Culture, Israel, Religion

Yitzhak Rabin – (March 1, 1922 – November 4, 1995)

Exactly 10 years ago today – November 4, 1995 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was murdered by Yigal Amir, after attending a rally promoting the Oslo process at Tel Aviv’s Kings of Israel Square (which is now the Yitzhak Rabin Square). Fatally wounded by three gun shots, he died of massive blood loss and a punctured lung on the operating table at the nearby Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.
Yigal Amir was born to a national-religious (Religious Zionist) Orthodox Jewish family in the Israeli town of Herzliya; his parents emigrated to Israel from Yemen. He attended Haredi elementary school and yeshiva for his formal education. He served in the Golani Brigade during service in the Israel Defense Force as part of a combined yeshiva-study and army-training program known as hesder. A law student at Bar-Ilan University, he was involved in organizing demonstrations against the Oslo Accords. Amir perceived the Oslo Accords as national treason, and a threat to the existence of the state of Israel, which led to his decision to assassinate Rabin.
Text adapted from Wikipedia.
See also Conspiracy buffs buoyed by Rabin assassination and A Decade After Rabin’s Killing, Israeli Democracy Is Thriving.

5 thoughts on “Yitzhak Rabin – (March 1, 1922 – November 4, 1995)

  1. I had an argument with an Israeli shortly after the murder of Rabin. He wanted to know what was wrong with “you Orthodox people”. I told him that it was HIS fault, that Israelis are too hot-blooded, and that an American such as myself would never do such a thing.
    He got the point.

  2. J – I would say it’s clearly unfair to conflate Kahanists with Orthodox people. Amir was not a proven member of Kach or Kahane Chai but he certainly rolled in Kahanist and extremist settler circles.

  3. Join Us For A Unique Event
    Meretz USA & The Wolfson Center for National Affairs of The New School
    Present
    A Special Program Commemorating
    The 10th Anniversary
    of the Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin
    Remembering Rabin: Whither Peace? Whither Israel?
    with moderator
    Leonard Lopate
    Host of WNYC’s The Leonard Lopate Show
    Panelists
    Judith Kipper / Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
    Ziad Asali / President and founder of the American Task Force on Palestine
    Samuel Norich / Executive Director, The Forward Association
    Wednesday, November 9, 2005 at 6 p.m.
    Theresa Lang Student and Community Center
    55 West 13th St. (2nd floor ), $8.
    Webcast at http://www.dialnsa.edu.
    On November 5, 1995, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a young Israeli fanatic bent on aborting the Oslo peace accords. A career soldier and war hero, Rabin had come to believe that peace between Israelis and Palestinians based on a repartition of the land was possible and essential. Many believe his murder was the critical event in the eventual derailing of the peace process.
    On the tenth anniversary of this tragedy, much has changed on both sides. The relative trust and optimism of the Oslo period have evaporated. The present government of Israel has withdrawn unilaterally from Gaza and a few settlements in the West Bank, but there is deep concern among many that the Gaza disengagement was designed not to enhance, but rather, to forestall movement toward a permanent resolution of the conflict. What is the legacy of Yitzhak Rabin in today’s Israel? What are the prospects for real peace?
    Following in Rabin’s footsteps, can we think outside the box on this ongoing conflict?
    Tickets
    Tickets are sold at the Box Office at 66 West 12th St.
    Regular Box Office hours are Monday-Thursday, 1-8 p.m., and Friday, 1-7 p.m.
    Tickets by phone with a credit card (212) 229-5488;
    in person at Box Office, 66 West 12th St. (between Fifth & Sixth Avenues), main floor;
    by fax to (212) 352-0213;
    or by e-mail at [email protected]

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