Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was shot and killed on 4 November 1995 in Tel Aviv by Yigal Amir, a far-right law student opposed to the Oslo Accords, as Rabin left a peace rally. Amir was convicted and sentenced to life; two associates were convicted of conspiracy.
Yitzhak Rabin — Credit: Yaakov Saar, Government Press Office (Israel) · CC BY-SA 3.0
On the evening of 4 November 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was shot at Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv immediately after addressing a rally of more than 100,000 people held in support of the Oslo Accords peace process. As Rabin walked to his car, Yigal Amir, a 25-year-old Bar-Ilan University law student and far-right ultranationalist, approached from behind and fired two shots from a Beretta 84F semi-automatic pistol, striking Rabin in the abdomen and chest. Amir also fired a third shot during the ensuing struggle, lightly wounding bodyguard Yoram Rubin. Amir was subdued and arrested at the scene with the murder weapon.
Rabin was driven to Ichilov Hospital at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. He arrived without a pulse or breath; doctors briefly stabilized him after draining air from his chest cavity and performed surgery, but his condition deteriorated. He was pronounced dead at 11:02 p.m., roughly ninety minutes after the shooting. An autopsy found that one bullet had ruptured his spleen and punctured his left lung while the other pierced his right lung, and that a resulting air embolism had reached his brain and hindered resuscitation efforts. Chief of Staff Eitan Haber announced Rabin's death to media outside the hospital shortly after 11 p.m.
The assassination followed months of intense right-wing opposition to the Oslo Accords, including rallies where Rabin was depicted in Nazi imagery and protesters chanted for his death. Amir had come to believe Rabin was a "rodef" (pursuer) endangering Jewish lives under a traditional Jewish legal concept, and told associates in advance that the prime minister should be killed; Israel's internal security service, Shin Bet, had information on Amir's extremist activity but not on specific assassination threats he had voiced.
Under interrogation, Amir confessed and reportedly expressed satisfaction on learning Rabin had died. His brother, Hagai Amir, was arrested as an implicated accomplice, along with Dror Adani. Yigal Amir was tried and convicted of Rabin's murder and of injuring Yoram Rubin, receiving a life sentence plus six years; his sentence has not been reduced, and a subsequent law (the "Yigal Amir Law") bars parole-board recommendations for a pardon or sentence reduction for a prime minister's assassin. Hagai Amir was convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to 12 years, later increased to 16 on appeal, with an additional year for a separate threat against a later prime minister; he was released in 2012. Dror Adani was sentenced to seven years and released in 2002. A separate Shin Bet informer, Avishai Raviv, was acquitted of failing to prevent the assassination after a court found no evidence he knew of Amir's specific plot.
Rabin was buried at Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem on 6 November 1995 following a funeral attended by roughly 80 heads of state. Shimon Peres became acting and then confirmed prime minister; a government inquiry, the Shamgar Commission, later criticized Shin Bet for security failures. The assassination is widely viewed as a turning point in Israeli politics and the trajectory of the Oslo peace process.
Kings of Israel Square (now Rabin Square), Tel Aviv
Case status
solved
Case timeline
1995-07
Anti-Rabin rally led by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu features a mock funeral procession with a coffin and hangman's noose; protesters chant "Death to Rabin."
1995-11-04
Rabin addresses a pro-Oslo Accords peace rally at Kings of Israel Square, Tel Aviv, attended by over 100,000 people.
1995-11-04
As Rabin leaves the rally, Yigal Amir shoots him twice near his car; a third shot wounds bodyguard Yoram Rubin. Amir is arrested at the scene.
1995-11-04
Rabin is pronounced dead at Ichilov Hospital at 11:02 p.m., about 90 minutes after the shooting.
1995-11-06
Rabin's funeral is held at Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem, attended by about 80 heads of state.
1995-11-14
The Labor Party confirms Shimon Peres as its new leader following Rabin's death.
1995-11-15
Peres is invited by President Ezer Weizman to form a new government.
1995-11-21
Peres signs a coalition agreement between Labor, Meretz and Yiud, formally approved by the Knesset the next day.
1996-02-10
Peres announces early elections, moving them to late May 1996.
1996-03-28
The Shamgar Commission issues its final report, criticizing Shin Bet for putting Rabin at risk and ignoring threats from Jewish extremists.
2001
The Knesset passes the Yigal Amir Law, barring parole-board recommendations for pardon or sentence reduction for a prime minister's assassin.
2002
Dror Adani is released after serving his sentence for conspiracy.
2012
Hagai Amir is released after serving his sentence for conspiracy.
Best coverage
Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status; see the dossier above for sourced case facts.
VIDEO
Creator
Netanyahu, Rabin and the Assassination That Shook History | Netanyahu at War | FRONTLINE
People
Yigal Amir
CONVICTED
Convicted of the murder of Yitzhak Rabin and of injuring bodyguard Yoram Rubin; sentenced to life imprisonment plus six years.
Yoram Rubin
VICTIM
Rabin's bodyguard, lightly wounded by a third shot fired by the assailant during the attack.
Yitzhak Rabin
VICTIM
Prime Minister of Israel, shot and killed on 4 November 1995 in Tel Aviv.
Dror Adani
CONVICTED
Convicted of conspiracy to murder Rabin; sentenced to seven years imprisonment and released in 2002.
Hagai Amir
CONVICTED
Convicted as an accomplice in a conspiracy to murder Rabin; sentenced to 12 years, increased to 16 on appeal, plus one additional year for a separate threat against a later prime minister; released in 2012.
Avishai Raviv
ACQUITTED
Shin Bet informer acquitted of charges of failing to prevent the assassination; court found no evidence he knew of Amir's specific plot.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Archival records
portrait victim
Yitzhak Rabin
Credit: Yaakov Saar, Government Press Office (Israel) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
archival location
Assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, 1995 Dan Hadani Archive
Credit: Israel Press and Photo Agency (I.P.P.A.) photographer · CC BY 4.0 · Source
archival location
Assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, 1995 VII Dan Hadani Archive
Credit: Israel Press and Photo Agency (I.P.P.A.) photographer · CC BY 4.0 · Source
archival location
Assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, 1995 VI Dan Hadani Archive
Credit: Israel Press and Photo Agency (I.P.P.A.) photographer · CC BY 4.0 · Source
archival location
Assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, 1995 V Dan Hadani Archive
Credit: Israel Press and Photo Agency (I.P.P.A.) photographer · CC BY 4.0 · Source
unclassified
Assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, 1995 III Dan Hadani Archive
Credit: Israel Press and Photo Agency (I.P.P.A.) photographer · CC BY 4.0 · Source
other document
Assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, 1995 XI Dan Hadani Archive (1)
Credit: Israel Press and Photo Agency (I.P.P.A.) photographer · CC BY 4.0 · Source
other document
Channel2 - Yitzhak Rabin.webm (cropped)
Credit: Israeli News Company · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
unclassified
Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - TEENAGERS LIGHTING MEMORIAL CANDLES AFTER HEARING OF THE ASSASSINATION OF P.M. YITZHAK RABIN
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was shot and killed on 4 November 1995 in Tel Aviv by Yigal Amir, a far-right law student opposed to the Oslo Accords, as Rabin left a peace rally. Amir was convicted and sentenced to life; two associates were convicted of conspiracy.
Where did the crime happen?
Kings of Israel Square (now Rabin Square), Tel Aviv.
Who was convicted?
Yigal Amir (Convicted of the murder of Yitzhak Rabin and of injuring bodyguard Yoram Rubin; sentenced to life imprisonment plus six years.), Dror Adani (Convicted of conspiracy to murder Rabin; sentenced to seven years imprisonment and released in 2002.), and Hagai Amir (Convicted as an accomplice in a conspiracy to murder Rabin; sentenced to 12 years, increased to 16 on appeal, plus one additional year for a separate threat against a later prime minister; released in 2012.).
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