He Shot a Terrorist. Israel Put Him in Prison. Now He’s Been Pardoned.

That is not morality.

It is a dangerous moral inversion.

So on Purim morning, March twenty-fourth, two thousand and sixteen, two jihadi Arab terrorists attacked IDF soldiers with knives in Hebron.

One terrorist was killed.

The other, Abdelfattah al-Sharif, lay wounded on the ground.

Sergeant Elor Azaria, then a nineteen-year-old combat medic, arrived as soldiers warned that the jihadi terrorist on the ground might be carrying an explosive device.

Azaria saw movement bo- from his body, and he fired to kill him.

An anti-Israel activist from the organization B'Tselem filmed the incident.

Within hours, that video had become an international spectacle.

Before a proper investigation could establish the facts of the incident, Israel's political, military, legal, and media establishments had already abandoned Elor Azaria, the soldier, because of headlines around the world bashing him immediately after the event.

I made a video defending Azaria and calling out the immoral legal system and code of ethics that was already crucifying him, a soldier making a split-second decision to save lives.

Azaria was unfortunately convicted of manslaughter and imprisoned.

A soldier is trying to save lives.

People can debate whether he made the correct operational decision or not, but the message sent to every Israeli soldier was unmistakable.

Hesitate to shoot, and your friends may die.

Fire, and the legal system, senior command, and mainstream media may destroy your life.

President Herch- Herzog's September nineteenth pardon finally lifted the legal stain from Azaria.

But if the pardon merely closes one painful personal file to let him get on with his life, nothing fundamental has changed.

It must become a national turning point.

That is not morality.

It is a dangerous moral inversion.

So on Purim morning, March twenty-fourth, two thousand and sixteen, two jihadi Arab terrorists attacked IDF soldiers with knives in Hebron.

One terrorist was killed.

The other, Abdelfattah al-Sharif, lay wounded on the ground.

Sergeant Elor Azaria, then a nineteen-year-old combat medic, arrived as soldiers warned that the jihadi terrorist on the ground might be carrying an explosive device.

Azaria saw movement bo- from his body, and he fired to kill him.

An anti-Israel activist from the organization B'Tselem filmed the incident.

Within hours, that video had become an international spectacle.

Before a proper investigation could establish the facts of the incident, Israel's political, military, legal, and media establishments had already abandoned Elor Azaria, the soldier, because of headlines around the world bashing him immediately after the event.

I made a video defending Azaria and calling out the immoral legal system and code of ethics that was already crucifying him, a soldier making a split-second decision to save lives.

Azaria was unfortunately convicted of manslaughter and imprisoned.

A soldier is trying to save lives.

People can debate whether he made the correct operational decision or not, but the message sent to every Israeli soldier was unmistakable.

Hesitate to shoot, and your friends may die.

Fire, and the legal system, senior command, and mainstream media may destroy your life.

President Herch- Herzog's September nineteenth pardon finally lifted the legal stain from Azaria.

But if the pardon merely closes one painful personal file to let him get on with his life, nothing fundamental has changed.

It must become a national turning point.