Yitzhak Rabin assassination conspiracy theories arose almost immediately following the assassinationofYitzhak Rabin, the Israeli Prime Minister, on November 4, 1995. The gunman, who was caught alive and unharmed, and was seen to wave a gun in the crowd, was a Jewish Israeli student, Yigal Amir. Alleged inconsistencies in the reported medical records and other testimony, including evidence suggesting that fatal injuries may have been sustained after the initial incident, have lead to conspiracy theories concerning Rabin's death. Barry Chamish, an investigative reporter, documented many of the concerns in his book Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? [1]
Yitzhak Rabin was often described as a "hawk turned dove" in the bitter and long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He had sought peace, and was in favor of compromises which were seen as acts of betrayal in certain quarters (some sects within Judaism interpreted that it would be a sin and a betrayal to give up any land even in return for peace). On November 4, 1995, he was shot in the back whilst returning to his car from a peace rally in Tel Aviv, and died later on the operating table of Ichilov Hospital. Yigal Amir, often described as a Jewish extremist, was apprehended within minutes by other people in the crowd. He did not deny having pointed and fired a gun at Rabin from within the crowd.
On the face of it, the matter was clear cut, and has been reported as such in the media. However, strong inconsistencies in the evidence have been alleged, both in the medical records, and in inquiry testimony.
On the basis of these concerns, it has been theorized by Barry Chamish and others that Amir's action was on the surface intended to have been a staged, unsuccessful assassination bid to rekindle Rabin's flagging popularity, and was subverted by other factions (variously ascribed to political opponents, or the Israeli Secret Services Shin BetorShabak) who added the fatal wounds later. Many disagree.
