The Cynical Exploitation of Elor Azaria and Attempts to Politicise the IDF

The greatest danger to the IDF today is not Hezbollah, nor Hamas, Iran or Palestinian terrorists. The IDF is strong and able. The officers, young men and women of the Israeli military are more than capable of defending the state and the people of Israel, all its people; against our enemies.

The greatest threat to IDF today is the cynical and highly irresponsible attempt to politicise the army. There is no room for politics in the army, not from the right or from the left. Perhaps those terms, left and right have lost their meaning in today’s politics, where it would appear that in Israel today the struggle is now between those who believe in democracy and those who are happy to dismiss democracy and the rule of law as inconvenient obstacles to their blinkered ideology.

From the outset the trial of Elor Azaria has been used and abused by his so called supporters to promote an extremist agenda. With what can only be described as a wholesale disregard for the genuine, best interests of the young combat medic, these so called supporters hailed Azaria as a hero and built him up as their new poster boy. They then hung him out to dry to serve their own warped interests.

Elor Azaria’s best interests would surely have been served through a quiet and closed trial, where military justice could take its course, a trial would be swift, a verdict rendered, a sentence set and served. He would have been far better admitting his guilt, putting it down to the well, known and accepted, extreme pressures and difficulties faced by combat soldiers serving in Hebron, not to mention the fact that his good friend and comrade in arms, had just been stabbed and wounded.

Had he admitted his guilt, shown remorse and asked for understanding, I expect the charge would have been reduced, the trial would have been swift. He and his family would have remained pretty much anonymous and been spared the eight months of media attention and ruthless exploitation.

Azaria became a vehicle through which politicians and extremist elements could garner substantial media attention for their cause. For them, what was best for this unfortunate young man was of secondary importance. He was now a symbol, a rallying point. His trial and perhaps his fate, could serve a higher purpose. Indeed, it would serve as a battlefield for the very soul of the IDF.

Over the past eight months, the trial has facilitated the demonization of the military establishment, with slanderous attacks on the Chief of Staff, the Defence Minister at the time, as well as the military justice system. Politicians jumped on the populist bandwagon, professing their support for the soldier, while shamelessly attacking the Chief of Staff and the military justice system, in the process undermining the very fabric of the IDF.

Yesterday, military justice rendered its verdict.

Elor Azaria was found guilty of manslaughter and will be sentenced in the weeks to come.

Elor Azaria, shot a prisoner in cold blood. The man he shot was no innocent. He was a terrorist who deserved to die and indeed had been shot five times in the course of his attack. But, in the course of the attack he did not die. Azaria turned up some time after the end of the incident. According to the court, Azaria turned up, was told what had happened and of his own volition, decided to shoot the wounded terrorist in the head. This was not in the heat of the moment and there was no threat from the man lying incapacitated on the ground.

Bottom line, the IDF does not shoot prisoners, does not shoot unarmed individuals, even if only minutes earlier, those same individuals had attempted to kill or wound your comrades in arms. The IDF’s ethics and purity of arms are a crucial part of its strength. There are clear orders and rules of engagement for soldiers to follow. Elor Azaria’s actions on that fateful day were in contravention of those rules, they were counter to the ethical and moral code of the IDF and according to the court they constituted a crime.

The panel of judges and the military establishment, led by the Chief of Staff, stood strong in the face of vituperative condemnation, threats and incitement.

Condemnation of the verdict was swift indeed. Accusations of collusion and corruption between the judges the Chief of Staff were made, threats and hateful incitement against those same judges and the Chief of staff, appeared on social media and indeed at demonstrations in support of Azaria. Police are now investigating incitement to violence and even murder on social media and at demonstrations.

Worse still, even before sentence has been passed, politicians lined up to call for amnesty for the newly convicted soldier. Although the military justice system saw fit to convict Azaria of manslaughter, an extremely serious charge, members of the Knesset, Ministers and even the Prime Minister are already calling for amnesty. Surely the Prime Minister and indeed all ministers should be supporting their Chief of Staff and the legal process?

Such calls are a slap in the face to the IDF. They provide succour to those same hateful individuals and organisations who seek to promote their own agenda at the expense of the IDF and sadly alos at the expense of Elor Azaria himself. They lend credence to claims of impropriety on the part of the IDF and the vilification of the Chief of Staff and the panel of judges.

They encourage further incitement and possibly worse. Either these same politicians have no respect for the IDF and legal process which delivered a guilty verdict, or more worrying still, don’t care and regardless of guilt or innocence are happy to sacrifice the IDF, its officers, its legal process, ethics and values for the sake of a few votes.

The trial of Elor Azaria was nothing less than a struggle for the values and even the very soul of the IDF.

In refusing to kowtow to populism and extremism, in insisting on dealing with the evidence and only the evidence, the IDF has sent a clear message that it is above politics and populism, that it will not be influenced by those with an agenda. It has stated clearly that no matter how difficult the circumstances, there are clear rules and regulations which soldiers must follow.

It has declared that combat, even, perhaps especially in the field of battle, soldiers are expected to live up to the highest standards of professionalism, ethics and the morality enshrined within the IDF.

Many so called, supporters of Elor Azaria have been quick to condemn the IDF and suggest that the trial and the verdict weaken the IDF. It does however the exact opposite. Yesterday’s verdict strengthens the IDF and its ability to function effectively. Commanders are in command in the IDF, not politicians, not Rabbis nor any other third party with an agenda.

The IDF is sure and confident in its ability to defend our nation, with clear rules of engagement, ethical standards and a moral code which must be adhered to. Thus the officers, young men and women of the IDF are clear as to what is, and what is not acceptable and what is expected of them.

They will continue to do an outstanding job in the performance of their duty of defending Israel, in the most difficult of circumstance and in the best traditions of the IDF.