The Israel Defense Forces is the most moral military in the world -- that's our consistent answer to all the collective blood libelers, at home and abroad, who try to drum up delegitimization of Israel, the IDF, and Israel's right to defend itself. It's no lie. It's a fact. But it obligates us. It obligates the IDF to operate according to its own high moral standards -- the principles of purity of arms and ethical warfare. The morality of the IDF is not scrutinized based on one aberrant incident or another, but according to what it does generally. But it is also examined in terms of those unusual cases. How does the IDF clarify that the incident was an outlier? How does it ensure that an atypical incident won't repeat itself? How does it treat a soldier who stepped out of bounds? Intentionally shooting an immobilized terrorist in the head more than 10 minutes after he ceased to present a threat is an act that goes against the values of the IDF and its moral character, and fundamentally contradicts IDF orders. An act like that is more fitting to the kind of army that people like Breaking the Silence, who are working to damage us, are trying to portray with their lies. When an incident like that occurs, the political leadership and the top military command have an obligation to make it unequivocally clear that it is utterly unacceptable and has no place in the IDF. Along with the declaration, action must be taken, namely an investigation by the Military Police Investigative Unit. That is what happened in the case of Sgt. Elor Azaria. The prime minister, the defense minister, and IDF chief of staff made themselves clear. It is a real shame that two days later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu changed his tune. The soldier was investigated, and was indicted based on the results. Thus far, this incident, which could have happened in any army anywhere, was handled appropriately. But then the public campaign began, and it is infinitely worse: This campaign is trying to term an unacceptable act that goes against the path of the IDF as one that is normative and appropriate. Doing so would completely change the image of the IDF. The campaign is making a soldier who acted wrongly into a hero. An army whose hero is someone who shoots a prisoner in the head is an army that is destined to be defeated. The campaign also portrays Azaria, an IDF combat soldier, as a "kid" who was not responsible for his actions. A combat soldier is a man, not a boy. The IDF does not abduct children. This is a campaign to undermine the defense minister, the chief of staff and IDF commanders, and therefore against the IDF. The prime minister's silence in the face of the incitement is a cause for concern. The campaign is an attempt to apply inordinate pressure on the judges in the Azaria case. From the standpoint of both moral values and operational codes, Azaria did something very wrong. But the public campaign is many times worse, and demands that Israeli society take a look at itself. Our moral upper hand doubles Israel's strength in a hostile, difficult environment. We must not relinquish it.
