ELOR AZARIA'S CRIME SHOULD NOT DEFINE THE ARMED FORCES OF ISRAEL! THE END.

Could it be that, what made Azaria into "a hero" for his family and supporters, is probably the commonly held belief that the homi-suicidal Palestinians who went around attacking and sometimes killing Israelis, in their desperate and futile token political gestures, all deserved to die? Undoubtedly, this is likely to be part of the rationalisation for those who would 'heroise' Sgt. Elor Azaria. 

But, how can executing a prone and badly injured 'enemy combatant', away from the heat of the battlefield makes one into 'a hero'? It cannot; unless one wishes to pervert both the facts of the situation and the definition of the meaning of the term, 'hero.'

Sgt. Elor Azaria has, it seems to me, presented the State of Israel with her version of the 'America's racist cop moment.' Israel had to decide whether Sgt. Elor Azaria had broken Israel's military and civil laws, and then, if so, what punishment, if any, should be meted out to him. Sgt. Azaria has now been found guilty, as would have been expected by any reasonable person. 

The second challenge for the State of Israel, now, is that of whether a 'just punishment' should be meted out to this man, or whether, a bit like Lieutenant Calley, he should be shown exceptional leniency, and be pardoned or given a token sentence, or both? Lieutenant Calley's atrocity in the Vietnam War was undoubtedly on a much greater scale than Sgt. Azaria's. 

Yet, the implications are somewhat similar; namely that of whether a state and/or any of its fundamental institutions simply collude with the crimes of any of their functionaries, in the misguided belief that it is necessary to do so, in order to maintain or prevent 'national unity.?

An army, in the age of enlightenment, can be guided by the principle of 'winning by whatever means necessary', or it can be guided by principles such as conducting itself honourably, lawfully and with with a high degree of morality. There was nothing moral, legal or honourable about Sgt. Elor Azaria's action. 

Notably, he was the only soldier who decided to behave as he did. He is atypical and not typical of the Israeli Army, and therefore is not a good representation of it. His action has tainted the Army and the democratic values which Israel professes to adhere to. 

When you have to change your values and methods of fighting your actual or perceived enemies, you also become less of what you were, previously, and more of the product of the new values, principles and methods you have resorted to using.

Azaria is a poor role model for Israel's Army, and it is only right that both the Army and Israeli society, in general, should disown him. He should be given a 'just and proportionate sentence', and not just a 'token' sentence, which could lead to others following him.

A 'hero' is a person who inspires pride and admiration. The State of Israel cannot morally or legally take any pride in Sgt. Elor Azaria's undisciplined and unjustified action. He has dishonoured the Army, unless the IDF no longer sees or feels that it can continue to performs its duties and obligations honourably, in which case it could be seen as metamorphosing into becoming like the Palestinian 'enemies' it is fighting.

Let the family and supporters of Elor Azaria come to their senses and ask for forgiveness, instead of perverted 'heroising' this man, who, by his action, has debased himself even more that the man, whose life he has taken.