Friday, January 6, 2017

The Azaria case and the rule of law in Israel

Have you been following the case of IDF Sgt. Elor Azaria? A 3-judge court-martial convicted him of manslaughter for shooting to death a wounded Palestinian assailant. The case has become tremendously politicized. The judges have been threatened, requiring police protection. Every politician in sight seems to have felt impelled to comment.

Israel Hayom has published this lengthy comment by non-lawyer Dror Eydar. He seems to believe the case involves a literary narrative rather than a criminal prosecution, the evaluation of evidence, and culminating in a lengthy reasoned decision. See what you think. Excerpt:
"Even if the deed was serious in terms of discipline, and inappropriate from an operational standpoint -- this should've been dealt with in a disciplinary hearing, rather than burdening the young soldier with enormous issues, like the purity of arms, the Bus 300 affair (in which Shin Bet security agency members executed two Palestinian bus hijackers), the Left and the Right, or the meaning [o]f serving in Hebron, among other things."
Nonjudicial punishment for shooting a wounded prisoner?

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comments are subject to moderation and must be submitted under your real name. Anonymous comments will not be posted (even though the form seems to permit them).