GUEST BLOG: Lois Griffiths – More to the Azaria Story
Superficially much media coverage is being given to Israeli soldier Elor Azaria’s being found guilty of manslaughter, after shooting a 21-year old Palestinian who posed no threat.
Israel wants the outside world to see the whole affair as an aberration, Azaria being a lone bad apple. We are told that the IDF don’t accept such behaviour.
How do we know about this incident? Where did it take place? Were his colleagues shocked by his behaviour, did they arrest him and report the incident ?
The incident happened in the West Bank town of Hebron, notorious for the violence of the ultra-religious settlers and of the IDF soldiers posted there.
We know what happened, the world knows what happened, only because it was secretly videoed by a local, a Palestinian shoemaker and then released by an Israeli human rights group B’Tselem.
So what actually happened? Yusef Al-Sharif, was lying, bleeding on the ground , prone, surrounded by IDF who took no interest in him. Azaria, a medic , calmly walked over to Al-Sharif and shot him in the head. None of the other soldiers or settler spectators showed the slightest concern.
In fact, the video shows Azaria shaking hands with a settler.
What made this incident different is that it was captured on video camera. B’Tselem has given cameras to Palestinians with the idea that when IDF soldiers shoot bullets, the Palestinians can expose what is going on by shooting film .
Azaria’s photo has been printed , surrounded by adoring fans, who feel he is being ‘hung out to dry’ to improve Israel’s international image. As the video shows, what Elor Azaria did was normal, routine, part of what Israeli Lecturer Neve Gordon calls “Israel’s Colonial Project.” Most Israelis do not care if another Palestinian is killed. Many Israelis including Netanyahu think he Azaria should be pardoned.
As for the shoemaker , Emad Abu Shamsiya, he is a marked man, receiving death threats, afraid to walk the streets of central Hebron where he lives.
Western mainstream media never mention him, let alone show us his photo. Why?
What Shamsiya did , with a camera, was very dangerous. Israel does not like the reality of the occupation being exposed.
No doubt you supported the Palestinian terrorist who drove his truck killing and injuring a number of Israelis recently.
Your one sided view of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict is rather tiresome and continues to show your hatred of the Jewish population.
No doubt, Michael, you support war crimes? If a ISIS terrorist had shot an Israeli soldier in such a cold blooded manner, you’d be pretty pissed off.
If anyone is one-sided, it is clearly you.
@ Michael -That Truck “attack” was a complete FRAUD and has been exposed as such .
You can analyse the footage and see for yourself .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDM0mps4xxE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd59e6PhO5g&t=79s
Lying criminal scumbags. They know that the public believe everything they see on “the news”. This sort bullshit is passed off all the time as “real”.
The reason they never show the truth in the western media is simple:
http://www.realjewnews.com/?p=493
No doubt you are from the tin foil hat brigade and belive everything you see on YouTube.
Just another anti-Jewish smear campaign.
The PLO have already offered annual payment to the family of the Palestinian that drove the truck and for killing four Israeli solders.
So, Michael, you’re willing to dismiss a murder as “Just another anti-Jewish smear campaign”?
Really?
Do you apply the same standards to other murderers? What about Nazis who shot unarmed Jews in the head? Is that just “Just another anti-German smear campaign”?
I’ve no idea if you really believe the words you’re spouting (in which case I question your own moral compass), or if you’re some kind of troll having fun at the expense of this tragedy. Either way, you do yourself no favours.
So the killing of an injured, unarmed man is justified in your mind, Michael??
If that’s your morality then I hope you aren’t allowed anywhere near firearms.
Michael..anti-Jewish is a nasty smear..I’m surprised the monitor allows it.
Note that the article points out the important role played by the Israeli human rights group B’tselem..an ISRAELI group..ISRAELI JEWS ..got that?
The ultimate smear, the ultimate anti-semitism smear.. is to say that all Jews support Zionism
[Kia ora Lois. I allowed Michael’s comment to be published because it shows more of his own (lack of) standards of acceptable behaviour than if I had binned it. I have binned other comments from Michael and he is no longer welcome to submit comments to this Forum. – ScarletMod]
Yet another example of how ‘Nekba’ is an ongoing catastrophe for the Palestinians. We must not look away. Thank you for posting this. What a great organisation B’Tselem is!