Gil and Aviva Sissai, residents of Gan Yavneh near Ashdod, recently welcomed a baby boy into the family – and named him after Sergeant Elor Azariya, the soldier now on trial for manslaughter after he shot a wounded Arab terrorist at the scene of a stabbing attack in Hevron.
“Already during the pregnancy I thought about how I wanted to name my son Elor,” the new father told Yediot Ahronot.
“During this whole period I thought about what Elor [Azariya] must be going through, and about his family and all of the suffering they’ve been put through,” said Gil Sissai. “The boy went out to defend the country, and they destroy his family and his life.”
The reactions to the choice, Sissai said, were positive.
“Everyone loves the name. The synagogue was packed with people [during the circumcision] and everyone shook my hand.”
Sissai also offered words of encouragement for Azariya as his trial continues.
“After his trial is over and he freed and cleared of the charges, I invite him to come over to our house to visit little Elor. To me, he is a hero and I admire him.”