'Conspiracists' still waiting for 'the truth'

rabin special 298 (photo credit: )
rabin special 298
(photo credit: )
Ten years may have passed since the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Yigal Amir may have confessed to and reenacted the murder. But conspiracy theorists who believe Amir was not the real murderer hope the 10th anniversary of the assassination will mark the beginning of the final uncovering of the truth. Israel's best known Rabin assassination "conspiracist" is the burly and bearded Barry Chamish - an icon of right-wing demonstrators who can be seen selling his books such as Who murdered Yitzhak Rabin? from his fold-up table. Chamish and new immigrant David Rutstein write on their Web sites that "Shimon Peres ordered the murder of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin." What about Amir? He fired blanks, answers Rutstein. "Amir was a Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency] agent from the get-go," he explains. "He didn't murder Rabin." Who really killed Rabin? According to Chamish and Rutstein, the prime minister was shot on the way to the hospital. "It took him over 20 minutes to get to Ichilov Hospital," Rutstein claims. "He was shot in the car twice and was shot again in the hospital itself." Rutstein said he would like to see Peres sue him for slander. "That way I can bring witnesses and cross-examine Peres and prove once and for all that Amir was not the real murderer."