The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldier and medic Elor Azaria, who was filmed last March (by Imad Abu Shamsiya, a Palestinian B’Tselem volunteer) executing an incapacitated Palestinian man, Fattah al-Sharif, in cold blood has been convicted of manslaughter. He is now the modern Israeli hero, “the child of all of us” as many Israelis refer to him.
Shortly after the verdict was announced a poll showed that a whopping 70% of the Israeli public support Azaria’s pardon. What’s more, key figures of the Israeli government have unified in their call for pardoning Azaria in what can only be interpreted as an expression of cynical political opportunism. Those calling for a pardon include Education Minister Naftali Bennett, Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev, and of course Israel’s Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, who is currently under investigation for numerous corruptions. Even Shelly Yacimovich of the opposition, to the extent that the use of the word is even valid when referring to the Israeli Knesset, has conveyed her support for pardoning Azaria.