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What was truly terrifying about the assassination of Yitzak Rabin was its inevitability. Religious groups in Israel had developed an elaborate theology of murder whereby it became first legitimate to kill any gentile who threatened Jews, and then any Jew who acted against the interest of Jews and Judaism--and since the same religious groups believe that the State of Israel should include everything promised to Abraham, any thought of giving land back to Palestinians, indeed being remiss in any way in further occupations and conquests, is grounds for murder. No serious Israeli politician believes that this programme is remotely feasible or desirable--all of them have at one time or another cosied up to the religious parties for the sake of their votes. And the Secret Service long ago crossed the line between observing and sponsoring agents provocateurs--to the extent of effectively sponsoring right-wing terrorism. Karpin and Friedman's excellent account is sceptical about actual conspiracies, but describes a culture of paranoia and fanaticism in which no specific conspiracy is necessary. They demonstrate clearly that Rabin's death was the logical consequence of a religious culture in which the devout put into effect the wilder results of fundamentalist teachers--this is a terrifying book about the consequences of bad ideas. --
Roz Kaveney
Kurzbeschreibung
On the 4th of November 1995 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a young student, Yigal Amir, an act which abruptly changed the course of Israeli politics. This text provides an account of the crime and the factors which led inexorably to its execution. More than a tale of an assassination, the book aims to present a powerful indictment of a society's failure to examine itself honestly and to bring its own worst enemies to justice. In a series of revelations, the book ranges beyond Israel to expose the extent of American support - financial and ideological - for the movement that produced Rabin's killer.