Elor Azaria, a former IDF medic who was imprisoned after being convicted for manslaughter for shooting a Palestinian terrorist in Hebron who had already been subdued by IDF forces, is embarking on a new venture – Victoire Boutique, a bakery and café that will open in his home town of Ramle on Sunday, April 11.
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The name is a significant one for him: "This is my victory," he says.
Azaria, now 25, says, "It's where I was five years ago and where I am now. But no less than that, it's also the name of my uncle, my father's brother, Victor Azaria, who died of a heart attack last summer. Actually, I feel like it's a victory for both of us."
Some three years after Azaria was released from prison after having his sentence commuted for good behavior, Azaria talks to Israel Hayom about what his life has been like.
He admits that to a large extent, prison caused his life to come to a halt. "Time passes, but for me, it stopped, and I never really went on. Definitely not in my heart. I tried to move ahead with life itself. I wanted to go on, but a lot of doors were closed to me, both because of my criminal record and because I'm Elor Azaria."
Azaria discusses a book he is working on. Two years ago, he launched a crowdfunding campaign for the book, which he is calling "From Darkness to Light" (a Hebrew play on his first name), which he hopes will be published some time this year. Azaria says the book is intended to "prove that I'm innocent. I'll show that I was wronged. In a normal country, there would be people who should be put on trial for what they did to me. The book will include a lot of details that nobody knows."
Azaria makes it clear that he is at peace with what he did that day in Hebron. "If you put me back in that same situation, I'd do the same thing, because I did what I should have."
In the meantime, he has completed his course of study to become a patissier, and went on to an advanced bakery course. He launched the café and bakery as a joint venture with his older brother, Adir.
While the business gets on its feet, it will be selling baked treats from suppliers, whom Azaria says he "picked really carefully."
The selection will include bread, rolls, bourekas, croissants, cream cakes. "Soon, God willing, I'll start selling baked goods and desserts that I make – tarts and tartlettes, churros, and I'll have a section of sugar-free baked goods," he says.
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