(because deep in our hearts we all know that killing a Jew is way worse than killing an Arab)

This is a very good development. These kinds of mistakes -- and ones not as bad but that result in this -- have been swept under the rug for decades in Duvdevan. For instance, many soldiers kicked out of the unit ended up in Egoz after leaving their pistols unattended and other similar infractions. These kinds of soldiers are a danger to other soldiers and lower the quality of the IDF. That this soldier was a New Immigrant only casts further aspersions on the fact that New Olim make such mistakes because they "do not know Hebrew well enough", a likely defense here. Fact is that the IDF does have to take some responsibility for this because TO BE CHEAP the IDF got ride of the Sig P228 that as a "safety mechanism" and an external hammer, which is also a safety mechanism. The Glock 19 was selected by the IDF because it is much cheaper than the Sig. Cheap = Bad. But don't tell that to the IDF because they would rather spend billions on the IAF and the Navy than the millions of $$ required for a well-equipped infantry. Instead they max out on spending to send a missile up a donkey's you know what. Duh!

and he would not allow charges to be filed against the shooter. The question to ask is, would the victim want his best friend to be charged when the shooter did not know there was a bullet in the weapon? Long ago, a child fired a weapon at General Ariel Sharon's oldest son Gur and killed him. Should that child have been charged for killing his dear friend or was a lifetime of sorrow for what happened sufficient punishment? The child was not charged.