MembersThe IDF’s Battle over Ethics

Uri Milstein is one of Israel’s leading military historians. After decades of research, he is producing a multi-volume work on the 1948 War of Independence.

By Tsvi Sadan |
SHOW TRIAL: Elor Azaria takes the heat for shooting a wounded terrorist, but was he already convicted before his day in court? Photo: Flash90

While most of his writings are only available in Hebrew, one book has been published in English: The Birth of a Palestinian Nation: The Myth of the Deir Yassin Massacre. Milstein’s no-nonsense approach has earned him the reputation of a myth-buster.

 

Israel Today spoke to Milstein about the controversial case of Sgt. Elor Azaria, who shot dead a wounded terrorist in Hebron last February. This affair is dividing Israelis along political lines, the Right-wing supporting the young soldier’s action and the Left condemning it.

 

Israel Today: Assuming this is what actually took place in Elor Azaria’s case, is ‘dead checking’ [i.e., verifying death] against the code of conduct of the Israel Defense Forces [IDF]?

Milstein: There is nothing unusual about what Elor did and many of the top brass now demanding to...

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