Yigal Amir
Encyclopedia
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 aggravating
circumstances. He was later sentenced to an additional 8 years for conspiracy to murder.
, Israel
. His mother, Geula, was a kindergarten teacher, and his father, Shlomo, was a sofer. Yigal Amir attended a Haredi
elementary school in Herzliya and a high school yeshiva
in Tel Aviv
. He then joined the Israel Defense Forces
as a Hesder
student, combining army training in the Golani Brigade
with religious study at Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh
.
Amir was a law
and computer science
student at Bar-Ilan University
and a right-wing
radical who had strenuously opposed Rabin's signing of the Oslo Accords
. During his studies at Bar-Ilan University, he was active in organizing protest rallies.
During his years as an activist, Amir became friendly with Avishai Raviv
, to whom he revealed his plan to kill Rabin. While Raviv posed as a right-wing radical, he was working for the Shabak, the Israeli secret service.
While in prison, Amir became engaged to Larisa Trimbobler after they exchanged letters and spoke on the phone. In January 2004, the Israel Prison Service
refused to allow Amir to marry in jail, and this was upheld in April 2004 by a ruling of the Tel Aviv
District Court. However, in August 2004, they held a proxy marriage, giving Amir's father "power of attorney
" to transfer a wedding ring to the bride. In July 2005, their marriage was validated by a Rabbinical court
, but not by the Israeli Ministry of the Interior. The prison administration issued a statement saying that its policy on "conjugal visits" would not change. In February 2006, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz
ordered the Interior Ministry to register them as a married couple.
In late August 2005, Amir applied to the prison authorities for permission to conceive a child through in vitro fertilisation
. In March 2006, Amir was caught handing his wife a plastic bag with semen
. After the incident, a disciplinary tribunal denied him visits for 30 days and phone calls for 14 days. He was fined NIS 100 (then US$21). When the treatments were withheld due to a petition by several members of Knesset, Yigal Amir refused to eat. After being warned that hunger strikes are in violation of prison regulations, some of his privileges were canceled. Up until October 20, 2006 the Shabak security service had opposed unsupervised visits. Four days later, Amir was allowed a 10-hour-long conjugal visit
with Larisa Amir. Five months later it was reported that Larisa was pregnant, and on October 28, 2007 she gave birth to a son: Yinon Eliya Shalom. The brit milah
took place on November 4, 2007, the twelfth anniversary of Rabin's assassination, in Rimonim prison after Amir's appeal to the district court to be present at his son's circumcision was accepted.
On November 4, 1995, after a demonstration in Tel Aviv's "Kings of Israel Square
" (now Rabin Square) in support of the Oslo Accords, Amir awaited Rabin in the parking lot adjacent the square, close to Rabin's official limousine. There he shot Rabin twice with a Beretta 84F .380 ACP
caliber semi-automatic pistol and injured Yoram Rubin, a security guard, with a third shot. Amir was immediately seized by Rabin's bodyguards. Rabin was rushed to Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center where he died on an operating table 40 minutes later of blood loss and a punctured lung. According to the court, Yigal Amir's brother, Hagai
, and his friend Dror Adani
, were his accomplices in the assassination plan.
Upon hearing that Yitzhak Rabin was dead, Amir told the police he was "satisfied." At his trial Amir said he didn't care if the outcome was death or paralysis as long as Rabin was "out of the way." He expressed no regret for his actions.
in Jerusalem, at the Nof Yerushalayim Hotel and a ceremony inaugurating a highway in Kfar Shmaryahu
. These plans fell through moments before implementation.
Amir was defended by two court-appointed attorneys, Gabi Shachar and Shmuel Flishman, in addition to Yonatan Ray Goldberg, who represented him earlier in the trial. The judges ordered a mental examination by three district psychiatrists and a clinical psychiatrist who all agreed that Amir understood the meaning of his actions and was fit to stand trial.
Amir's deeds were condemned by Bar-Ilan University. A professor of Talmud at the university, Daniel Sperber
, said that this act "in no way represents the university or the policy of the university."
Amir's claim that he was acting in accordance with Jewish law was rejected: "The attempt to grant religious authority to the murder...is completely inappropriate and amounts to cynical exploitation of Jewish law for goals that are alien to Judaism.
Amir was later sentenced to an additional five years, and after an appeal
on behalf of the State, eight years, for conspiring
to commit the assassination with his brother Hagai Amir and Dror Adani. All of the sentences were cumulative. In Israel, a sentence of life imprisonment is usually reduced to a period of 20–30 years by the president, with the possibility of further reduction for good behavior. However, the president did not reduce the sentence, and president Moshe Katsav
said that there is "no forgiveness, no absolution and no pardon" for Yigal Amir. Present Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu and former premier Ehud Olmert
, too, have said that Yigal Amir will never be released from prison.
On Wednesday, 19.12.2001 the Knesset by majority of 62 members approved the Yigal Amir Law, that a parole board will not be able to recommend pardon or shortening time in prison of a murderer of a prime minister.
In the discussion that ensued it was hoped the law would prevent the murder of another prime minister whereas another party said that the law differentiates between "blood and blood".
in Beersheba
's Eshel Prison and moved to Ayalon Prison in 2003. His appeals of both sentences were rejected. Subsequently, a law was passed by the Knesset
barring the pardon
by the President of Israel
for any assassin of a prime minister. Amir has never expressed regret for his actions. Since 2007, the Amir family and the "Committee for Democracy" campaigned to release Yigal and Hagai Amir. The campaign includes statements for the media, stickers, posters and short films. Amir was interviewed by the Israeli press in 2008. The release of the interview on television was controversial and subsequently was cancelled. Later in 2008 he went on a hunger strike. In February 2010, the Nazareth
District Court permitted the Ynet
internet news service to interview Amir.
In July 2010, after 15 years of solitary confinement, Amir appealed to the Petah Tikva
District Court to be permitted to pray in group prayers in accordance to Jewish law. He claimed that the terms of his imprisonment were worse than any other prisoner in the history of the State of Israel, on the grounds that no other prisoner had been in solitary for this amount of time. He said that failure to allow him to pray in synagogue would be a violation of his right to freedom of worship. In August 2010, the court ruled that Amir would be allowed to meet another prisoner for prayer three times a week, and that he would be allowed to study Torah
with another prisoner once every two weeks.
also participated. In response to this campaign the Israeli Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter
stated: "This man is in the closest status a person can be to a death sentence" and also added that "A reduction of his sentence is impossible and illogical, and it will surely accompany him until he would pass away".
in philosophy
. She has published a novel in Russian (A Mirror for a Prince) and claims to be an Orthodox Jew
. Larisa met Amir in Russia
, where he was teaching Judaism
. After her immigration to Israel
, she visited Amir with her husband, Benjamin (with whom she has four children), for humanitarian reasons. Larisa expressed ideological support for Amir, and they began to correspond and speak on the phone. Larisa divorced her husband in 2003.Larisa announced that she was engaged to Amir and wanted to marry while Amir was in jail. In January 2004, after their request was filed, the Israel Prisons Authority declared it would not permit the marriage. In April 2004, the matter was brought before the Tel Aviv
District Court. At the time, the Prisons Commissioner instructed his legal aides to defend the decision based on security considerations. But Amir's lawyers said this claim violated their client's basic rights
and would not hold up in court. They noted that several Palestinians serving multiple life terms for crimes such as murder 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. August 2004 Trimbobler and Amir were wed in a surreptitious proxy marriage. Under Jewish law, a prospective husband can grant a form of "power of attorney
" to a chosen representative, who can then transfer a wedding ring
, or something of similar value, to the prospective wife. On July 2005 their marriage was validated by an Israeli Rabbinical Court
. Larisa submitted a petition after the Interior Ministry refused to register Amir and Larisa as a married couple. Israel's Justice Ministry defined Amir's marriage as "problematic" because according to a past ruling, a marriage ceremony not conducted in the presence of a rabbi from the Chief Rabbinate is unrecognized.
reported that Attorney General Menachem Mazuz
had ordered the Interior Ministry to register Amir and Trimbobler as a married couple. They then filed requests with the Prison Authority and petitions to court to enable them to hold conjugal visit
s or conceive a child through artificial insemination
.
In March 2006 the Israeli Prison Service approved Amir's petition for in vitro fertilization. The service was to study how this process would be conducted without Amir leaving the prison. A week later, Amir was caught handing a pre-prepared bag of semen to his wife and the visit was terminated. After the incident a disciplinary tribunal barred visits from his wife for 30 days and phone calls for 14 days. The IVF treatments were stopped after several members of the Knesset
submitted a petition.
Up until October 20, 2006 the Shabak security service had opposed unsupervised visits. Four days later, Amir was allowed a 10-hour-long conjugal visit
. Five months later it was reported that Larisa was pregnant. On October 28, 2007, she gave birth to a son.
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of Prime Minister of Israel
Prime Minister of Israel
The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful political figure in Israel . The prime minister is the country's chief executive. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala is in Jerusalem...
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....
. The assassination took place on November 4, 1995 at the conclusion of a rally
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
in 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...
. Amir is currently serving a life sentence for murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
plus six years for injuring Rabin's bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
, Yoram Rubin, under aggravating
Aggravation (legal concept)
Aggravation, in law, is "any circumstance attending the commission of a crime or tort which increases its guilt or enormity or adds to its injurious consequences, but which is above and beyond the essential constituents of the crime or tort itself."...
circumstances. He was later sentenced to an additional 8 years for conspiracy to murder.
Biography
Yigal Amir was born to a Haredi Jewish family in HerzliyaHerzliya
Herzliya is a city in the central coast of Israel, at the western part of the Tel Aviv District. It has a population of 87,000 residents. Named after Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, Herzliya covers an area of 26 km²...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. His mother, Geula, was a kindergarten teacher, and his father, Shlomo, was a sofer. Yigal Amir attended a Haredi
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
elementary school in Herzliya and a high school yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
in 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...
. He then joined the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
as a Hesder
Hesder
Hesder is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework...
student, combining army training in the Golani Brigade
Golani Brigade
The Golani Brigade is an Israeli infantry brigade that is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. Its symbol is a green tree on a yellow background, and its soldiers wear a brown beret. It is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the...
with religious study at Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh
Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh
Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh is a major yeshiva in Israel near the city of Ashdod and adjacent to Kvutzat Yavne.-History & Ideology:Founded in 1953, Kerem BeYavneh was the first Yeshivat Hesder. The first Rosh Yeshiva of Kerem B'Yavneh was the renowned scholar Rabbi Chaim Yaakov Goldvicht...
.
Amir was a law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
student at Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan of the Tel Aviv District, Israel.Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 faculty members...
and a right-wing
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
radical who had strenuously opposed Rabin's signing of the Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
. During his studies at Bar-Ilan University, he was active in organizing protest rallies.
During his years as an activist, Amir became friendly with 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'....
, to whom he revealed his plan to kill Rabin. While Raviv posed as a right-wing radical, he was working for the Shabak, the Israeli secret service.
While in prison, Amir became engaged to Larisa Trimbobler after they exchanged letters and spoke on the phone. In January 2004, the Israel Prison Service
Israel Prison Service
The Israel Prison Service , commonly known in Israel by its acronym Shabas , is the prison service of Israel. It is responsible for maintaining civilian prisons in Israel, as well as detention centers for security prisoners. It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Security...
refused to allow Amir to marry in jail, and this was upheld in April 2004 by a ruling of the 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...
District Court. However, in August 2004, they held a proxy marriage, giving Amir's father "power of attorney
Power of attorney
A power of attorney or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs, business, or some other legal matter...
" to transfer a wedding ring to the bride. In July 2005, their marriage was validated by a Rabbinical court
Beth din
A beth din, bet din, beit din or beis din is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel...
, but not by the Israeli Ministry of the Interior. The prison administration issued a statement saying that its policy on "conjugal visits" would not change. In February 2006, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz
Menachem Mazuz
Menachem Mazuz is an Israeli jurist, who served as the Israeli Attorney General in the years 2004-2010. Mazuz was born in Djerba, Tunisia, the fourth in a family of nine children of the rabbi of one of the island's Jewish communities...
ordered the Interior Ministry to register them as a married couple.
In late August 2005, Amir applied to the prison authorities for permission to conceive a child through in vitro fertilisation
In vitro fertilisation
In vitro fertilisation is a process by which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the body: in vitro. IVF is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed...
. In March 2006, Amir was caught handing his wife a plastic bag with semen
Semen
Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
. After the incident, a disciplinary tribunal denied him visits for 30 days and phone calls for 14 days. He was fined NIS 100 (then US$21). When the treatments were withheld due to a petition by several members of Knesset, Yigal Amir refused to eat. After being warned that hunger strikes are in violation of prison regulations, some of his privileges were canceled. Up until October 20, 2006 the Shabak security service had opposed unsupervised visits. Four days later, Amir was allowed a 10-hour-long conjugal visit
Conjugal visit
A conjugal visit is a scheduled extended visit during which an inmate of a prison is permitted to spend several hours or days in private, usually with a legal spouse...
with Larisa Amir. Five months later it was reported that Larisa was pregnant, and on October 28, 2007 she gave birth to a son: Yinon Eliya Shalom. The brit milah
Brit milah
The brit milah is a Jewish religious circumcision ceremony performed on 8-day old male infants by a mohel. The brit milah is followed by a celebratory meal .-Biblical references:...
took place on November 4, 2007, the twelfth anniversary of Rabin's assassination, in Rimonim prison after Amir's appeal to the district court to be present at his son's circumcision was accepted.
Assassination
Rabin Square
Rabin Square , formerly Kings of Israel Square , is the largest open public city square in central Tel Aviv, Israel. Over the years it has been the site of numerous political rallies, parades, and other public events...
" (now Rabin Square) in support of the Oslo Accords, Amir awaited Rabin in the parking lot adjacent the square, close to Rabin's official limousine. There he shot Rabin twice with a Beretta 84F .380 ACP
.380 ACP
The .380 ACP pistol cartridge is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case. It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, and has been a popular self-defense cartridge ever since...
caliber semi-automatic pistol and injured Yoram Rubin, a security guard, with a third shot. Amir was immediately seized by Rabin's bodyguards. Rabin was rushed to Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center where he died on an operating table 40 minutes later of blood loss and a punctured lung. According to the court, Yigal Amir's brother, Hagai
Hagai Amir
Hagai Amir is the brother of Yigal Amir, the assassin of Yitzhak Rabin, who is serving a life sentence for his acts.Hagai Amir was convicted for conspiracy to murder Yitzhak Rabin and planning attacks against Palestinians, as well as for various weapons charges...
, and his friend Dror Adani
Dror Adani
Dror Adani was convicted with Yigal Amir and Hagai Amir in conspiring to murder Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. He was also convicted for conspiring to kill Arabs, illegal weapon production and illegal weapon possession....
, were his accomplices in the assassination plan.
Upon hearing that Yitzhak Rabin was dead, Amir told the police he was "satisfied." At his trial Amir said he didn't care if the outcome was death or paralysis as long as Rabin was "out of the way." He expressed no regret for his actions.
Failed attempts
The assassination was preceded by three unsuccessful attempts that same year: at Yad VashemYad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
in Jerusalem, at the Nof Yerushalayim Hotel and a ceremony inaugurating a highway in Kfar Shmaryahu
Kfar Shmaryahu
Kfar Shmaryahu is a local council in Israel, within the Tel Aviv District. The council was founded in 1937, during the Fifth Aliyah to Israel.Kfar Shmaryahu is ranked very highly on the Israeli socio-economic scale...
. These plans fell through moments before implementation.
Trial
The trial lasted from January 23 to March 27, 1996. Despite attempts to defend his actions on religious grounds, Amir was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment plus six additional years in prison for injuring Rubin. In the verdict, the three judges wrote:Every murder is an abominable act, but the act before us is more abominable sevenfold, because not only has the accused not expressed regret or sorrow, but he also seeks to show that he is at peace with himself over the act that he perpetrated. He who so calmly cuts short another's life, only proves the depth of wretchedness to which [his] values have fallen, and thus he does not merit any regard whatsoever, except pity, because he has lost his humanity.
Amir was defended by two court-appointed attorneys, Gabi Shachar and Shmuel Flishman, in addition to Yonatan Ray Goldberg, who represented him earlier in the trial. The judges ordered a mental examination by three district psychiatrists and a clinical psychiatrist who all agreed that Amir understood the meaning of his actions and was fit to stand trial.
Amir's deeds were condemned by Bar-Ilan University. A professor of Talmud at the university, Daniel Sperber
Daniel Sperber
Daniel Sperber is a professor of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and an expert in classical philology, history of Jewish customs, Jewish art history, Jewish education and Talmudic studies.-Biography:...
, said that this act "in no way represents the university or the policy of the university."
Amir's claim that he was acting in accordance with Jewish law was rejected: "The attempt to grant religious authority to the murder...is completely inappropriate and amounts to cynical exploitation of Jewish law for goals that are alien to Judaism.
Amir was later sentenced to an additional five years, and after an appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
on behalf of the State, eight years, for conspiring
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to commit the assassination with his brother Hagai Amir and Dror Adani. All of the sentences were cumulative. In Israel, a sentence of life imprisonment is usually reduced to a period of 20–30 years by the president, with the possibility of further reduction for good behavior. However, the president did not reduce the sentence, and president Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav is an Israeli politician. He served as the eighth President of Israel, a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset, and a Cabinet Minister in its government....
said that there is "no forgiveness, no absolution and no pardon" for Yigal Amir. Present Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu and former premier Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, as a Cabinet Minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006, and as Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003....
, too, have said that Yigal Amir will never be released from prison.
On Wednesday, 19.12.2001 the Knesset by majority of 62 members approved the Yigal Amir Law, that a parole board will not be able to recommend pardon or shortening time in prison of a murderer of a prime minister.
In the discussion that ensued it was hoped the law would prevent the murder of another prime minister whereas another party said that the law differentiates between "blood and blood".
Prison conditions
Amir was held in solitary confinementSolitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
in Beersheba
Beersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
's Eshel Prison and moved to Ayalon Prison in 2003. His appeals of both sentences were rejected. Subsequently, a law was passed by the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
barring the pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
by the President of Israel
President of Israel
The President of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely an apolitical ceremonial figurehead role, with the real executive power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister. The current president is Shimon Peres who took office on 15 July 2007...
for any assassin of a prime minister. Amir has never expressed regret for his actions. Since 2007, the Amir family and the "Committee for Democracy" campaigned to release Yigal and Hagai Amir. The campaign includes statements for the media, stickers, posters and short films. Amir was interviewed by the Israeli press in 2008. The release of the interview on television was controversial and subsequently was cancelled. Later in 2008 he went on a hunger strike. In February 2010, the Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
District Court permitted the Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
internet news service to interview Amir.
In July 2010, after 15 years of solitary confinement, Amir appealed to the Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately...
District Court to be permitted to pray in group prayers in accordance to Jewish law. He claimed that the terms of his imprisonment were worse than any other prisoner in the history of the State of Israel, on the grounds that no other prisoner had been in solitary for this amount of time. He said that failure to allow him to pray in synagogue would be a violation of his right to freedom of worship. In August 2010, the court ruled that Amir would be allowed to meet another prisoner for prayer three times a week, and that he would be allowed to study Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
with another prisoner once every two weeks.
Campaigns for Amir's release
From time to time radical Israeli right-wing organizations carry out campaigns (via posters or videos) which call for the release of Yigal Amir and his brother Hagai. A campaign such as that was held in October 2007 in which the prominent Israeli singer Ariel ZilberAriel Zilber
Ariel Zilber is an Israeli singer-songwriter and composer. He is considered one of the most prominent musicians and singer-songwriters in Israeli music, known for his highly literate lyrics and for his simple yet profound style.Zilber became a Baal Tshuva following the 2005 disengagement from...
also participated. In response to this campaign the Israeli Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter
Avi Dichter
Avi Dichter is an Israeli politician who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Kadima. He is a former Minister of Internal Security and Shin Bet director.-Biography:...
stated: "This man is in the closest status a person can be to a death sentence" and also added that "A reduction of his sentence is impossible and illogical, and it will surely accompany him until he would pass away".
Larissa Trimbobler
Larissa Trimbobler was born in Russia. She has a Ph.D.Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. She has published a novel in Russian (A Mirror for a Prince) and claims to be an Orthodox Jew
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
. Larisa met Amir in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, where he was teaching Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. After her immigration to Israel
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
, she visited Amir with her husband, Benjamin (with whom she has four children), for humanitarian reasons. Larisa expressed ideological support for Amir, and they began to correspond and speak on the phone. Larisa divorced her husband in 2003.Larisa announced that she was engaged to Amir and wanted to marry while Amir was in jail. In January 2004, after their request was filed, the Israel Prisons Authority declared it would not permit the marriage. In April 2004, the matter was brought before the 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...
District Court. At the time, the Prisons Commissioner instructed his legal aides to defend the decision based on security considerations. But Amir's lawyers said this claim violated their client's basic rights
Prisoners' rights
The rights of civil and military prisoners are governed by both national and international law. International conventions include: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the United Nations' Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the European Committee for the...
and would not hold up in court. They noted that several Palestinians serving multiple life terms for crimes such as murder have been permitted to marry in prison. Legal analysts have said the Supreme Court would likely uphold any appeal by Amir's lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, unless specific legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
is enacted prohibiting him from marrying. August 2004 Trimbobler and Amir were wed in a surreptitious proxy marriage. Under Jewish law, a prospective husband can grant a form of "power of attorney
Power of attorney
A power of attorney or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs, business, or some other legal matter...
" to a chosen representative, who can then transfer a wedding ring
Wedding ring
A wedding ring or wedding band is a metal ring indicating the wearer is married. Depending on the local culture, it is worn on the base of the right or the left ring finger. The custom of wearing such a ring has spread widely beyond its origin in Europe...
, or something of similar value, to the prospective wife. On July 2005 their marriage was validated by an Israeli Rabbinical Court
Beth din
A beth din, bet din, beit din or beis din is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel...
. Larisa submitted a petition after the Interior Ministry refused to register Amir and Larisa as a married couple. Israel's Justice Ministry defined Amir's marriage as "problematic" because according to a past ruling, a marriage ceremony not conducted in the presence of a rabbi from the Chief Rabbinate is unrecognized.
Conjugal visits and artificial insemination
On February 6, 2006, HaaretzHaaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
reported that Attorney General Menachem Mazuz
Menachem Mazuz
Menachem Mazuz is an Israeli jurist, who served as the Israeli Attorney General in the years 2004-2010. Mazuz was born in Djerba, Tunisia, the fourth in a family of nine children of the rabbi of one of the island's Jewish communities...
had ordered the Interior Ministry to register Amir and Trimbobler as a married couple. They then filed requests with the Prison Authority and petitions to court to enable them to hold conjugal visit
Conjugal visit
A conjugal visit is a scheduled extended visit during which an inmate of a prison is permitted to spend several hours or days in private, usually with a legal spouse...
s or conceive a child through artificial insemination
Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
.
In March 2006 the Israeli Prison Service approved Amir's petition for in vitro fertilization. The service was to study how this process would be conducted without Amir leaving the prison. A week later, Amir was caught handing a pre-prepared bag of semen to his wife and the visit was terminated. After the incident a disciplinary tribunal barred visits from his wife for 30 days and phone calls for 14 days. The IVF treatments were stopped after several members of the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
submitted a petition.
Up until October 20, 2006 the Shabak security service had opposed unsupervised visits. Four days later, Amir was allowed a 10-hour-long conjugal visit
Conjugal visit
A conjugal visit is a scheduled extended visit during which an inmate of a prison is permitted to spend several hours or days in private, usually with a legal spouse...
. Five months later it was reported that Larisa was pregnant. On October 28, 2007, she gave birth to a son.
In Popular Culture
- Motti LernerMotti LernerMotti Lerner is an Israeli playwright and screenwriter- Early life :He was born as in Zikhron Ya'akov, a village south of Haifa, in Israel. His great-grandparents immigrated to pre-state Israel in 1882 from Romania and Russia, and became farmers.- Education :He was educated at the local and...
- playwright for The Murder of Isaac, where Yigal Amir tells Rabin, "don’t forget that you’re an Isaac, too".
External links
- Excerpts of the State of Israel vs. Yigal Amir, March 27, 1996 Yigal Amir vs. the Prison Authority at the Supreme Court of Justice, August 8, 1999 Yigal Amir, Hagai Amir and Dror Adani vs. the State of Israel at the Supreme Court, August 29, 1999 Yigal Amir vs. the Prison Authority at the Supreme Court of Justice, November 8, 2004
- Yigal Amir at NNDB
Further reading
- Women Who Love Men Who Kill by Sheila Isenberg, Paperback