Tel Aviv – IDF Parole Board ordered on Monday that Hebron shooter Elor Azaria get an early release on May 10 after serving nine months of a 14-month sentence.
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In November, President Reuven Rivlin rejected Azaria’s request to commute his 14-month jail sentence for manslaughter altogether, making the current early release a limited success for Azaria.
Azaria entered jail on August 9, after being convicted of manslaughter for shooting Palestinian attacker Abdel Fatah al-Sharif on March 24, 2016.
Videos of the incident, which went viral and brought widespread international condemnation, show Azaria shooting the incapacitated terrorist while he was lying on the ground – although Azaria claimed his shots were in self-defense, and he feared a possible knife attack or concealed explosive vest.
“The president has reviewed the offenses committed by you and their circumstances, the content of your written application, and all the material and opinions brought before him, and has decided to reject the application,” said a letter from Rivlin’s legal adviser at the time he rejected fully commuting the sentence.
“The president learned that in passing sentence, the military court took into account the circumstances you raised… in this pardon request for considerations of leniency, and noted it took them into account in passing a lighter sentence,” the letter continued.
“In addition, in September 2017, the chief of staff saw fit to further ease your sentence and reduce the punishment by four months from the prison sentence… for reasons of compassion and while taking into consideration your military service as a soldier.”
Ultimately, the letter said, Rivlin thought “an additional lightening of your sentence would harm the resilience of the IDF and the State of Israel. The IDF’s values, including the Purity of Arms, are the core foundation of the strength of the IDF,” and have helped Israel “in the just struggle for our right to a safe, national home, and in building a robust society.”
The letter added, “In his decision, the president took into account the fact that you are expected to face a committee in approximately three months, to consider your release.”
While Rivlin was criticized for that decision, the early release by the IDF parole board is likely to be received positively by much of the country’s political class.
He is certainly unfit to be a soldier.
This man is a hero and unlike #1 and yamsar believe in lining up in orderly lines to go into Auschwitz, Jews will only be able to defend themselves when Arab TERRORIST lives are less important than innocent Jews.
He is not a hero and unlike #2 there is a rule of law and it must be followed. Israel is a democracy and the decision of its courts must be respected. President Rivlin was correct to avoid the trap of falling for the politicaly easy thing to do.