38% of Israelis believe next political murder a matter of time - poll
One in five Israelis thinks killer of Yitzhak Rabin deserves pardon.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFPLO Chairman Yasser Arafat (right) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (left), as U.S. President Bill Clinton stands between them, after the signing of the Israeli-PLO peace accord, at the White House in Washington, on September 13, 1993(photo credit: GARY HERSHORN/REUTERS)
Marking 24 years since the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin by Yigal Amir, Channel 12 conducted a survey asking Israelis what are the chances of another politically-motivated murder, to which 38% reported they think the chances are fairly likely.54% of the Israelis reported they think the odds of a second assassination are low, while the rest answered that they did not know.The survey also asked the public if they think Amir should regain his freedom and be given a presidential pardon, and 19% of those asked responded with an affirmation, 63% of those asked rejected the idea and 18% reported they are unsure what the answer should be.On Tuesday Dr. Mordechai Kedar, a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University, claimed that Yigal Amir was not the person who murdered Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and that a senior politician most likely wanted to sabotage the Oslo agreements.After laying the ground for his claim, the lecturer declared: “The person who murdered Rabin was a man whose initials are Y.R., but not Yitzhak Rabin.” Kedar said. “The person behind this is probably a leading politician, who wanted to eliminate Rabin because he wanted to get out of the Oslo Accords.”The Yitzhak Rabin Center responded to the speech in a statement saying, “Every year on the Prime Minister’s Memorial Day, the headlines are inundated with conspiracy theorists looking for their 15 minutes of fame. The Rabin Center will continue to stand on the side of truth and justice, and will focus on strengthening democracy and the rule of law.”
