2.
Should he be pardoned? Education Minister Naftali Bennet was most vocal yesterday, in demanding that Azaria be pardoned. Prime Minister Netanyahu was quick to follow suit, with a similar suggestion, yet a meeker language.
There are good reasons to pardon Azaria: He is a soldier; he did what he did soon after an attack on his friends; he was convicted by his commanders and by the media long before the court reviewed the case, much less reached a conclusion. Azaria was the wrong person, at the wrong time, in the wrong place. But we are the ones who sent him there.
He deserves no medal. Then again, making him an exemplary case of evil conduct is an overstretch. The person he killed was no saint, no innocent bystander.
4.
The politicians who have loudly voiced their support of Azaria are, like all politicians, quick to discern which direction the wind blows, and to respond to the sentiments of their voters. They care deeply about their approval rating, but only little for Azaria. Nor are they concerned with the ugly face of the pro-Azaria movement, and the harsh language his supporters used against the court and against IDF commanders.
Jailing Azaria for some time will teach these politicians, and the public, that the legal system does not subordinate itself to the public mood. In my opinion only then, he may be pardoned.
5.
One way to end the Azaria affair would be to take a two-pronged approach to what needs to be done now:
Act one – find, arrest, and severely punish some Israelis that blatantly incited against IDF commanders and the court (one such Israeli was
Act two – only when the first act is visibly completed, and is publicly supported by Israel’s main political leaders, including the Prime Minister and the Minister of Education, consider Azaria’s pardon.
