Shamgar Commission
Encyclopedia
The Shamgar commission was the official Commission of Inquiry set up to investigate the assassination of Israel
i Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
in late 1995. Its objective was to investigate the chain of events leading up to the assassination, and the reaction of the organization responsible for the safety of the prime minister.
The commission was chaired by President of the Supreme Court
Meir Shamgar
, and included Gen. (res.) Zvi Zamir
and Prof. Ariel Rosen-Zvi.
Key figure of the General Security Services appeared in front of the commission, especially figure from the personal protection unit, police representatives, members of the prime ministers entourage that evening, doctors who cared for Rabin upon his arrival at the hospital, and the pathologist Dr. Yehuda Hiss
, who determined the cause of death. The commission also received a video of the events.
The Shamgar commission held its first meeting on 19 November 1995, and submitted its findings on March 28, 1996, in a partially confidential report. The public report dealt with security arrangements that were in effect, division of labor between different security elements (GSS, police, Special Patrol Unit), a description of the incident scene, the assassination, evacuation, and medical treatment. The confidential parts of the report described the work of GSS agent Avishai Raviv
, who was involved in gathering intelligence within right-wing elements in Israel.
, left his home in Herzelia and took the bus to Tel Aviv
, where he waited in the parking area of the building where the rally Rabin was attending took place. He mostly leaned on the back of a gray GMC van, whose driver was in the vehicle, with the door opened, in a spot with a clear view of the stairs leading from the stage to the parking area, but also stood behind a large potted plant. At 21:45, Rabin and Shimon Peres
started for their cars. Peres passed the assassin, and then Rabin and his entourage walked towards his car. The prime minister's security detail comprised five men, most of whom remained unnamed in the commission's report. As Rabin passed the plant near which the assassin was standing, he fired three shots; two of which hit Rabin, and a third which hit the head of the security detail, Yoram Rubin. Immediately after the first shot was fired, a member of the security detail, and a number of special patrol unit officers jumped on the assassin. The report stated that yells of "blank! blank!" were heard, but their source could not be identified.
Upon reaching the hospital, the driver went to get a gurney, and he, Rubin, and a police officer laid the prime minister on it, and ran him to the trauma room.
According to the driver's estimate, they reached the hospital within a minute and a half. According to hospital records, they arrived at 21:52.
Barabash testified that the wound was made by a bullet that hit the back right shoulder, near the spine. The penetration area was the region where the ribs meet the spine. A verterbrae was hit, and the doctors noticed damage, that could not be diagnosed, to the spinal cord itself.
The pathologist Dr. Yehuda Hiss, determined that the cause of death was an injury to the lungs and spleen, bleeding. Hiss mentioned no injury to the spine.
, carried responsibility for the security failures. Gillon, who resigned after the assassination, issued a public statement after the publication of the report which he ended by saying:
"I also salute my former colleagues, who have been so gravely - and in my opinion so unjustly - hurt by this official commission of inquiry."
Dror Yitzhaki, head of the GSS security branch resigned as well. Benny Lahav, head of the personal security unit was dismissed at the recommendation of the Shamgar commission.
After the report was published, an appeal was made to the Supreme Court
to order the Minister of Health
to open an inquiry into the evacuation of the prime minister and into the care he received when he reached the hospital. The court dismissed the appeal, stating that the inquiry had been covered by the Shamgar report, and that the appeal failed to introduce new evidence.
During November 1996 the government published some of the confidential sections of the report. These revealed that Shin Bet used a high profile right wing militant as one of their agents. This led to claims that the agent, Avishai Raviv
, was an agent provocateur
. At one protest, he was filmed with a picture of Rabin in an SS uniform prior to Rabin's murder. He was know to have been on close terms with the assassin, with whom he had been heard discussing Rabin's rodef
(outlaw to be killed) status.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
in late 1995. Its objective was to investigate the chain of events leading up to the assassination, and the reaction of the organization responsible for the safety of the prime minister.
Supreme Court of Israel
The Supreme Court is at the head of the court system and highest judicial instance in Israel. The Supreme Court sits in Jerusalem.The area of its jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. A ruling of the Supreme Court is binding upon every court, other than the Supreme...
Meir Shamgar
Meir Shamgar
Meir Shamgar was President of the Israeli Supreme Court from 1983 until 1995.-Biography:Shamgar was born Meir Sterenberg in the Free City of Danzig to Eliezer and Dina Sterenberg.He emigrated to Palestine in 1939.He was arrested by the British in 1944 for anti-British activity and being...
, and included Gen. (res.) Zvi Zamir
Zvi Zamir
Zvi Zamir born Zvicka Zarzevsky was a Major General in the Israel Defense Forces and the Director of the Mossad from 1968 to 1974. Born in Poland, Zamir immigrated with his family to the then British Mandate of Palestine when only seven months old...
and Prof. Ariel Rosen-Zvi.
Key figure of the General Security Services appeared in front of the commission, especially figure from the personal protection unit, police representatives, members of the prime ministers entourage that evening, doctors who cared for Rabin upon his arrival at the hospital, and the pathologist Dr. Yehuda Hiss
Yehuda Hiss
Yehuda Hiss is the chief pathologist at the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine and has held this position since 1988...
, who determined the cause of death. The commission also received a video of the events.
The Shamgar commission held its first meeting on 19 November 1995, and submitted its findings on March 28, 1996, in a partially confidential report. The public report dealt with security arrangements that were in effect, division of labor between different security elements (GSS, police, Special Patrol Unit), a description of the incident scene, the assassination, evacuation, and medical treatment. The confidential parts of the report described the work of GSS agent Avishai Raviv
Avishai Raviv
Avishai Raviv was an agent of Israel's Shin Bet or Shabak, Israel's domestic intelligence service whose mission was to monitor the activities of right-wing extremists. His code name was 'Champagne'....
, who was involved in gathering intelligence within right-wing elements in Israel.
Shamgar report
The report determined that the assassination was made possible as a result of security failures at the scene, lack of coordination between various bodies responsible for security, non-adherence to instructions and procedures, leading to a lax security ring. It was critical of Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, for exposing the Prime Minister to "serious risks," and for failing to act on threats to the prime minister's life by Jewish extremists.The assassination
The report stated that on Saturday evening, November 4, 1995 the assassin, Yigal AmirYigal Amir
Yigal Amir is the Israeli assassin of Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin. The assassination took place on November 4, 1995 at the conclusion of a rally in Tel Aviv. Amir is currently serving a life sentence for murder plus six years for injuring Rabin's bodyguard, Yoram Rubin, under...
, left his home in Herzelia and took the bus to Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, where he waited in the parking area of the building where the rally Rabin was attending took place. He mostly leaned on the back of a gray GMC van, whose driver was in the vehicle, with the door opened, in a spot with a clear view of the stairs leading from the stage to the parking area, but also stood behind a large potted plant. At 21:45, Rabin and Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
started for their cars. Peres passed the assassin, and then Rabin and his entourage walked towards his car. The prime minister's security detail comprised five men, most of whom remained unnamed in the commission's report. As Rabin passed the plant near which the assassin was standing, he fired three shots; two of which hit Rabin, and a third which hit the head of the security detail, Yoram Rubin. Immediately after the first shot was fired, a member of the security detail, and a number of special patrol unit officers jumped on the assassin. The report stated that yells of "blank! blank!" were heard, but their source could not be identified.
The evacuation
The commission determined that after the shots were fired, the prime minister and Yoram Rubin were pushed into the car, and Rubin ordered the driver to leave. No one was sure if Rabin had been hit, and none of the medical personnel on site were consulted. After approximately 30 seconds, Rabin's head fell forward. Rubin tried to resuscitate him, unsuccessfully. The driver drove to Ichilov hospital via Arlozerov st.Upon reaching the hospital, the driver went to get a gurney, and he, Rubin, and a police officer laid the prime minister on it, and ran him to the trauma room.
According to the driver's estimate, they reached the hospital within a minute and a half. According to hospital records, they arrived at 21:52.
Medical treatment
The report included the testimony of Prof. Gabi Barabash, who stated that Rabin arrived at the emergency room with no pulse or vital signs, and resuscitatation began immediately.Barabash testified that the wound was made by a bullet that hit the back right shoulder, near the spine. The penetration area was the region where the ribs meet the spine. A verterbrae was hit, and the doctors noticed damage, that could not be diagnosed, to the spinal cord itself.
The pathologist Dr. Yehuda Hiss, determined that the cause of death was an injury to the lungs and spleen, bleeding. Hiss mentioned no injury to the spine.
Personal recriminations
The official report stated that Shin Bet Director, Carmi GillonCarmi Gillon
Carmi Gillon is an Israeli politician, and a former Israeli ambassador to Denmark and head of Shabak, the Internal General Security Service of Israel....
, carried responsibility for the security failures. Gillon, who resigned after the assassination, issued a public statement after the publication of the report which he ended by saying:
"I also salute my former colleagues, who have been so gravely - and in my opinion so unjustly - hurt by this official commission of inquiry."
Dror Yitzhaki, head of the GSS security branch resigned as well. Benny Lahav, head of the personal security unit was dismissed at the recommendation of the Shamgar commission.
Criticism of the Shamgar commission
Proponants of a conspiracy theory do not accept the commission's findings.After the report was published, an appeal was made to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Israel
The Supreme Court is at the head of the court system and highest judicial instance in Israel. The Supreme Court sits in Jerusalem.The area of its jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. A ruling of the Supreme Court is binding upon every court, other than the Supreme...
to order the Minister of Health
Health Minister of Israel
The Ministry of Health is a ministry in the Israeli government. The current Minister of Health is Binyamin Netanyahu of Likud.There is occasionally a Deputy Minister of Health...
to open an inquiry into the evacuation of the prime minister and into the care he received when he reached the hospital. The court dismissed the appeal, stating that the inquiry had been covered by the Shamgar report, and that the appeal failed to introduce new evidence.
During November 1996 the government published some of the confidential sections of the report. These revealed that Shin Bet used a high profile right wing militant as one of their agents. This led to claims that the agent, Avishai Raviv
Avishai Raviv
Avishai Raviv was an agent of Israel's Shin Bet or Shabak, Israel's domestic intelligence service whose mission was to monitor the activities of right-wing extremists. His code name was 'Champagne'....
, was an agent provocateur
Agent provocateur
Traditionally, an agent provocateur is a person employed by the police or other entity to act undercover to entice or provoke another person to commit an illegal act...
. At one protest, he was filmed with a picture of Rabin in an SS uniform prior to Rabin's murder. He was know to have been on close terms with the assassin, with whom he had been heard discussing Rabin's rodef
Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin
The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin took place on November 4, 1995 at 21:30, at the end of a rally in support of the Oslo Accords at the Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv...
(outlaw to be killed) status.