post-investigation investigation
The Rabin family's position that there should be a renewal of the investigation of the intolerably easy fashion in which Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was gunned down should not be judged superficially as an empty demand, especially in view of the question marks that have arisen since the assassination.
| The Rabin family's position that there should be a renewal of the investigation of the intolerably easy fashion in which Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was gunned down should not be judged superficially as an empty demand, especially in view of the question marks that have arisen since the assassination. For example, several persons who were eyewitnesses of Rabin's murder heard someone shout "They're blanks, only blanks!" The government commission of inquiry noted that the answer to who shouted these words is "still a mystery." Regarding the theory that the assassination was the product of a conspiracy, the commission's report, published in 1996, stated that there was no concrete evidence to back up such a theory and therefore regarded the hypothesis as baseless. Nonetheless, the commission did admit that "some of the rumors [concerning a conspiracy theory] emanate in part from the fact that the assassin was in contact with an operator employed by the Shin Bet [internal security service]." Since the publication of the report that was compiled by the commission - which was headed by former Supreme Court Justice Meir Shamgar and whose members included Major-General (Res.) Zvi Zamir and the late Ariel Rosen-Zvi - a number of developments have taken place. Rabin's assassin, Yigal Amir, was convicted of the murder, while the "operator employed by the Shin Bet" was identified as one Avishai Raviv, who is now on trial on the criminal charge of having failed to prevent the assassination and of having been responsible for the "initiation ceremony" of the Eyal organization. The publication ban recently ordered by an Israeli court on the minutes of a meeting held in the office of then Attorney General Michael Ben-Ya'ir, in May 1996, on the question of whether Raviv should be put on trial for the above ceremony, has not prevented the publicizing of those minutes on the Internet. The gag order has generated the perhaps unjustified feeling in the general public that the authorities are deliberately concealing the complete picture regarding Raviv's activities as an undercover agent, although the general public does not seem overly concerned that the revelation of such details could seriously undermine our national security. In the investigation of the assassination of a leader of state, nothing must be concealed from the public's scrutiny. Even after the assassin has been convicted, it is not surprising to have a political assassination of such magnitude reinvestigated. In the United States, for example, the report of the Warren Commission did not put an end to the speculation regarding JFK's murder. In Sweden, the assassination of Prime Minister Olof Palme is still being investigated. The 200-page Shamgar Commission report presents a comprehensive, thorough analysis of the inquiry into the "readiness - in terms of both national security and intelligence" of the relevant agencies and into everything related to the "protection of prominent figures in general and, in particular, the protection of such figures in the rally at which the assassination took place." The Shamgar Commission's writ of appointment as a government commission of inquiry clearly defined the mandate of that body, which was not authorized to deal with difficult questions such as those concerning the link between the events surrounding the assassination and the failure of the authorities to enforce the law against those guilty of inciting acts of violence, even murder. The commission did not investigate these questions and they are still hovering in the air. A reinvestigation of certain aspects - both technical and substantive - that are connected to the assassination should not be considered an implicit statement of a lack of faith in the Shamgar Commission, whose findings and conclusions were based on the testimony and evidence that it was presented with. Justice Shamgar is not opposed today to any further inquiry. He himself admits that he cannot conclusively state that Amir did not have an accomplice (Yedioth Ahronoth, November 5). The question as to whether the assassin had an accomplice will continue to be a subject of public debate unless a supplementary inquiry is carried out to clarify the issue - but only if there is, in fact, new evidence. Under the terms of the law on commissions of inquiry, which was passed by the Knesset in 1968, the government is authorized to appoint a commission of inquiry to investigate matters that have already been wholly or partially the subject of an official inquiry. In the debate in the Knesset that preceded the law's passage, the assembly rejected a motion that would have imposed a total ban on reinvestigations. The purpose of that motion was to prevent the government from ordering a new inquiry in cases where it was not satisfied with the findings of a previous commission of inquiry. That danger does not exist in this situation. As well, the Rabin family's demand is being supported by both right- and left-wing members of our national legislature. Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein is the sole official who is authorized to decide whether any new evidence has come to light in the Rabin assassination and whether there are still substantive questions that have not yet been answered and which require further clarification. If he feels that there is such new evidence and that there are still unanswered questions that need answering, he must submit a recommendation to the government, which, in turn, will have to weigh the recommendation before deciding whether to appoint a government commission of inquiry. Questions that have not yet been answered cannot be discussed once more by the Shamgar Commission because, from the legal standpoint, that body no longer exists. A new government commission of inquiry, headed by Justice Shamgar, should sufficient reasons be found for its creation, might dispel the mist surrounding the investigation of Rabin's assassination. |
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| Publication date - 08/11/1999 |
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