Yigal Amir's baby circumcised behind prison walls

15 people attend ceremony in jail with assassin as left-wingers protest outside the compound.

By REBECCA ANNA STOIL
Yigal Amir evil 248.88 (photo credit: AP)
Yigal Amir evil 248.88
(photo credit: AP)
With only 14 invited guests, Israel's most publicized circumcision was held in a tent in the exercise area of Rimonim Prison on Sunday, as Yigal Amir and his wife Larissa Trimbobler announced that the son of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin's killer was named Inon Elya Shalom. The brit mila was held 12 years to the day after Amir assassinated Rabin following a pro-peace demonstration in what was then known as Kikar Malchei Yisrael. Police and prison officials had prepared for days in case the Supreme Court okayed the circumcision. The planning was evident on Sunday as border police and mounted troops kept left- and right-wing protesters separated outside the prison. The left-wing protesters had threatened to block the Amir family's entrance to the prison, but the heavy police presence thwarted their plans. Although protesters traded insults and waved placards, only one left-wing protester was detained for questioning after throwing eggs at his right-wing adversaries. The Israel Prisons Service (IPS) announced in advance that it would allow 15 people, including the officiating rabbi, to attend the circumcision, emphasizing that the ceremony would be a "minimalist event." They forbade food or other celebratory touches. After an early-morning situation assessment, they decided that the ceremony would be held in a tent so that the location of the brit mila could not turn into a pilgrimage site for Amir's supporters. Trimbobler, Amir's mother and two of his brothers were among those who arrived at the Sharon-area prison around 2 p.m. Under heavy security, Trimbobler carried her baby, born last week, into the prison compound and out to the exercise yard. Amir attended the ceremony wearing his prison uniform and handcuffs, but served as Inon's godfather, holding the baby during the circumcision. No media or personal cameras were allowed into the prison to record the event. The baby was carried back out of the prison by Amir's brothers, Amitai and Sagiv, who held up their fingers in a victory sign as they walked to their vehicles. Despite fierce opposition, the ceremony received the go-ahead Friday, after the High Court of Justice rejected three petitions calling on it to overturn a lower court's ruling. The IPS had supported rejecting Amir's request to be present at his son's brit mila. "The ceremony that is being planned causes injury to the feelings of the public, especially when it occurs on the day of mourning in which we remember the prime minister whose life was terminated at the hands of a disgraceful killer," wrote Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch. "The killer fired a bullet that not only struck Yitzhak Rabin, but also struck at the heart of Israel's democracy." Nonetheless, she explained that there was no legal basis for preventing the ceremony.