President Isaac Herzog announced Saturday evening that he had decided to shorten the remaining erasure period on Elor Azaria’s criminal record, effectively clearing it despite the opposition of IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.
Defense Minister Israel Katz had recommended approving Azaria’s request, while Zamir and the IDF opposed it. In an opinion submitted in July, the military said Azaria had not demonstrated sufficient remorse or taken responsibility for his actions and argued that there were no new exceptional circumstances warranting a change from previous decisions. Katz, by contrast, argued that after nearly a decade and the completion of Azaria’s sentence, he should be allowed to rebuild his life.
Elor Azaria
(Photo: Yair Sagi)
The President’s Residence issued the following statement:
“On the eve of Yom Kippur, President Isaac Herzog decided to grant Elor Azaria’s request, shorten the remaining period of his criminal record and allow him to move forward with his life. After many years in which Azaria bore the consequences of his actions, the president believes that the totality of the circumstances, the passage of time and the remorse he expressed justify allowing him to open a new chapter in his life. The decision was also made in the spirit of these days and out of a belief in the importance of rehabilitation, reconciliation and the ability to move forward.”
Herzog signed the decision Saturday night, September 19, after reviewing the circumstances of the case and the considerations presented in Azaria’s request.
According to the President’s Residence, Herzog gave weight to the significant period that has passed since the case, the fact that Azaria served the sentence imposed on him, the expiration of the statutory limitation period relating to his offenses, changes in his personal and family circumstances and his desire to remove employment barriers that he says the criminal record continues to create.
Azaria told Herzog in his request that he respects the IDF’s values and holds them dear, and that as the father of two young children he now seeks to raise them according to those values. He also expressed regret over the serious consequences of the affair.
The President’s Residence noted that in an earlier appeal to then-president Reuven Rivlin, Azaria said that, when examining the incident in hindsight, the shooting had been an operational mistake and that he would not have carried it out knowing what he later came to know.
Herzog also considered what his office described as complex medical circumstances faced by Azaria’s family over the years and the changes in Azaria’s life since the incident.
Azaria, then an IDF soldier, was convicted of manslaughter after fatally shooting Abdel Fattah al-Sharif in Hebron in March 2016. Al-Sharif had taken part in a stabbing attack on an Israeli soldier and was wounded and lying incapacitated on the ground when Azaria shot him several minutes later. A military court sentenced Azaria to 18 months in prison. Then-IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot later reduced the sentence to 14 months, and Azaria was ultimately released in May 2018 after serving nine months.
Herzog stressed that his decision does not overturn or undermine the judicial proceedings in the case and does not constitute a reexamination of Azaria’s conviction.
The president said he views the military justice system as essential to maintaining the rule of law, the IDF’s values and principles, and particularly the principle of purity of arms.
The President’s Residence also emphasized that presidential clemency is an act of mercy and is not an appellate process. Israel’s presidential clemency authority includes the power to shorten the period before a criminal record is erased.
Azaria likewise stated in his request that he did not intend to reopen the underlying case.
Taking those considerations into account, as well as the positions presented by relevant officials past and present, Herzog accepted Katz’s recommendation and ordered the immediate shortening of the remaining criminal-record period.