A profound tension gripped Israel. The Goldstein "massacre" increased the contempt for religious Jews, especially the "National Religious" (as opposed to the Chareidi religious) among rank-and-file Israelis. But the seeds of strife had already been planted deeply. Half of the country saw Oslo as a nightmare scenario. We had created a well-armed "Palestinian" army, thinly veiled as a "police force" that was murdering soldier and civilian alike. Wikileaks later revealed that Peres had phoned Bill Clinton and told him that, in retrospect, Oslo was a mistake. Until his death, however, he insisted publicly that it has made Israel safer. More and more land was ceded to the "Palestinian Authority". Anyone who said a word against this, was arrested and imprisoned for "incitement". The other half, however, saw just the opposite. Peace was at hand. Sure, people were dying. But these were no longer the victims of terror, but "sacrifices for peace". The National Religious, easily identified by their crocheted kipot (scull caps) were the monsters who wanted us to be in a state of perpetual war with a subject people who only wanted to live with us in peace (despite what they said and did). One news commentator even called us "antisemites". The bizarre ideology and ultra-nationalism of the settlers would bury the "normal" Israelis and their children. The then head of the security services wrote that the real danger to Israel was not the Arabs, but the religious. (He still maintains this view). Every time there was a terror attack, Bill Clinton would remind us that "those people belong to yesterday". The hate was palpable, both in the media and on the streets. Each side saw the other as the enemy of all they held dear. Among the National Religious, and especially among the settlers, the leadership still clung to the Kookian idea that this was part of the process, and must not be opposed. The ideal of "Baseless love" espoused by Rav Kook was often invoked; a Jewish version of "turn the other cheek".To complicate matters, the government had provocateurs go among the settlers, urging them to commit acts of violence, then having them arrested. Chief among them was Avishai Raviv. He learned how to act like a religious, ultra-nationalist settler. The security forces (Shabak) convinced a young woman in Kiryat Arba that it was her patriotic duty to marry Raviv, so he could infiltrate the settler movement. At first, he would get teens to throw rocks at Arab cars, and then have them arrested. Then he turned to bigger game; he urged the assassination of the Prime Minister. Many wanted Rabin dead. Numerous rabbis had said that he was a "rodef" (pursuer), who deserved to die. One young man Raviv approached to kill Rabin was a friend/student of mine, named Yitzchak Newman. Yitzchak was approached by Raviv and told that it was to be his honor to eliminate the hated Rabin. Yitzchak refused the assignment. I do not know how he was threatened, but I do know that he approached several friends begging them to hide him. All feared for their own lives. He was found dead a few weeks later in his college dorm room of a gunshot wound. The official word was that the wound was self-inflicted, as he was despondent over a breakup with a girlfriend. But many, including yours truly, were convinced that he was "silenced". Raviv's next victim was a young man named Yigal Amir. Yigal was a law student at the same university where Yitzchak Newman was enrolled. In fact, pictures of him appeared prominently in the school catalog. Yigal accepted the mission. He worked in secret, so as not to implicate others. On the evening of November 4th, 1995, after a huge Tel Aviv peace rally, he shot and killed the Prime Minister. Film footage taken by bystanders shows that he entered a "sterile zone" unchallenged. Was there inside complicity? Theories abound. There were demands that the court check out Peres, as he had the most to gain from Rabin's death, besides the mutual animosity between the two men, and he suspiciosly stepped away from Rabin moments before the shooting, But the court refused, saying that it was "too ridiculous to contemplate". The gunshot wounds were not consistent with the angle from which Yigal shot, and the bullets were not the same caliber as Yigal's gun held. This puzzle was never answered. He was arrested, and sentenced to 400 years of solitary confinement, His brother, Haggai Amir, was also arrested and spent 17 years in solitary. He was not accused of being part of the assassination, but simply because he knew that something was afoot, and didn't report his brother. I used to be friends with Haggai on Facebook. He was bitter about Israel in general, and even expressed sympathy for the Palestinian cause. Raviv was whisked out of the country, and sent to "study" in the U.S. A year later, he had a "trial" in which he was quickly exonerated of all responsibility. But, if, in fact, he had used entrapment against Yigal, why hadn't he stopped him before the assassination? This, and many other questions, remain unanswered. Anyone who had any connection with Yigal Amir was rounded up and arrested. Many cried. Women wore black for the next year. Many others celebrated. I knew several who were arrested for "being happy" about the assassination. (When they came to trial, they were released). Postage stamps were quickly issued with Rabin's picture. Some refused to accept these stamps, and were arrested for "incitement". In the Kookian community in which I lived, many regarded Rabin as King David himself, The assassination was an act of rebellion against G-d. One rabbi announced that he had a list of over 200 official government rabbis who had urged, or at least justified, the assassination, that he would reveal "at the right time". Everyone suspected everyone. I was informed by friends that since I had been rather outspoken against Rabin's policies, that it was widely suspected that I was actually working for the Shabak (Secret Police). Religious Jews, including me, were spat on by strangers as we walked down the street. There were several cases of religious Jews beaten up at random, with the police refusing to intervene. I told Sima that I thought the time had come to leave Israel. She insisted "No. It will get better". But, as a neighbor said to me "just when you think it can't get any worse, it does". Soon, a bright hope emerged, which proved to be a mirage. Next time.
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