Yigal Amir

Lore & Background

Yigal Amir was born in Herzliya to an Israeli Orthodox Yemenite Jewish family, the second of eight children. His father was a sofer and supervised kosher slaughtering; his mother was a kindergarten teacher. He attended a high school yeshiva in Tel Aviv, served in the Israel Defense Forces as a Hesder student in the Golani Brigade, and was considered a religious fanatic even by comrades. He later studied law and computer science at Bar-Ilan University, where he argued that Jewish laws took priority over secular laws.

Amir was strongly opposed to the Oslo Accords and participated in protest rallies, organized bus outings for settlers, and helped found an illegal settlement outpost. He reasoned that the commandment 'thou shalt not kill' did not apply to Rabin because Rabin had handed over Jewish holy lands. He became friendly with Avishai Raviv, who was later revealed to be a Shin Bet informant, though a court ruled no evidence Raviv knew of the assassination plot.

On November 4, 1995, after a pro-Oslo rally, Amir shot Rabin twice with a Beretta pistol and injured a security guard. He was seized immediately. At trial, he claimed he acted under the 'law of the pursuer' and expressed no regret. He was found guilty and sentenced to life plus six years, later increased for conspiracy. The Knesset passed a law preventing a presidential pardon for the assassin of a prime minister.

Reader's Guide

Yigal Amir's assassination of Yitzhak Rabin was a watershed event in Israeli history, fundamentally altering the nation's political landscape and the trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The murder, carried out by a religious Jewish extremist opposed to the Oslo Accords, highlighted deep ideological divisions within Israeli society over territorial compromise and the role of religious law. Amir's justification—that Jewish law permitted killing a 'pursuer' endangering Jewish lives—was rejected by the court as a cynical exploitation of Judaism. The case prompted legal changes, including a law barring presidential pardons for prime ministerial assassins, and raised enduring questions about security service oversight, given Amir's contact with a Shin Bet informant. Amir remains in prison, with successive prime ministers stating he will never be released, and his continued threat to national security is assessed by Shin Bet. His legacy is one of political violence that shattered a national consensus and continues to resonate in debates over extremism, democracy, and the rule of law in Israel.

Did You Know?

• Amir was initially rejected by his high school yeshiva at age 12 for being a 'dark Yemenite' before convincing staff to admit him.
• He obtained a handgun permit in early 1993 by listing a false residence in the West Bank settlement of Shavei Shomron.
• Amir's friend Avishai Raviv, to whom he allegedly revealed his plan, was later revealed to be a Shin Bet informant.
• The Knesset passed a law in 2001, known as the Yigal Amir Law, prohibiting parole boards from recommending pardon for a murderer of a prime minister.

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