For Purim, Israeli Kids Are Dressing As Soldier Who Killed Helpless Palestinian
Image by Haaretz
By Naomi Zeveloff March 4, 2017
Elor Azaria, the Israeli soldier convicted of manslaughter for killing a prone Palestinian assailant, is now a Purim costume for Israeli kids.
Azaria is seen as a hero by many in Israel who was unfairly maligned by the media and courts after he shot and killed Palestinian Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, who no longer posed a threat, according to the court decision.
Azaria was sentenced to 18 months in prison, which he is now appealing.
A campaign to support Azaria is hosting a Purim costume competition for the best outfit in Azaria’s likeness. Prizes include an overnight stay in a bed and breakfast, amusement park tickets and a guitar, Haaretz reported, citing Israel’s Channel 2.
“Elor Azaria is a soldier who was sent to defend us, and I am proud to see children dressing up as him,” said Ran Karmi Buzaglo, the head of the campaign, in a statement to Channel 2.
The Channel 2 report featured Israeli Luna Dayan, whose grandson is dressing as Azaria for Purim. She said Azaria shouldn’t have shot al Sharif, but that he was a hero anyway for “taking the initiative” at the scene.
Contact Naomi Zeveloff at [email protected]
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
2X match on all Passover gifts!
Dive In
-
Fast Forward The NCAA men’s Final Four has 3 Jewish coaches
-
Fast Forward Yarden Bibas says ‘I am here because of Trump’ and pleads with him to stop the Gaza war
-
Fast Forward Trump’s plan to enlist Elon Musk began at Lubavitcher Rebbe’s grave
-
Fast Forward Katrina Armstrong steps down as Columbia president after White House pressure over antisemitism
Most Popular
- 1
Film & TV What Gal Gadot has said about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- 2
News A Jewish Republican and Muslim Democrat are suddenly in a tight race for a special seat in Congress
- 3
Culture How two Jewish names — Kohen and Mira — are dividing red and blue states
- 4
Fast Forward What Mahmoud Khalil says about Gaza and Israel in ‘The Encampments’ documentary
In Case You Missed It
-
Books The White House Seder started in a Pennsylvania basement. Its legacy lives on.
-
Fast Forward The NCAA men’s Final Four has 3 Jewish coaches
-
Fast Forward Yarden Bibas says ‘I am here because of Trump’ and pleads with him to stop the Gaza war
-
Fast Forward Trump’s plan to enlist Elon Musk began at Lubavitcher Rebbe’s grave
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.