Yitzhak Rabin
Wikimedia CommonsYitzhak Rabin during his second term as Prime Minister. July 11, 1994.
Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s 5th Prime Minister, was a peacemaker. He ran on a platform of diplomacy with the Palestinians, who were still fighting a decades-old war over their homes and villages, now mostly in occupied Israeli land.
Wikimedia CommonsA young Yitzhak Rabin. 1943.
But to talk of peace between Israel and Palestine could be dangerous. Rabin’s ideas infuriated some radical Zionists. Yitzhak Rabin, his killer believed, was giving up the biblical heritage of Israel.
On the evening of Nov. 4, 1995, 25-year-old Yigal Amir approached Rabin as he walked through Kings of Israel Square in Jerusalem. Amir had a pistol in his hand and carefully lined up his sights on Rabin.
Rabin didn’t notice what was going on until it was too late. Amir fired three shots. One wounded a bodyguard of the Prime Minister, and the other two hit Rabin in the torso. Rabin didn’t live long. He died on the operating table of a nearby hospital.
Ron Almog/FlickrA wreath rests on the monument of Yitzhak Rabin. To commemorate one of Israel’s most famous assassinations, the square on which he died is today known as Rabin Square.
For his crimes, Amir was sentenced to life-plus-14 years in prison, where he remains to this day.
Next up in famous assassinations, check out this photo gallery of some of the most gruesome assassination photos. Then, read about the countless failed plots to assassinate the President of the USA.
