TV interview with Rabin assassin shakes Israel

[laststeamtrain]

Source: AFP

TV interview with Rabin assassin shakes Israel
by Ron Bousso Ron Bousso 2 hrs 57 mins ago

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israelis from across the political spectrum on Friday slammed a decision to air the first-ever television interview with the extremist Jew who assassinated prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.

The interview comes on the eve of the 13th anniversary of Yigal Amir's assassination of Rabin at a Tel Aviv rally on November 4, 1995, which aimed to torpedo the Oslo peace accords with the Palestinians.

The decision to air the interview hit a raw nerve in the Jewish state, which remains deeply divided over the Middle East peace process that has made little progress since the collapse of the Oslo talks in 2000.

<snip>

Amir told Channel 10 his act was influenced by the rhetoric of right-wing politicians and generals, including former prime minister Ariel Sharon and former army chief of staff Rafael Eitan, whom he said made it clear the 1993 Oslo agreement "would lead to disaster."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081031/wl_mideast_afp/mideastisraelmediarabinassassin#full

---

"...act was influenced by the rhetoric of right-wing politicians..."

That sounds familiar.

[villager]

1. I posted the bit about the "rhetoric" of rightwingers in GD, but it sank...

...with nary a blip....

I agree about that being a key point for us here...

[nichomachus]

2. Rhetoric is important -- which is why

I hold "religious leaders" in the US responsible for hate crimes -- especially against gays and lesbians.

When a church sponsored campaign -- like the campaign in favor of Proposition Hate -- compares gays and lesbians to Hitler and says they need to be fought against, that gives permission to the knuckle draggers to commit violence.

Catholic bishops and Mormon leaders have blood on their hands.

[loudsue]

3. And it worries me about wingnuts with semi-automatics gunning for Obama.

The rightwing noise machine is the SAME thing as yelling "fire" in a movie theater. It makes people who are unstable panic and do crazy shit that can cause death.

[Traveling_Home]

4. They'll censor video games and rap music if you establish ....

that viewing or hearing about violence leads to violence.

Wadda ya think - possible?

[blueraven95]

5. oh goodness, this is a bad idea on the part of the tv company

I know they are doing it for the ratings, which will certainly be fantastic, but, oh my, ethically this is a disaster.

Rabin was arguably one of the only people involved in the Middle East peace process who had any chance of actually changing things. I remember the day he died vividly, and even now, thirteen years later it brings tears to my eyes. I don't know how many people are aware, but in some ways he was like Martin Luther King, Jr., a unifying voice calling for peace. The utter shock of his death and the heart wrenching despair that it was a Jew who did it, because at least for me, my family, my community, peace is what we pray for - peace and freedom.

It saddens me that instead of spurning people to move quickly and decisively towards peace, the way King's death did for equal rights legislation, Rabin's death allowed those right-wing warmongers to gain control and entrench themselves even further.

I am not surprised that someone sat down and talked to Amir - in fact, I fully expected and in some cases hoped for a documentary interview. It is appropriate, particularly because Jews value education, to document the motive and the person, so we can learn how and why it happened and hopefully prevent it from happening again. But to do it like this, in a sensationalistic manner that overshadows the anniversary of Rabin's death and convolutes his message of hope, while also giving Amir popularity, instead of the infamy he deserves, and a huge public forum to promote his message of discord, is immoral.

I hope the people of Israel decide not to watch this dreck, turn off their televisions, and go visit (and maybe even sign up to volunteer at) one of the many organizations working for peace. It seems to me that would be a fitting way of honoring Rabin's memory.

[customerserviceguy]

6. Yeah

I can't stand to watch Baba Wawa anymore since she gave airtime to Mark David Chapman. That asshole deserved to spend the rest of his life rotting in prison for murdering John Lennon.

[azurnoir]

9. Even worse

this ynet from 2006

Poll: 30 percent of Israelis support pardon for Yigal Amir

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3320266,00.html

His wife is allowed conjugal visits and gave birth to a son about a year ago, I actually found myself thinking some gene pools should not be continued, I am embarrassed to say.

[Joe Chi Minh]

7. When Putin goes to work and returns his route is shut down to all traffic for two or

three hours. Might not be a bad idea for Obama.

[Posteritatis]

14. I can think of better people to emulate

Seriously, how far are we going to go protecting the guy? While I warrant that he needs it, and needs more of it than a lot of other presidents lately, just what are we going to do? Shut things down to the extent that Putin has? Allow only Democrats in earshot, like Bush's handlers do with the Republicans? "Free speech zones?" What?

I'm anxious as hell about Obama's safety, for the next four days and for the next four (well, hopefully eight) years. But I hope that safety doesn't have to come at the cost of completely insulating him from the population. Just what kind of a bubble do we want to put the next president behind - and why is it suddenly alright to after eight years of (rightly) deriding Bush for doing so to himself?

The idea of a president based around hope operating on fear upsets me more than a little, especially considering the receptions the guy's gotten when he's traveled the last several months (without, I might add, McCain-esque straining of the attendees for ideological purity beforehand). Be cautious, yes; probably be more cautious than either Bush or, a lot of the time, Clinton's guards needed to be; but taking a siege and bunker mentality to the guy is simply going to play into the hands the Republicans and other opponents.

[baldguy]

8. from AP via Yahoo: "Rabin's assassin says influenced by Sharon"

Yigal Amir fatally shot Rabin at the end of a peace rally in Tel Aviv on Nov. 4, 1995. He considered Rabin a traitor for signing the 1993 Oslo peace accord with the Palestinians, agreeing to return land Israel had captured in wars.

...

Amir told Israel's Channel 10 TV he was spurred into action by comments from Sharon, Rehavam Zeevi and Rafael Eitan. At the time of the killing, all three were leading right-wing politicians with long, distinguished military careers.

Asked who had an impact on his decision to kill Rabin, Amir replied: "Sharon, Raful, Gandhi, all of the people who understand the military and said this agreement would bring a disaster." He referred to Eitan and Zeevi by their respective nicknames, Raful and Gandhi.

more
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081031/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_rabin_s_assassin;_ylt=AqDpyoDo5PIngQ4YrEjtzT2s0NUE

For everyone who thinks McCain's & Palin's characterizations of Obama are just harmless political banter..

[Ian David]

10. Sounds like we need to learn the lessons of what the Repukes are trying to do to us. n/t

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[davidinalameda]

13. so their followers are also intolerant?

your bigotry is amazing

[GrpCaptMandrake]

12. Numerologists, chime in

Is there anything particular to the 13th anniversary for the release of this interview?

Given the fact of the twelve tribes, does the choice of the thirteenth anniversary carry any particular significance?

Just wondering.

Moreover, I can't disagree with the decision to query this man, whether it be the first, fifth or fiftieth anniversary. Actions have precursors, and if we find that this man was "radicalized," to use the current authoritarian argot, by right-wing hyperbole, bluster and hate, then the world needs to know it, and the sooner the better.

There can be no doubt that right-wing hate grows more virulent by the year, and the more we learn about its origins and the triggers to the direct action in implicitly endorses, the better off we are.

Innocents died in Knoxville, Tennessee earlier this year because of a radicalized right-winger. Isn't it time we finally started examining the root causes?

[nolabels]

15. Ah, join the crowd, most of the rest of us have made little progress since 2000 either

Some asterisk keeps getting in the way :argh: