By Reuven Koret
November 12, 2005
As Israel marks the hebrew date of the tenth anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, there is no doubt that something fundamental has shifted in the public perception concerning responsibility for the terrible murder. Surveys show that at least 40% of Israel's Jewish citizens are unconvinced that Yigal Amir was solely responsible for killing the Prime Minister and that there was a conspiracy of some sort.
The increased interest and credibility accorded by the media to conspiracy theorists is another sign of this. In the past two years, Israel Insider was lambasted and even subjected to a smear campaign and boycott for having the temerity to publish occasional articles by Barry Chamish.
Now many who previously gave in to the attempted boycott have returned as regular contributors, and the ringleaders of the boycott have fallen conspicuously silent. The empty threats and personal attacks of those who sought to squelch re-examination of the Rabin assassination have been overcome by the accumulation of evidence of a conspiracy. Chamish himself has been increasingly invited to appear in the mainstream Israeli media, together with leading legal officials and media personalities. His research is being taken seriously.
This past week, as the media marked the tenth anniversary, Chamish was joined by such diverse figures as the prosecutor of Yigal Amir, the heads of both the police and Shin Bet security detail on the night of the murder, and leading media pundits, in the top Israeli newspapers, television networks, and web portals. These public figures raised disturbing questions about what happened that horrific night, and in the months leading up to the murder, when Israel's internal security apparatus was manipulated, in concert with the media, to blacken the name of the legitimate opposition.
There was the stunning documentary film "Case not Closed?", which revealed compelling evidence of a third bullet hole shot from the front, and its subsequent suppression. There was published evidence of doctored photos that show the right-handed Amir shooting with his left. There were doctors admitting on camera that there may have been errors in the post-mortem reports. The medical examiner admitted that the Shin Bet swore him to secrecy about what really happened, and hemmed and hawed about the videotape of the autopsy that was "recycled."
There was republication of the photo of Amir's arrest, with the arresting cop's wristwatch showing 9:30, twenty minutes before the official commission said he started shooting -- talk about pre-emptive arrests! There was representation of the police ballistics evidence showing that Rabin was shot at point-blank range even though Amir never got that close, and was founded to have no traces of gunpowder or particles on his hands, as would be the case only if he shot blanks and not real bullets.
Even tonight, in the official rally to mark the 10th anniversary of the murder, there are references to the incitement campaign run by factions within the Shin Bet, including posters portraying Rabin in SS uniform, produced and promoted by none other than Shin Bet agent Avishay Raviv. Even tonight there were references to the blood-soaked copy of "The Song of Peace", shown to the media by Rabin aide Eitan Haber and then by Shimon Peres, which originally was produced with a single bullet-hole until Chamish and others pointed out that a folded paper shot through would have four holes, and not one; and that a man shot from the back by bullets which did not exit would not be covered with blood if the folded paper had been in a breast pocket.
Any fair-minded observer would conclude that Chamish's version of the murder has fewer inconsistencies than the version of the official commission led by Chief Justice Meir Shamgar. That alone is reason enough to re-open the case and have an open investigation, with power of subpoena and deposition, and testimony from those who question the official version. The new commission must be empowered to get all the x-rays, photographs and evidence long suppressed, and to cross-examine the doctors and medical examiners about the strange goings-on on the night of the murder and in the days which followed. Most painfully, but as now appears essential, the re-investigation must have the power to exhume the moldering body of the slain prime minister to try and resolve how many bullets hit him, where, and from which direction.
There may be attempts to quell the widespread suspicions of a cover-up by setting up a perfunctory, narrow-scope commission, which will aim to end up with some new "explanation" for the evidence of a third frontal bullet -- likely one which will claim, against all the evidence, that a Shin Bet bodyguard making a valiant if belated shot to defend Rabin hit the prime minister by "mistake." This purported case of "friendly fire" and evidence of "reasonable doubt" -- no doubt causing a great obfuscatory storm of controversy -- may also succeed in getting Yigal Amir out of jail early and rewarding him for (eventually) going along with the official murder story, after he initially claimed to have been set up and threatened to bring down the whole political system with the truth.
Which brings us to the question of "whodunit." If there was a conspiracy, the new comission must answer, who could have had the motive and means to order the murder and then supervise its coverup? Who benefitted? That, obviously, must be the focus of the investigation if, based on the preponderance of evidence, it concludes that Yigal Amir was not the lone gunmen or, indeed, that he was, as many have claimed, firing blanks while the killers did their dirty work after Rabin had been pushed into his limousine and taken on an inexplicable 25 minute ride to a hospital two minutes away.
Whoever was behind the murder had to have control over the Shin Bet, especially its "Jewish Department," and the ability to suppress evidence and control the media to play along, not ask questions, and to promote continuously the falsehoods -- such as the Shin Bet-produced flyer of Rabin in SS uniform and the blood-soaked songsheet of Shir Hashalom.
Chamish, with colleague and webmaster David Rutstein, have no hesitation in claiming that Shimon Peres was behind the murder, or in publishing crude and offensive images of Peres dripping with "blood." They make the claim in writing and dare Peres to take them to court. Chamish, interviewed on TV and videoclips on websites, may not be telegenic. But the fact remains that his interlocutors have not proven successful in refuting the charges he brings. His detractors resort to personal attacks instead of confronting the evidence. That will no longer wash.
I personally have trouble conceiving that the charming, witty, and genial Peres -- so convincing in his moving tributes to "Yitzhak" and his vitriolic condemnations of those who murdered him -- could have had anything to do with the assassination. I can't conceive it despite his bitter lifelong personal rivalry with Rabin, his acute policy differences with his boss in the autumn of 1995, his intense involvement in the preparations of the fateful Tel Aviv rally, his subsequent oversight of the secret services and, of course, the fact that only by the assassination he finally managed to become Prime Minister. But history is full of unlikely Brutuses and those who, as Shakespeare put it, "smile and smile and be the villain." Clearly, our world-esteemed, Nobel-winning Vice Premier -- now facing the judgment of history and that of his Maker -- should be keenly interested in clearing the accusations that have besmirched his reputation, confronting the evidence, and telling the world the whole truth in a legal proceeding. Even if he can't win elections, he can at least try to win vindication.
The murder of Yitzhak Rabin is a terrible traumatic wound that still haunts Israeli society, in large measure because of the suppression of the disturbing questions still surrounding the assassination. If there were a conspiracy, many in the most senior political leadership of the past decade had to be a party to this knowledge, and its systematic cover-up. A conspiracy to commit murder had to have been followed by a conspiracy of silence to prevent its honest investigation, replacing consideration of the disturbing facts with shrill accusations of incitement against those calling for a thorough inquiry, or giving a platform to them.
As publisher of Israel Insider, I am proud to have played a role, however minor, in bringing to light the facts and arguments that contradict the official version of the assassination of Rabin, and resisting the intimidation of those who sought the continued suppression.
My efforts -- along with those of an ever-growing number of journalists, security figures, public officials and regular citizens -- are based on the painful knowledge that the wounds created on November 4, 1995 remain infected, pustulent, undermining the foundations of Israeli society. Revealing the infection and corruption may be traumatic, and messy, but leaving it to fester beneath the surface would be worse. A vindicated Chamish may understandably crow that "We Win!" But the real victory for Israeli society will only come when the real culprits have been exposed, humiliated, and punished. Until then we are all -- not just Shimon Peres -- perennial losers, reminded of our failure each November.
The moral abscess must be lanced once and for all by a comprehensive, no-holds-barred re-investigation that confronts and evaluates the evidence of a Shin Bet-backed conspiracy and, if one is found, traces the chain of criminal command back to its origins, no matter how high and how powerful. I humbly call upon the Rabin family -- those who have lost the most -- to go public with their knowledge and suspicions. Each of us who knows, and can make a difference, must take personal and professional risks to reveal the rot. That is the only way to do justice to the true memory, and courageous legacy, of Yitzhak Rabin.
Views expressed by the author do not
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