pardon the convicted soldier, who is largely perceived among Israelis as the "child of us all."
Israeli leaders are also lining up to lend their support to Azarya and his family. These sympathetic politicians include Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and ministers Naftali Bennett and Miri Regev, among others. Leading opposition leaders are also on board.
Pro-Israeli pundits, who never miss an opportunity to highlight Israel's supposed moral ascendancy took to social media, describing how the indictment further demonstrates that Israel is still a country of law and order.
They seem to conveniently overlook palpable facts. Reporting on the verdict, The Times of Israel, for example, wrote that "last time an IDF soldier was convicted of manslaughter was in 2005, for the killing of British civilian Tom Hurndall two years earlier."
Between these dates, and years prior, thousands of Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip alone, mostly in the Israeli wars of 2008-9, 2012 and 2014. Although thousands of children and civilians were killed and wounded in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Territories and, despite international outcries against Israel's violations of international law, there is yet to be a single conviction in Israeli courts.
But why is it that some commentators suggest that the Azarya trial and the show of unity around his cause by Israeli society is an indication of some massive change underway in Israel?
Yoav Litvin, for example, argues in TeleSur that the "precedent set by this case will further solidify the complete dehumanization of Palestinians and pave the way for further ethnic cleansing and genocide in the Occupied Palestinian Territories."
In an article, entitled: "Like Brexit and Trump, Azarya verdict exposes a moment of transition in Israel," Jonathan Cook also alluded to a similar idea. “The soldier’s trial, far from proof of the rule of law, was the last gasp of a dying order,” he wrote.
Neither Litvin nor Cook are suggesting that the supposed change in Israel is substantive but an important change, nonetheless.
But if the past and the present are one and the same, where is the 'transition,' then?
The creation of Israel atop the ruins of Palestine, the ethnic cleansing that made Israel’s ‘independence’ possible, the subsequent wars, occupation and sieges are all devoid of any morality.
Indeed, Israel was established with the idea in mind that a "Jewish state" is impossible without the ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinian Arabs.
In a letter to his son in 1937, David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister after the country’s establishment in 1948, wrote: "We must expel the Arabs and take their places and if we have to use force, to guarantee our own right to settle in those places then we have force at our disposal."
In the year that Israel was established, the United Nations defined genocide in Article 2 [PDF] of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as follows:
"Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.."
In other words, there is nothing new here since the ‘mainstreaming of genocide’ in Israel took place before and during the founding of the country, and ever since.
Fortunately, some Israeli leaders were quite candid about the crimes of that era.
"Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you because geography books no longer exist," former Israeli leader Moshe Dayan said while addressing the Technion as reported in Haaretz on April 4, 1969. “There is not a single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.”
But throughout these years, Israel has managed to sustain a balancing act, generating two alternate realities: a material one, in which violence is meted out against Palestinians on a regular basis, and a perceptual one, that of a media image through which Israel is presented to the world as a 'villa in the jungle,' governed by democratic laws, which makes it superior to its neighbors in every possible way.
Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav demonstrated the latter point best. "There is a huge gap between us (Jews) and our enemies," he was quoted in the Jerusalem Post on May 10, 2001. “They are people who do not belong to our continent, to our world, but actually belong to a different galaxy."
In fact, Israeli commentators on the Left often reminisce about the 'good old days,' before extremists ruled Israel and right-wing parties reigned supreme.
A particular memory that is often invoked was the mass protest in Tel Aviv to the Israeli-engineered Sabra and Shatila massacres of Palestinian refugees in South Lebanon in 1982.
Protesters demanded the resignations of then-Prime Minister Menachem Begin and his Defense Minister Ariel Sharon. Both men were accused of allowing the massacres of Palestinians by Christian Phalange to take place. An Israeli commission of investigation found Israel guilty of 'indirect responsibility,' further contributing to the myth that Israel's guilt lies in the fact that it allowed Christians to kill Muslims, as Sharon complained in his biography years later.
At the time, it did not occur to Israeli protesters as odd the fact that Begin himself was the wanted leader of a terrorist gang before Israel's founding and that Sharon was accused of orchestrating many other massacres.
Many in Israeli and Western media spoke highly of the moral uprightness of Israeli society. Palestinians were baffled by Israel's ability to carry out war crimes and to emerge in a positive light, regardless.
"Goyim kill Goyim and the Jews are blamed," Begin had then complained with a subtle reference to what he perceived as a form of anti-Semitism. Aside from Sabra and Shatila, tens of thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians were killed in the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
Historical fact shows that Israel is not experiencing a real transition, but what is truly faltering is Israel’s balancing act: its ability to perpetrate individual and collective acts of violence and still paint an image of itself as law-abiding and democratic.
Zionist leaders of the past had played the game too well and for far too long, but things are finally being exposed for what they really are, thanks to the fact that Jewish settlers now rule the country, control the army, have growing influence over the media and, therefore, define the Israeli course and PR image.
“This new army (of settlers) is no longer even minimally restrained by concerns about the army’s ‘moral’ image or threats of international war crimes investigations,” wrote Cook.
And with that new-found ‘freedom,’ the world is able to see Israel as it is. The balancing act is finally over.
Ramzy Baroud is an internationally-syndicated columnist, author, and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story.
For some, the ‘manslaughter’ conviction -- following the murder by Israeli army medic Elor Azarya of already incapacitated Palestinian man Abd al-Fattah al-Sharif -- is finally settling a protracted debate regarding where Israelis stand on Palestinian human rights.
Nearly 70 percent of the Israeli public supports calls to pardon the convicted soldier, who is largely perceived among Israelis as the "child of us all."
Israeli leaders are also lining up to lend their support to Azarya and his family. These sympathetic politicians include Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and ministers Naftali Bennett and Miri Regev, among others. Leading opposition leaders are also on board.
Pro-Israeli pundits, who never miss an opportunity to highlight Israel's supposed moral ascendancy took to social media, describing how the indictment further demonstrates that Israel is still a country of law and order.
They seem to conveniently overlook palpable facts. Reporting on the verdict, The Times of Israel, for example, wrote that "last time an IDF soldier was convicted of manslaughter was in 2005, for the killing of British civilian Tom Hurndall two years earlier."
Between these dates, and years prior, thousands of Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip alone, mostly in the Israeli wars of 2008-9, 2012 and 2014. Although thousands of children and civilians were killed and wounded in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Territories and, despite international outcries against Israel's violations of international law, there is yet to be a single conviction in Israeli courts.
But why is it that some commentators suggest that the Azarya trial and the show of unity around his cause by Israeli society is an indication of some massive change underway in Israel?
Yoav Litvin, for example, argues in TeleSur that the "precedent set by this case will further solidify the complete dehumanization of Palestinians and pave the way for further ethnic cleansing and genocide in the Occupied Palestinian Territories."
In an article, entitled: "Like Brexit and Trump, Azarya verdict exposes a moment of transition in Israel," Jonathan Cook also alluded to a similar idea. “The soldier’s trial, far from proof of the rule of law, was the last gasp of a dying order,” he wrote.
Neither Litvin nor Cook are suggesting that the supposed change in Israel is substantive but an important change, nonetheless.
But if the past and the present are one and the same, where is the 'transition,' then?
The creation of Israel atop the ruins of Palestine, the ethnic cleansing that made Israel’s ‘independence’ possible, the subsequent wars, occupation and sieges are all devoid of any morality.
Indeed, Israel was established with the idea in mind that a "Jewish state" is impossible without the ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinian Arabs.
In a letter to his son in 1937, David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister after the country’s establishment in 1948, wrote: "We must expel the Arabs and take their places and if we have to use force, to guarantee our own right to settle in those places then we have force at our disposal."
In the year that Israel was established, the United Nations defined genocide in Article 2 [PDF] of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as follows:
"Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.."
In other words, there is nothing new here since the ‘mainstreaming of genocide’ in Israel took place before and during the founding of the country, and ever since.
Fortunately, some Israeli leaders were quite candid about the crimes of that era.
"Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you because geography books no longer exist," former Israeli leader Moshe Dayan said while addressing the Technion as reported in Haaretz on April 4, 1969. “There is not a single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.”
But throughout these years, Israel has managed to sustain a balancing act, generating two alternate realities: a material one, in which violence is meted out against Palestinians on a regular basis, and a perceptual one, that of a media image through which Israel is presented to the world as a 'villa in the jungle,' governed by democratic laws, which makes it superior to its neighbors in every possible way.
Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav demonstrated the latter point best. "There is a huge gap between us (Jews) and our enemies," he was quoted in the Jerusalem Post on May 10, 2001. “They are people who do not belong to our continent, to our world, but actually belong to a different galaxy."
In fact, Israeli commentators on the Left often reminisce about the 'good old days,' before extremists ruled Israel and right-wing parties reigned supreme.
A particular memory that is often invoked was the mass protest in Tel Aviv to the Israeli-engineered Sabra and Shatila massacres of Palestinian refugees in South Lebanon in 1982.
Protesters demanded the resignations of then-Prime Minister Menachem Begin and his Defense Minister Ariel Sharon. Both men were accused of allowing the massacres of Palestinians by Christian Phalange to take place. An Israeli commission of investigation found Israel guilty of 'indirect responsibility,' further contributing to the myth that Israel's guilt lies in the fact that it allowed Christians to kill Muslims, as Sharon complained in his biography years later.
At the time, it did not occur to Israeli protesters as odd the fact that Begin himself was the wanted leader of a terrorist gang before Israel's founding and that Sharon was accused of orchestrating many other massacres.
Many in Israeli and Western media spoke highly of the moral uprightness of Israeli society. Palestinians were baffled by Israel's ability to carry out war crimes and to emerge in a positive light, regardless.
"Goyim kill Goyim and the Jews are blamed," Begin had then complained with a subtle reference to what he perceived as a form of anti-Semitism. Aside from Sabra and Shatila, tens of thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians were killed in the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
Historical fact shows that Israel is not experiencing a real transition, but what is truly faltering is Israel’s balancing act: its ability to perpetrate individual and collective acts of violence and still paint an image of itself as law-abiding and democratic.
Zionist leaders of the past had played the game too well and for far too long, but things are finally being exposed for what they really are, thanks to the fact that Jewish settlers now rule the country, control the army, have growing influence over the media and, therefore, define the Israeli course and PR image.
“This new army (of settlers) is no longer even minimally restrained by concerns about the army’s ‘moral’ image or threats of international war crimes investigations,” wrote Cook.
And with that new-found ‘freedom,’ the world is able to see Israel as it is. The balancing act is finally over.
11 jan 2017

Kfir Brigade Commander Guy Hazut is recorded pushing convicted Sgt. Elor Azaria's father Charlie to cut a deal with the defense; 'The line of defense, at least from what I've read, hasn't been very successful,' Hazut is heard telling to the senior Azaria.
A recording of Kfir Brigade Commander Guy Hazut was made public on Wednesday, in which he is heard pushing Charlie Azaria, the father of Sgt. Elor Azaria to cut a deal with the defense, in an effort to lighten Elor's sentence, due to be announced in a month's time. The conversation was recorded on Monday, and was revealed by Channel 2 News journalist Amit Segal.
On Tuesday, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit denied that Hazut had offered Azaria a deal in exchange for him waving his right to appeal the manslaughter verdict for killing of neutralized terrorist Abed al Fatah al-Sharif, but the aforementioned recording presents the opposite case, with Hazut going as far as telling the senior Azaria that he is acting as a representative of the IDF.
"I can offer you the following," Hazut is heard saying the Charlie. "I can get you a meeting with the chief military prosecutor and have him lay out the ways in which you can move forward with the IDF prosecution, be it counseling or adding someone to the defense team. I don't have a legal education. All I know is what I've read over the last weekend, and this line of defense, at least from what I've read, hasn't been very successful so far."
After Hazut offers him to meet "as soon as tonight" with the IDF Manpower directorate, the assistant to the IDF chief of staff and the GOC Central Command, in addition to the chief military prosecutor, Charlie responded to Hazut's offer by telling him, "I won't have my 21-year-old son convicted of manslaughter when he's done nothing but serve his country. If God forbid they would've told me, 'Listen, a Palestinian walked down the street and he shot him,' I would've said 'Are you crazy?' As far as I'm concerned, if there's no manslaughter count, then I've got no problem with it. I don't want to cause the army any damage, on the contrary—I want to come out and tell soldiers that they should enlist, that we don't have any other country."
"When I hear soldiers calling me and saying, 'Listen, Charlie, I don't know when to shoot and when I shouldn't. If I don't shoot they'll tell me I didn't act in an operational manner, and if I do shoot, I'll be standing in your son's shoes,' what can I tell them? I don't want that damage. When I saw the event (Sunday's vehicular terrorist attack—ed), I felt ashamed. To this day my heart aches. It's burned with the knowledge that we're burying four soldiers now."
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit issued a statement following the release of the recording. "The IDF Spokesperson wishes to clarify that he will not detail the content of the meeting that took place between the family of Sg.t Elor Azaria and his commander, but he denies the false report of Channel 2 News, which insinuated that a deal was offered in regard to a lighter punishment or to the appeal or any other interference in the legal proceeding."
The IDF Spokesperson continued to say that "Sgt. Elor Azaria is entitled to a clean legal proceeding that is free of added pressures and that is treated by his commanders in a continuous and smooth manner as it would be for any other IDF soldier." He added that "The point of the meeting was to see whether the family needed additional assistance."
Following the recording being made public, Azaria's legal representatives petitioned Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman with claims that the Hazut's conduct was "outrageous, infuriating and wrong," and that it "crosses any rule or supposed law." Their appeal comes after Lieberman's own statements over the past week, in which he said that "Anyone seeking Azaria's best interests should sit quietly now and stop all the commotion. We're doing everything possible to protect IDF values and Azaria. Anything beyond that will only cause damage."
A recording of Kfir Brigade Commander Guy Hazut was made public on Wednesday, in which he is heard pushing Charlie Azaria, the father of Sgt. Elor Azaria to cut a deal with the defense, in an effort to lighten Elor's sentence, due to be announced in a month's time. The conversation was recorded on Monday, and was revealed by Channel 2 News journalist Amit Segal.
On Tuesday, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit denied that Hazut had offered Azaria a deal in exchange for him waving his right to appeal the manslaughter verdict for killing of neutralized terrorist Abed al Fatah al-Sharif, but the aforementioned recording presents the opposite case, with Hazut going as far as telling the senior Azaria that he is acting as a representative of the IDF.
"I can offer you the following," Hazut is heard saying the Charlie. "I can get you a meeting with the chief military prosecutor and have him lay out the ways in which you can move forward with the IDF prosecution, be it counseling or adding someone to the defense team. I don't have a legal education. All I know is what I've read over the last weekend, and this line of defense, at least from what I've read, hasn't been very successful so far."
After Hazut offers him to meet "as soon as tonight" with the IDF Manpower directorate, the assistant to the IDF chief of staff and the GOC Central Command, in addition to the chief military prosecutor, Charlie responded to Hazut's offer by telling him, "I won't have my 21-year-old son convicted of manslaughter when he's done nothing but serve his country. If God forbid they would've told me, 'Listen, a Palestinian walked down the street and he shot him,' I would've said 'Are you crazy?' As far as I'm concerned, if there's no manslaughter count, then I've got no problem with it. I don't want to cause the army any damage, on the contrary—I want to come out and tell soldiers that they should enlist, that we don't have any other country."
"When I hear soldiers calling me and saying, 'Listen, Charlie, I don't know when to shoot and when I shouldn't. If I don't shoot they'll tell me I didn't act in an operational manner, and if I do shoot, I'll be standing in your son's shoes,' what can I tell them? I don't want that damage. When I saw the event (Sunday's vehicular terrorist attack—ed), I felt ashamed. To this day my heart aches. It's burned with the knowledge that we're burying four soldiers now."
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit issued a statement following the release of the recording. "The IDF Spokesperson wishes to clarify that he will not detail the content of the meeting that took place between the family of Sg.t Elor Azaria and his commander, but he denies the false report of Channel 2 News, which insinuated that a deal was offered in regard to a lighter punishment or to the appeal or any other interference in the legal proceeding."
The IDF Spokesperson continued to say that "Sgt. Elor Azaria is entitled to a clean legal proceeding that is free of added pressures and that is treated by his commanders in a continuous and smooth manner as it would be for any other IDF soldier." He added that "The point of the meeting was to see whether the family needed additional assistance."
Following the recording being made public, Azaria's legal representatives petitioned Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman with claims that the Hazut's conduct was "outrageous, infuriating and wrong," and that it "crosses any rule or supposed law." Their appeal comes after Lieberman's own statements over the past week, in which he said that "Anyone seeking Azaria's best interests should sit quietly now and stop all the commotion. We're doing everything possible to protect IDF values and Azaria. Anything beyond that will only cause damage."

Lt. Col. (res.) Nadav Weissman
The military prosecutor in the Hebron shooting case notes that the soldier convicted of manslaughter was portrayed in the testimonies presented to the Military Court as ‘a positive young man and an outstanding combat soldier.’
Sgt. Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter last week after shooting a neutralized terrorist in Hebron, was portrayed in the testimonies presented to the Military Court as “a positive young man and an outstanding combat soldier,” the chief prosecutor in the case, Lt. Col. (res.) Nadav Weissman, wrote Tuesday.
The Military prosecution team, however, expressed its reservations over a request made on Tuesday by Azaria’s defense attorneys to the military court to delay by a week the legal proceedings that were supposed to take place on Sunday during which the defense teams would seek to mitigate his sentence while the prosecution team would seek a harsher pubishment.
The soldier’s lawyers, Ilan Katz and Eyal Besserglick, submitted the request saying that they required more time in order to prepare the character witnesses who have agreed to testify in favor of Azaria in order to help mitigate his sentence.
Weismann wrote in response to the request that “the prosecution leaves the decision on this request to the court’s discretion. There is, however, a public interest in completing the legal proceedings, and this interest is combined with a desire to prevent the defendant from suffering a delay of justice.”
The prosecution stressed that it “completely respects Azaria’s right to bring character witnesses on his behalf. The prosecution further agrees that the testimonies presented to the court prove that until he carried out the offense, Azaria was thought of as a positive young man and as an outstanding combat soldier. In regards to this matter, the prosecution brought the defendant’s commanders and asked them to describe their appreciation towards him to the court.
As this is an indisputable point, the prosecution has also informed the defense that it accepts the submission of written evidence as to the defendant’s character.”
The prosecutor concluded by saying that “because the defense’s request refers entirely to character witnesses, and in light of the prosecution’s agreement, the justification for delaying the discussion is diminished.” The sentencing discussions were originally scheduled to take place on January 15 but the prosecutor has suggested a number of alternative dates—January 19, 24 or 27.
Meanwhile, Azaria’s family members met with his commander recently. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement that the goal of the meeting was to inquire on any aid required by the family.
“Sgt. Azaria is entitled to a clean and pressure-free legal proceeding and is regularly taken care of by his commanders like all other IDF soldiers,” the statement said, adding that “Sgt. Azaria received proper conditions and beyond during the months he spent in open detention at a military camp.”
Azaria’s defense attorneys have complained to Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman that during a meeting held Monday between the soldier’s father, Charlie Azaria, and Kfir Brigade Commander Col. Guy Hazut, Azaria was asked not to appeal the conviction but rather to favor a pardon or sentence mitigation and replace his lawyers.
The attorneys referred to the request as “faulty and outrageous conduct that crosses every line and seemingly violate the law.” These claims were denied by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit however, which said the meeting focused on financial and social assistance to the Azaria family.
The military prosecutor in the Hebron shooting case notes that the soldier convicted of manslaughter was portrayed in the testimonies presented to the Military Court as ‘a positive young man and an outstanding combat soldier.’
Sgt. Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter last week after shooting a neutralized terrorist in Hebron, was portrayed in the testimonies presented to the Military Court as “a positive young man and an outstanding combat soldier,” the chief prosecutor in the case, Lt. Col. (res.) Nadav Weissman, wrote Tuesday.
The Military prosecution team, however, expressed its reservations over a request made on Tuesday by Azaria’s defense attorneys to the military court to delay by a week the legal proceedings that were supposed to take place on Sunday during which the defense teams would seek to mitigate his sentence while the prosecution team would seek a harsher pubishment.
The soldier’s lawyers, Ilan Katz and Eyal Besserglick, submitted the request saying that they required more time in order to prepare the character witnesses who have agreed to testify in favor of Azaria in order to help mitigate his sentence.
Weismann wrote in response to the request that “the prosecution leaves the decision on this request to the court’s discretion. There is, however, a public interest in completing the legal proceedings, and this interest is combined with a desire to prevent the defendant from suffering a delay of justice.”
The prosecution stressed that it “completely respects Azaria’s right to bring character witnesses on his behalf. The prosecution further agrees that the testimonies presented to the court prove that until he carried out the offense, Azaria was thought of as a positive young man and as an outstanding combat soldier. In regards to this matter, the prosecution brought the defendant’s commanders and asked them to describe their appreciation towards him to the court.
As this is an indisputable point, the prosecution has also informed the defense that it accepts the submission of written evidence as to the defendant’s character.”
The prosecutor concluded by saying that “because the defense’s request refers entirely to character witnesses, and in light of the prosecution’s agreement, the justification for delaying the discussion is diminished.” The sentencing discussions were originally scheduled to take place on January 15 but the prosecutor has suggested a number of alternative dates—January 19, 24 or 27.
Meanwhile, Azaria’s family members met with his commander recently. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement that the goal of the meeting was to inquire on any aid required by the family.
“Sgt. Azaria is entitled to a clean and pressure-free legal proceeding and is regularly taken care of by his commanders like all other IDF soldiers,” the statement said, adding that “Sgt. Azaria received proper conditions and beyond during the months he spent in open detention at a military camp.”
Azaria’s defense attorneys have complained to Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman that during a meeting held Monday between the soldier’s father, Charlie Azaria, and Kfir Brigade Commander Col. Guy Hazut, Azaria was asked not to appeal the conviction but rather to favor a pardon or sentence mitigation and replace his lawyers.
The attorneys referred to the request as “faulty and outrageous conduct that crosses every line and seemingly violate the law.” These claims were denied by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit however, which said the meeting focused on financial and social assistance to the Azaria family.
10 jan 2017

Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir
In the first public comments of senior IDF officials following the Azaria verdict, top IDF officials reiterate need to follow rules of engagement; ‘if you want to be part of the army defending Israel, you need to be part of the value system that comes with it.’
Commander of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir, commented Tuesday on the verdict against Sgt. Elor Azaria reached last week, saying "Azaria committed a criminal offense, but this is a threshold. The IDF cannot compromise its values, or it will lose its morality."
Zamir delivered his remarks at the Haifa Leadership Conference, saying, "As commanders, sh** happens. Leaders see these incidents as opportunities. You must not run from responsibility. I expect commanders not to be afraid to explain to their soldiers what they must do."
Referring specifically to the case of Elor Azaria, Zamir said, "Since the Azaria affair, 39 terrorists have been killed in the West Bank and even in the Southern Command, Palestinians have been killed on the border fence. Soldiers were backed up and investigations were not opened because the soldiers acted according to the rules of engagement."
In addition to Zamir, other high ranking IDF officials were present at the forum, including the commander of the Paratroopers Brigade, Col. Nimrod Aloni and former commander of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi.
Addressing the Azaria affair, Aloni said, "I spoke with hundreds of soldiers about the incident. Not only just about what is legal and what is not, but what is moral and what we want as a Jewish army. There were fierce debates and soldiers expressed their opinions even if they were different than ours as commanders. Not everyone has to agree, but if you want to be part of the army defending Israel, you need to be part of the value system that comes with it."
Gal Hirsch, director of the conference, remarked in his opening statements, "It is a big responsibility to be a commander and your words have weight and consequences. Public figures forget it takes years to build and only seconds to destroy."
In the first public comments of senior IDF officials following the Azaria verdict, top IDF officials reiterate need to follow rules of engagement; ‘if you want to be part of the army defending Israel, you need to be part of the value system that comes with it.’
Commander of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir, commented Tuesday on the verdict against Sgt. Elor Azaria reached last week, saying "Azaria committed a criminal offense, but this is a threshold. The IDF cannot compromise its values, or it will lose its morality."
Zamir delivered his remarks at the Haifa Leadership Conference, saying, "As commanders, sh** happens. Leaders see these incidents as opportunities. You must not run from responsibility. I expect commanders not to be afraid to explain to their soldiers what they must do."
Referring specifically to the case of Elor Azaria, Zamir said, "Since the Azaria affair, 39 terrorists have been killed in the West Bank and even in the Southern Command, Palestinians have been killed on the border fence. Soldiers were backed up and investigations were not opened because the soldiers acted according to the rules of engagement."
In addition to Zamir, other high ranking IDF officials were present at the forum, including the commander of the Paratroopers Brigade, Col. Nimrod Aloni and former commander of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi.
Addressing the Azaria affair, Aloni said, "I spoke with hundreds of soldiers about the incident. Not only just about what is legal and what is not, but what is moral and what we want as a Jewish army. There were fierce debates and soldiers expressed their opinions even if they were different than ours as commanders. Not everyone has to agree, but if you want to be part of the army defending Israel, you need to be part of the value system that comes with it."
Gal Hirsch, director of the conference, remarked in his opening statements, "It is a big responsibility to be a commander and your words have weight and consequences. Public figures forget it takes years to build and only seconds to destroy."