Killing a King: The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Remaking of Israel (42 page)

Amir as a toddler. His mother described him and his brother as the thinker and the tinkerer, Amir being the more studious and cerebral of the two.

Courtesy of the Amir family

Amir served in an infantry unit during the first Palestinian uprising in the West Bank. Pictured here with his squad.

Courtesy of the Amir family

Amir during a trip he took with his girlfriend, Nava Holtzman, to Egypt’s Sinai D
esert in 1994. Holtzman broke off the relationship soon after their return.

Courtesy of the Amir family

Moments after the shooting, November 4, 1995. Police and security men lifting Rabin into the back of the Cadillac.

Reuters

The song sheet Rabin tucked into his suit jacket at the rally on November 4, 1995. The title at the top: “A Song for Peace.”

Sa’ar Ya’acov for the Israel Government Press Office

Rabin’s family at the funeral, November 6, 1995. Left to right: son Yuval, wife Leah, granddaughter Noa, daughter Dalia, and grandson Jonathan.

Tsvika Israeli for the Israel Government Press Office

Amir reenacting the shooting for the police, days after the assassination. His interrogation-room bluster stunned investigators.

Nati Harnik for the Israel Government Press Office

At their trial, from left to right: Hagai Amir, Dror Adani, and Yigal Amir (with a policeman seated between Adani and Amir).

Image Bank Israel/AFP

INDEX

Page numbers listed correspond to the print edition of this book. You can use your device’s search function to locate particular terms in the text.

Abbas, Mahmoud, 18, 29, 30, 130, 193, 204–8, 236

Abington, Edward, 188

Abraham, 5, 60

Abramovich, Amnon, 203

Action Center for Canceling the Autonomy Agreement, 76–77

Adani, Dror, 89–90, 101–3, 141, 156–57, 201, 216, 221

Adani, Rachel, 90, 104–5, 201

Afula, 80–82

Air Force One,
190–91

AK-47 rifles, 247

Al Fawar, 224–25

Algeria, 93–94

Allon, Yigal, 68

Alon Shvut, 254

Altalena
affair (1948), 74–75, 129

Amalek, 47

Amir, Geulah Shirion, 36, 37, 40–41, 42, 53, 57, 88, 99, 100, 141, 183, 196–99, 236, 257

Amir, Hagai:

at Ariel College, 44, 54–55, 156

arrest of, 182–84

assassination and involvement of, vii, 167–68, 171, 221–22, 255–57

in assassination and murder, 171–72, 182–83, 187, 214–15, 217, 221–22, 230

assassination planning and, 4, 44, 51, 56–57, 94, 103, 141, 146, 147, 155–57, 167–68, 196–98

assault rifle search by, 155–56

bullets modified by, 146, 172, 183, 255

correspondence of, 196–98

diary of, 221, 236, 256

explosive devices constructed by, 41, 55, 56, 104, 156, 183–84, 196

God’s will as viewed by, 187, 196–98

gun owned by, 43, 54–55

in Hebron, 161

Herzliya as hometown of, 43, 54, 55, 146, 147, 167–68, 196, 201, 254–55

hollow point bullets owned by, 43–44

imprisonment of, 221–22, 229, 230, 236, 254–56

interrogations of, 195, 196–98

“killing a king” rationale used by, 196–98

lawyers for, 196, 199

as military reservist, 41, 161

in militia planning, 44, 48, 54–55, 196

at Netzarim settlement, 101–2

as Orthodox Jew, 42

peace process opposed by, 32, 196–98, 256

personality of, 40–41, 54–55, 99, 221–22

police investigation of, 214–15, 216

Rabin as viewed by, 39, 88

settlers supported by, 41–45, 86, 156, 199

in Shavei Shomron, 40, 41–45, 156, 167–68, 198

in student protests, 161–62

tallit worn by, 4

in Tel Aviv, 56–57

trial of, 230

yeshivas attended by, 43

Yigal Amir’s relationship with, 40–41, 56–57, 99, 196–98

Amir, Shlomo, 35–36, 37, 39–40, 57, 88, 99, 183, 184, 196–98, 236, 256

Amir, Vardit, 156, 214

Amir, Yigal:

ammunition owned by, 146, 171–72, 178, 181, 183, 184, 237–54

anti-Arab sentiment of, 38, 103–4, 135

as army veteran, 32, 34–35, 37–38

arrest of, 181–82

assassination as viewed by, xi–xiii, 181–82, 195–96, 209–10, 217

assassination perpetrated by, 179–84, 193, 195–96, 209–10, 214–16, 228–29, 240

assassination planned by, 4–5, 44, 46–57, 93–94, 133–34, 141–43, 148–57, 196–98

assault rifle for, 155–56

at Bar-Ilan University, 44, 46–57, 71–72, 85–88, 99, 100–105, 133–34, 137, 148–49, 161, 167, 172, 179, 181, 193, 199, 209, 216

Beretta gun carried by, 4, 43, 51, 53–54, 98, 134, 135, 138, 146, 149, 156, 157, 171–72, 175, 181, 238, 243, 251–52

computer science studied by, 86–87

confession of, 195–96

correspondence of, 200–201, 232–33

din moser
(“law of the informer”) justification used by, 95, 104–5, 195, 201, 215–16

din rodef
(“law of the pursuer”) used as justification by, 94–107, 135, 138, 149, 157, 182, 195, 202–3, 215–16

family of, 35–42, 53, 57, 88, 99, 100, 141, 156, 183, 184, 196–99, 214, 236, 256–57

“Gali” as nickname of, 57, 198

Gaza visited by, 90, 101–2

girlfriends of, 53, 87–88, 97–99, 100, 133–34, 141, 149

God’s will as viewed by, 39–40, 43, 49, 51, 54, 90, 94, 134, 141–42, 147, 148, 157, 171, 173, 182, 257

gun license of, 43, 135

Hagai Amir’s relationship with, 40–41, 56–57, 99, 196–98

Hebron massacre supported by, 85–86, 91, 101, 159–60, 184, 201, 214

Hebron visited by, 159–62

Herzliya as hometown of, 34–36, 41, 43, 50, 90, 100, 134, 141, 146, 147, 148, 167–68, 171–72, 179, 182–83, 196, 201, 254–55

hollow-point bullets owned by, 43–44, 146, 172, 178, 185, 248

imprisonment of, 221, 229, 232–35, 254–57

interrogations of, xi, 195–202

in Jerusalem, 50–51, 137–39, 147–48, 155, 167

at Kfar Shmaryahu, 157

as law student, 48–49, 50, 148, 181

lawyers for, 196, 199, 221

life sentence of, 229

marriage of, 254, 256–57

media coverage of, 195–96

militia organized by, 44–45, 47–48, 89–90, 102–4, 133, 135, 156, 196

at Netzarim settlement, 101–2

as Orthodox Jew, 4, 34–37, 39, 40, 42, 46, 47, 49, 53, 94, 105, 134, 149, 182, 193, 214–15

peace process opposed by, xii, 4–5, 32, 44, 49, 51, 100–105, 133–34, 156–57, 159–60, 196–98, 249

Peres as viewed by, 211, 232–33

personality of, xi–xii, 36–37, 40–41, 99, 100, 141–43

physical appearance of, 35, 87–88, 141, 150, 151, 172, 173, 183, 202

police information on, 88–89, 105, 149–50, 152

political ideology of, 36–39, 211, 221, 232–35

Rabin as viewed by, 39–40, 45, 88–89, 133, 138–39, 141–43, 148–49, 156–57

Rabin stalked by, 50–51, 147, 155, 167

as religious extremist, xii, 39, 46, 85, 88–89, 91, 94, 101–5, 134–35, 141, 148–57, 172, 179, 188, 211, 249

remand hearings for, 214–15

in Riga, 39

settlers supported by, 41–45, 46, 85–86, 89, 94–95, 97, 100–104, 135, 141–42, 156, 159–60, 167–68, 184, 199, 201, 215

Shabak information on, 134–35, 137, 141, 148–57

in Shavei Shomron, 40, 41–45, 156, 167–68, 198