Yigal Amir (born 1970) was an Israeli Jewish student at Bar-Ilan University who shot and killed Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on November 4th, 1995 at a peace rally in Tel Aviv. Amir strenuously opposed Rabin's signing of the Oslo Accords.

Biography

Amir was born to a Yemenite national-religious Jewish family in Herzliya. He attended Haredi elementary school and yeshiva in his formal education, and served in the Golani Brigade during service in the Israeli Army as part of the hesder program at KBY . 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 Israel, which led to his decision to assassinate Rabin. His brother, Hagai, and his friend Dror Adani, were his accomplices in this plan. Amir had attempted to assassinate Rabin twice throughout 1995, but these plans fell through moments before implementation.

Larisa Trembovler

While in prison, Amir was engaged to Larisa Trembovler (Лариса Трембовлер; the spelling Trimbobler is incorrect). Ms. Trembovler is a Jewish immigrant to Israel from the former Soviet Union. She is divorced and has four children from her previous marriage. She has published a novel "A Mirror for a Prince" (in Russian Language) and has a Ph.D. in philosophy and also practices Orthodox Judaism. Amir had met her years ago when she was younger at a time when he was a teacher of Judaism sent by Israel to educate Russian Jews. Trembovler first started to visit Amir in jail on humanitarian base, for her ties with Amir she had to pay by her Academic career.

The Israeli prison authorities have rejected the Amir-Trembovler requests to marry and to have conjugal visits, although this right is normally given to prisoners held in Israel's jails system. In August 2004 Amir and Trembovler have married according to the Jewish Law that permits the future husband to appoint a messenger who will give his spouse the wedding ring from his name.

The assassination and aftermath

On November 4th, 1995, after a demonstration held in support of the peace process, held in Tel-Aviv's "Square of the Kings of Israel" (Kikar Malkhei Yisrael כיכר מלכי ישראל, now Kikar Rabin כיכר רבין), Amir awaited Rabin in the parking lot adjacent the square, where he assassinated him with two shots of a pistol, and injured a security guard with another shot.

The gun used by Amir was a Beretta 84F semi-automatic pistol in .380 ACP caliber, serial number D98231Y.

Amir was caught at the scene of the crime and was sentenced to life imprisonment, and 6 additional years in prison for injuring a security guard. In a later trial, he was sentenced to 5 years (and after an appeal on behalf of the State, 8 years) for conspiring to commit the assassination with his brother and Adani. All punishments were accumulative.

Amir was held in isolation in the Be'er Sheva Prison, and was moved to the Ayalon Prison in 2003. His appeals on both sentences were rejected. He has never expressed regret for his actions.

Most of the Right wing condemned the assassination despite the vast differences in political views and the widespread disgust at Rabin's policies which the Right felt both emboldened the terrorists and gave them a territorial stronghold within Israel.

Engagement and proposed marriage in jail

During April 2004, the Tel Aviv District Court reviewed the decision regarding a request by Yigal Amir to get married in prison. He became engaged to Larisa Trembovler, a recent haredi immigrant from the former Soviet Union, with a Ph.D. in philosophy, and a divorced mother of four. He may have met her on a trip to Russia in earlier times. In January 2004, the Israel Prisons Authority announced that it would prohibit Amir from marrying in jail, despite a law permitting all prisoners to wed and have children.

At the time, the Prisons Commissioner instructed his legal aides to prepare a case to defend the decision, which will likely be based on security considerations. But Amir's lawyers said it violates their client's basic rights and would not hold up in court. They noted that several Palestinians serving multiple life terms have been permitted to marry in prison. Legal analysts have said the Supreme Court would likely uphold any appeal by Amir's lawyer, unless specific legislation is enacted prohibiting him from marrying.

Amir and Trembovler began exchanging letters and speaking on the phone, after she expressed ideological support for him. Trembovler was already married when she first met Amir, and subsequently divorced in order to marry him. Amir's marriage request includes the right to be (conjugally) united with his intended wife in a jail cell, even though he is in solitary confinement, with his every move monitored by cameras.

In September 2004, Amir's family claimed that he had married Trembovler by telephone after obtaining permission from two rabbis. They married in August 2004, according to the Jewish Law that permits the future husband to appoint a messenger who will give his spouse the wedding ring from his name. As the Israeli authorities do not recognize this marriage, they are still not permitted to take part in marital relations in jail.

Conspiracy theories

Main article: Yitzhak Rabin assassination conspiracy theories

Many conspiracy theories emerged regarding the assassination of Rabin; for example, it is alleged that there were serious inconsistencies in the evidence, because some medical and witness testimonies suggest that Amir shot blanks, and that the real bullets were fired at a later time. All dismissed by the Shamgar investigation committee, which investigated the assassination. However, much uncertainty revolves around the part played by Avishai Raviv who was accused of acting as an agent provocateur for the Shabak security services. Barry Chamish, an Israeli journalist, wrote the best selling book Who Killed Yitzhak Rabin, in which he alleges many amateurish coverups and squarely puts the blame of the Rabin assassination on Shimon Peres and the Shin Bet.