Yigal Amir

Yigal Amir is an Israeli man currently serving a life sentence in prison. He is known for the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the Prime Minister of Israel. This event occurred on November 4, 1995, in Tel Aviv.

At the time of the crime, Amir was a law student at Bar-Ilan University. He held extreme religious and political views that led him to take violent action against the government.

Amir was born in 1970 into an Orthodox Yemenite Jewish family in Herzliya. He was one of eight children. His father, Shlomo, worked as a sofer, which is a religious scribe. His mother, Geula, was a kindergarten teacher who ran a nursery school. Amir attended religious schools and later served in the Israel Defense Forces. He served in a religious platoon within the Golani Brigade. Even among his military comrades, he was considered a religious fanatic. After his service, he taught Judaism in Riga, Latvia, through the Nativ organization.

During his university years, Amir became a radical activist. He was strongly opposed to the Oslo Accords. These were peace agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. Amir participated in many protest rallies against these accords. He also helped found an illegal settlement outpost and led marches in Hebron. During this time, he was friendly with Avishai Raviv. It was later discovered that Raviv was actually an informant for the Shin Bet. The Shin Bet is Israel's internal security service. While some militants accused the Shin Bet of orchestrating the event, courts found no evidence for this.

On the night of November 4, 1995, a large rally was held in Tel Aviv. This demonstration supported the Oslo Accords. Amir waited in a parking lot near the Prime Minister's official limousine. He used a Beretta 84F .380 ACP-caliber semi-automatic pistol to shoot Rabin twice. A third shot injured a security guard named Yoram Rubin. Rabin was rushed to Ichilov Hospital. He died 40 minutes later due to blood loss and a punctured lung. Amir was immediately caught by the security team.

Amir's trial took place from January to March 1996. Three judges, including Edmond Levy, heard the case. Psychiatrists examined Amir to see if he was fit to stand trial. They concluded that he understood his actions. Amir tried to justify the murder using the concept of "din rodef." This is a religious law regarding the pursuit of a person. He claimed he was acting on the orders of God. The judges rejected this argument entirely. They stated he was cynically exploiting Jewish law for alien goals. They sentenced him to life in prison plus six years for injuring the guard.

Amir has spent decades in various prisons, including Eshel, Ayalon, and Rimonim. For 15 years, he lived in solitary confinement. This means he was kept alone in his cell. He has used hunger strikes to protest his treatment. In 2010, the court allowed him to meet other prisoners for prayer. By 2012, he was no longer held in total solitary confinement. However, his status remains strictly controlled by prison authorities. He has occasionally lost privileges, such as telephone use, for breaking regulations.

There have been ongoing efforts to secure Amir's release. His family and the "Committee for Democracy" have campaigned for him. Some radical right-wing organizations also support him through posters and films. However, the Israeli government has taken legal steps to prevent his release. In 2001, the Knesset passed the Yigal Amir Law. This law prevents the President of Israel from pardoning anyone who assassinates a Prime Minister. The Shin Bet continues to assess Amir as a threat to national security. His brother, Hagai Amir, was also involved in the plan. Hagai was released in 2012 after serving 16 years.