Famed journalist and Holocaust survivor Noah Klieger came out in support of Education Minister Naftali Bennett's (Jewish Home) call for Sgt. Elor Azaria to be pardoned if he is convicted for shooting a wounded terrorist at the scene of a stabbing attack in March.
Azaria is standing trial for manslaughter after shooting a terrorist who had previously stabbed a fellow soldier in Hevron.
Writing in Yediot Ahronot on Monday, Klieger says that Azaria "is not a criminal" had that he legitimately thought that the terrorist was still a threat.
"Why shouldn't a soldier who feels (that the terrorist represents) a danger shoot the terrorist who came to kill Jews?" Klieger asks. "Why put soldiers in greater danger for the sake of these fanatics?"
Klieger brings up yesterday's deadly terrorist attack in Jerusalem. "Did yesterday's attack, in which Sgt. Yossi Kirma and Levana Malichi were murdered, not sufficiently prove the intentions of the fanatics?"
Klieger also says that the toxic atmosphere surrounding the case and the involvement of politicians from the beginning has prevented the trial from being fair and neutral. "Azaria is already convicted on Faebook and painted as a murderer who only wants to kill Arabs. It is difficult to be objective after seeing the statements (against him.)"