Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin
Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin | |
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aggravated injury | |
Sentence | Life imprisonment, plus 14 years |
The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the fifth
Background
The assassination of
Before the rally, Rabin was disparaged personally by right-wing conservatives and Likud leaders who perceived the peace process as an attempt to forfeit the occupied territories and a capitulation to Israel's enemies.[2][3]
National religious conservatives and Likud party leaders believed that withdrawing from any "Jewish" land was
Rallies organized by Likud and other right-wing groups featured depictions of Rabin in a Nazi
Rabin dismissed such protests or labeled them chutzpah.[2] According to Gillon, Rabin refused his requests to wear a bulletproof vest and preferred not to use the armored car purchased for him.[14] Left-wing supporters organized pro-peace rallies in support of the Oslo Accords. It was after one such gathering in Tel Aviv that the assassination took place.[3]
Yigal Amir and din rodef
The perpetrator was Yigal Amir, a 25-year-old former Hesder student and far-right law student at Bar-Ilan University. Amir had strenuously opposed Rabin's peace initiative, particularly the signing of the Oslo Accords, because he felt that an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank would deny Jews their "biblical heritage which they had reclaimed by establishing settlements". Amir had come to believe that Rabin was a rodef, meaning a "pursuer" who endangered Jewish lives. The concept of din rodef ("law of the pursuer") is a part of traditional Jewish law. Amir believed he would be justified under din rodef in removing Rabin as a threat to Jews in the territories.[15]
In the
For his radical activities, Yigal Amir had been brought under attention by the Israeli internal security service (
Preceding rally
In response to the intense street protests by right-wing opponents of the Oslo peace process, a coalition of left-wing parties and peace groups organized a rally in support of the peace process in Tel Aviv's Kings Square on 4 November 1995. Rabin attended the rally, along with others such as Minister of Foreign Affairs Shimon Peres. The rally attracted a crowd in excess of 100,000 people. In his remarks at the rally, Rabin declared, "I always believed that most of the people want peace and are ready to take a risk for it".[21][22][23][24]
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Rabin delivering his speech at the rally
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A portion of the crowd assembled at the rally
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Minister of Foreign Affairs Shimon Peres (far left) and Prime Minister Rabin (far right) during the rally
Assassination
After the rally, Rabin walked down the city hall steps towards his car. As he entered the car, Amir approached the car from the rear and fired two shots at Rabin with a
Yoram Rubin attempted to get Rabin in the car but Rabin's body was "limp and heavy".[29] Another of Rabin's bodyguards, Shai Glaser, helped put Rabin in the backseat of the car. The driver, Menachem Damati, was ordered to proceed to Ichilov Hospital at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, a short drive away. Damati became disoriented by the hysteria of the shooting and the crowds that lined the streets, and as a result lost his bearing. Rabin, who was bleeding heavily, was initially conscious and said that he thought he'd been hurt but not too badly before passing out.[30] Damati drove frantically trying to find the hospital, running red lights and swerving to avoid pedestrians. When he spotted a police officer, Pinchas Terem, he ordered him to get in the vehicle and direct him to the hospital. Two minutes later at 9:52 PM, some ten minutes after the shooting, the car arrived at Ichilov Hospital.[30]
At this time, Rabin was not breathing and had no pulse. Doctors performed an initial examination, attached Rabin to an IV, and drained the air that had seeped into his right chest cavity with a tube inserted into his ribcage. After the air was drained from Rabin's chest, his pulse reappeared.[30] He then underwent surgery. Meanwhile, cabinet ministers, military officers, security officials, and family members of Rabin arrived at the hospital, as did Rabin's Chief of Staff Eitan Haber. After Israeli media reported the shooting, a crowd of spectators and journalists began to gather in front of the hospital. At one point, the doctors managed to briefly stabilize his vital signs, and after being informed, Haber told a high-ranking Defense Ministry official to begin preparations for setting up a makeshift office at the hospital with telephones and fax lines to enable Rabin to continue his work as Prime Minister while recuperating. However, Rabin's condition rapidly deteriorated again. After his heart stopped, a surgeon carried out a cardiac massage in a last-ditch attempt to save him. At 11:02 PM, one hour and thirty-two minutes after the shooting, doctors gave up their efforts to revive Rabin and pronounced him dead.[31]
At 11:15 PM, Eitan Haber walked out of the hospital to face the television cameras outside and announced Rabin's death to the media:
The government of Israel announces in consternation, in great sadness, and in deep sorrow, the death of prime minister and minister of defense Yitzhak Rabin, who was murdered by an assassin, tonight in Tel Aviv. The government shall convene in one hour for a mourning session in Tel Aviv. Blessed be his memory.[32]
In Rabin's pocket was a blood-stained sheet of paper with the lyrics to the well-known Israeli song "Shir LaShalom" ("Song for Peace"), which was sung at the rally and dwells on the impossibility of bringing a dead person back to life and, therefore, the need for peace.[33][34][35]
Shortly after Rabin's death, an emergency meeting of the Israeli cabinet was held during which Shimon Peres, then serving as Foreign Minister, was appointed acting Prime Minister.
About three hours after Rabin's death, Yehuda Hiss, the Israeli government's chief pathologist, arrived at Ichilov Hospital to conduct an autopsy together with two assistants, including a photographer.[27][28] The autopsy found that one bullet had entered Rabin's lower back, ruptured his spleen, and punctured his left lung, while the other pierced his back below the collarbone, smashed through his ribcage, and pierced his right lung. Hiss concluded that Rabin had died of massive blood loss and the collapse of both of his lungs, and that his chances of surviving the shooting had been extremely low. A subsequent brain scan found an embolism in one of Rabin's cerebral arteries, a large pocket of air which had entered his bloodstream in the lungs and traveled to the brain, restricting the flow of blood and oxygen. This blockage had hindered the resuscitation effort.[28]
Amir was interrogated by Chief Superintendent Motti Naftali. He made a full confession and after being told that Rabin had died, Amir expressed joy and asked to be brought schnapps to make a celebratory toast. Police officers and Shin Bet agents subsequently raided the Amir family home in Herzliya, where they arrested Amir's brother Hagai, whom he had implicated as an accomplice during his interrogation.[28]
Aftermath
Rabin's funeral
The funeral of Rabin took place on November 6,[36] two days after the assassination, at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem, where Rabin was later buried. Hundreds of world leaders, including about 80 heads of state, attended the funeral.[37] President of the United States Bill Clinton,[38] King Hussein of Jordan,[39] Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands,[40] Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin,[41] Spanish Prime Minister and European Council President-in-Office Felipe González,[42] Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien, acting Israeli Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres,[43] United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali,[44] Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak,[45] President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, and President of Israel Ezer Weizman[46] were among those present.
A national memorial day for Rabin is set on the date of his death according to the Hebrew calendar.[47]
Trial
Yigal Amir was tried for Rabin's murder,[48] while his brother Hagai Amir and Dror Adani, who were his accomplices in the murder, were tried for conspiracy to murder Rabin. Yigal Amir was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for Rabin's murder and an additional six years for injuring Yoram Rubin.[49] While in Israel it is customary for the President to reduce a life sentence to a set period, usually 20–30 years, with a possibility for further reduction for good behavior, Amir's sentence was not reduced.[50] In 2001, the Knesset later passed the Yigal Amir Law, which prohibits a parole board from recommending a pardon or reduction in a sentence for the assassin of a Prime Minister.[51] Adani was sentenced to seven years imprisonment, while Hagai Amir was sentenced to 12 years in prison, increased to 16 years upon appeal, and later received an additional year in prison for threatening to kill Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Adani was released in 2002 and Hagai Amir in 2012. Yigal Amir remains incarcerated.[52]
After the murder, it was revealed that Avishai Raviv, a well known right-wing extremist at the time, was in fact a Shin Bet agent-informer code-named Champagne. Raviv was later acquitted in court of charges that he failed to prevent the assassination. The court ruled there was no evidence that Raviv knew assassin Yigal Amir was plotting to kill Rabin.[53]
Social impact
Rabin's assassination shocked the Israeli public. Rallies and memorials took place near Kings of Israel Square—later renamed Rabin Square in his honor—as well as near Rabin's home, the Knesset building, and the home of the assassin. Many other streets and public buildings within Israel and internationally were named for Rabin as well.[54][55]
The assassination has been described as emblematic of a kulturkampf ("cultural struggle") between religious right-wing and secular left-wing forces within Israel.[5][4][56] Ilan Peleg of the Middle East Institute has described Rabin's assassination as "reflecting a deep cultural divide within Israel's body politic [...] intimately connected with the peace process"[57] which illustrates both increased polarization and political conflict in the country.[58]
On 28 March 1996, the Shamgar Commission issued its final report into the assassination. It was critical of Shin Bet for putting the Prime Minister at risk and ignoring threats to his life from Jewish extremists.[59]
Due to the ultimate failure of further progress on the Oslo Accords, there is a popular view that the assassination was highly successful, with some calling it the most successful political assassination in modern history due to it achieving the goals of its perpetrator.[60]
See also
References
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- ^ Pedahzur & Perliger (2009), p. 109.
- ^ Pedahzur & Perliger (2009), p. 107.
- ^ Ephron (2015), p. 135.
- ^ Ephron (2015), pp. 148–57.
- ^ "Rabin assassinated at peace rally - Nov. 4, 1995". CNN. 4 November 1995.
- ^ Brown, Derek; Black, Ian; Freedland, Jonathan (6 November 1995). "Israel's Yitzhak Rabin assassinated at peace rally - archive, 6 November 1995". the Guardian. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ Schmemann, Serge (5 November 1995). "ASSASSINATION IN ISRAEL: THE OVERVIEW;RABIN SLAIN AFTER PEACE RALLY IN TEL AVIV; ISRAELI GUNMAN HELD; SAYS HE ACTED ALONE". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ Kessel, Jerrold (11 February 1996). "Israeli elections will test support for peace - Feb. 11, 1996". CNN. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ Barak T: Ten years have passed, friend Archived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine. Tel Aviv Newspaper (in Hebrew)
- ^ Perry D: Israel and the Quest for Permanence, p. 216.
- ^ a b "570: The Night In Question". This American Life. December 14, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Ephron, Dan (October 31, 2015a). "'I did it! Now bring me schnapps!' How Rabin's assassin greeted news that Israel's champion of peace was dead". the Guardian.
- ISBN 978-0-393-24210-2.
- ^ a b c Ephron 2015, p. 176
- ^ Ephron 2015, p. 178
- ^ יצחק רבין – ביוגרפיה [Yitzhak Rabin – Biography]. Ministry of Culture and Sport (in Hebrew). 2010-12-29. Archived from the original on 2015-05-06. Retrieved 2015-05-06.
- ^ Schmemann, Serge (5 November 1995). "Assassination in Israel; Rabin Slain After Peace Rally in Tel Aviv; Israeli Gunman Held; Says He Acted Alone". The New York Times.
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- ^ "CNN – 'Soldier for peace' Rabin buried – Nov. 6, 1995". www.cnn.com.
- ^ ""World Leaders in Attendance at the Funeral of the Late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin." 6 November 1995. Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- ^ "Eulogy for the Late Prime Minister and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin by U.S. President Bill Clinton." 6 November 1995. Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- ^ "Eulogy for the Late Prime Minister and Defense Yitzhak Rabin by His Majesty King Hussein of Jordan." 6 November 1995. Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- ^ "http://vorige.nrc.nl/redactie/Web/Nieuws/19951106/01.html" NRC Handelsblad, 6 November 1995.
- ^ "Eulogy for the Late Prime Minister and Defense Yitzhak Rabin by Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin." 6 November 1995. Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- ^ "Eulogy for the Late Prime Minister and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin by Felipe Gonzalez, Prime Minister of Spain and Current EU President." 6 November 1995. Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- ^ "Eulogy for the Late Prime Minister and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin by Acting Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres." 6 November 1995. Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- ^ "Eulogy for the Late Prime Minister and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin by Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of the United Nations." 6 November 1995. Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- ^ "Eulogy for the Late Prime Minister and Defense Yitzhak Rabin by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak." 6 November 1995. Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- ^ Eulogy for the Late Prime Minister and Defense Yitzhak Rabin by President Ezer Weizman." 6 November 1995. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- ^ "חוקים לזכרו של יצחק רבין" (in Hebrew). Knesset. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
- ^ Schmemann, Serge (December 6, 1995). "Rabin's Killer Charged With Murder, 2 Others With Conspiracy". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
- ^ "Excerpts of Yigal Amir Sentencing Decision". mfa.gov.il. March 27, 1996.
Following are excerpts of the sentencing decision which was rendered today (Wednesday), 27.03.96, by a three-judge panel of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa District Court in the case of the State of Israel vs. Yigal Amir (the panel was composed of Presiding Judge Edmund A. Levy, Judge Saviyona Rotlevy, and Judge Oded Mudrich: ...
- Jerusalem Post. p. 3. Retrieved April 25, 2009.declared on Thursday that there was "no forgiveness, no absolution and no pardon" for Yigal Amir, the assassin of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. Katsav said Amir "has no right to clemency", adding that there was no reason to feel pity for him. Katsav said he would recommend to the next president not to allow the subject of a reduced sentence for Amir to come up for consideration.
President Moshe Katsav
- ^ Greenberg, Joel (20 December 2001). "New Law Bars Rabin's Killer From Pardon or Commutation". New York Times. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
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- ^ Moshe Reinfeld (1 April 2003). "Avishai Raviv acquitted of having failed to prevent Rabin assassination". Haaretz. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ^ "גרסה להדפסה: מדינה שלמה על שם רבין – וואלה! חדשות". walla.co.il. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
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- ^ Peleg (2012), p. 238.
- ^ Peleg (2012), p. 250.
- ^ Ephron (2015), pp. 229–30.
- ^ Attributed to multiple references:
- "BBC Radio 4 - The Most Successful Assassination in History". BBC. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- Prusher, Ilene (4 November 2015). "'Killing a King' Examines Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- Rabinovich, Itamar (2018). "The Rabin Assassination as a Turning Point in Israel's History". Israel Studies. 23 (3): 25–29. S2CID 150349442. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- Sheizaf, Noam (November 4, 2015). "OPINION: Rabin's assassination marked the end of the two-state solution". america.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- Nir, Ori (October 14, 2020). "Yitzhak Rabin Is Still Being Assassinated". Haaretz. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- Freedland, Jonathan (2020-10-31). "The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin: 'He never knew it was one of his people who shot him in the back'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
Further reading
- Karpin, Michael; Friedman, Ina (1998). Murder in the Name of God: The Plot to Kill Yitzhak Rabin. ISBN 0-8050-5749-8.
External links
- "Israel marks Rabin assassination", BBC, Nov 12, 2005
- "A sombre night in Rabin Square", BBC, Nov 12, 2005
- Could He Have Been Saved? An article by Ronen Bergman in Haaretz
- 10-minute video of Rabin's assassination hosted on Google Video
- Assassination part of the Kempler video on CNN (10 seconds)
- Koenraad Elst on Yitzhak Rabin's Assassination Archived 2008-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
- "The Night in Question". This American Life. Episode 570. Chicago. October 16, 2015. Public Radio Exchange. WBEZ. Retrieved October 17, 2015. Covers the assassination and its conspiracy theories, including an interview with Yigal Amir's brother and co-conspirator Hagai Amir and a new forensic examination of the shirt Rabin was wearing when he was shot.