Amnon Abramovich
Photo: Channel 2
Azaria supporters to war hero: 'Traitor!', 'Enemy of Israel'
The respected journalist Amnon Abramovich was outside the Azaria trial in Jaffa when he required police intervention to extricate him from the threatening crowd; they apparently weren't aware that he received one of the IDF's highest decorations for his heroism in the Yom Kippur War.
Amnon Abramovich, the veteran journalist from Channel 2 News, went to the military court in Jaffa to cover the Elor Azaria trial on Monday and was verbally harassed by those present.
According to an eyewitness, one of the protestors outside the courthouse yelled at the journalist, "What did you do in the army? Enemy of Israel!"
When he was exiting the scene, a crowd of several dozen gathered around him and the Channel 2 news crew. They yelled at Abramovich, "Traitor!" and "Enemy of Israel!" According to the eyewitness, the police had to intervene to safely escort the journalist to his car.
The 66-year-old Abramovich served in the 600th Armored Brigade in the Yom Kippur War. He was awarded the Chief of Staff Citation ("Tzalash Ramatkal") for his service then, when, as a tank driver, he was seriously wounded, but continued to operate the tank.
Abramovich refused to speak about the incident beyond saying, "I want to thank our excellent boys in the Jaffa police."