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Nov. 2, 2007
Twelve years since Rabin shot
PM's murderer's wife gives birth to a child he might never see.
EDGAR ASHER ISRANET
On Nov. 4, 1995, then-Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was shot dead as he was getting into his car, following his participation at a political rally in Tel-Aviv that supported the Oslo Accord. His assassin was a religious, radical university student named Yigal Amir. The accord had been finalized in Oslo more than two years earlier and was intended to be a framework for future relations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The killing of Rabin sent shockwaves throughout all of Israeli society. Here was a prime minister who, even if you disagreed with him, was regarded by most Israelis as an honorable and dedicated politician, a man of principle and integrity, who had played a central role in Israel's recent history. As the Israeli army chief of staff, he had masterminded the capture of East Jerusalem in 1967, but, as prime minister, he expounded more dovish than hawkish views. In 1993, during his second term as prime minister, he formally recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization and its leader, Yasser Arafat.
The Oslo Accord was regarded by many at the time as being the catalyst that would allow the Israelis and Palestinians to forge ahead and create, after a five-year interim period, a lasting and productive peace between the two peoples. Equally, many regarded the accord as a sellout and a prize for the Arabs for constant aggression against Israel.
This week, 12 years after the event, the Israel police released for the first time videotapes from the interrogation of Amir, recorded shortly after his arrest. Amir, responding to questions from a police official, made it clear that his deed in killing Rabin was carefully thought out and that he had no regret whatsoever for his action. "Do you have regrets or remorse?" asked the investigating officer. "Absolutely not," replied Amir.
The former Bar Ilan University law student had for a long time been organizing protests against the signing of the Oslo Accord. Following a long trial, Amir was sentenced to life imprisonment, with no chance of parole. In effect, this means that Amir will remain in solitary confinement for the rest of his life. This aspect of "life" imprisonment was enshrined in a Knesset law passed after the assassination that stipulated that anybody who was found guilty of murdering a prime minister would remain in prison all his natural life and, furthermore, could not receive a pardon from the president.
There were and continue to be many anomalies over the conditions of Amir's incarceration. On one hand, Amir seems to be given privileges that a convicted murderer should never have. On the other hand, concerning the length of his sentence, he is being treated by a set of criteria that apply to him alone, and not to other murderers serving their sentence for their crime. Should the fact that Amir murdered a prime minister make the court proceedings and any subsequent punishment any different from a murderer who killed somebody who was not in the public eye? Has the heinousness of his crime created a Jewish standard of law that does not give any hope at all to Amir that one day he might, under certain circumstances of genuine repentance and remorse, become a free man? The condition of Amir's incarceration has made many people express great concern.
One has to make a comparison with another terrible crime committed in 1990. Ami Popper is a dishonorably discharged, former Israel Defence Forces soldier who killed seven Arabs waiting at a bus stop in Rishon Lezion. He was caught, charged and convicted of the crime and given a life sentence. In February 1999, on appeal, Popper's sentence was commuted from life imprisonment to 40 years, meaning that, in 2023, at the age of 54, Popper, with good behavior, will in all probability be released on parole.
Amir, despite being a convicted murderer in solitary confinement, managed to marry Larisa Trembovler in August 2004. Trembovler, a former divorcee with four children, met Amir in prison in her capacity as prison visitor. The marriage was arranged by a rabbinical court when Amir's father was given "power of attorney" to transfer a wedding ring to Trembovler. It appears that the marriage was according to the minimum requirements of Jewish law; however, the Interior Ministry would not register the marriage, a point that does not seem to worry Amir or Trembovler too much. The Justice Ministry also defined the marriage as "problematic." Amir also wanted to have permission for conjugal visits with Trembovler so that he might father a child. This was granted at the end of last year and, resulted, last week, in the recent birth of their first child.
The untimely and violent death of Rabin left a deep scar on the psyche of all Israelis. They continue to ask themselves why the political circumstances at the time produced such violence and hate.
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