Rabin's assassination: The story that changed the nation
As we mark 19 years since the assassination of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin this week, we bring you a special story on the political events of 1995 which preceded and followed his death.
The assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by Jewish extremist Yigal Amir took place on November 4, 1995 at the end of a rally in support of the Oslo Accords at the Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv (now known as Rabin Square). The Oslo Accords envisioned the establishment of a Palestinian interim self-government in the Palestinian territories. It created the Areas A, B and C in the West Bank but fell short of the promise of an independent Palestinian state – a topic that remains at the center of the Israel-Palestinian conflict today.
Below is a photo from late September 1995 of a political demonstration against Rabin. The poster calls both Rabin and Arafat "blood brothers" and accuses them both of being guilty of "crimes against the Jewish people." Read More
While both loved and hated for his politics, the assassination of Rabin a month later was a monumental blow to the Jewish world – a crime committed by an extremist right-wing Jew against the leader of the Jewish state. Shock and grief united a divided nation on November 5, 1995 when many heard of the death of their leader.Below is The Jerusalem Post's front page article that reported the murder of Rabin, "war hero and peacemaker."
Left and Right, secular and religious came together to mourn the tragedy. Children mourned their former prime minister through lighting candles, drawing pictures, praying and singing. Below is an article from the Post, dated November 10, 1995.
A succession of ceremonies mark the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Day each November.
