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Yigal Amir (Motti Kimche)
Last update - 22:42 31/10/2008
Olmert praises decision to pull TV interview with Rabin killer
By Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service
Tags: assassination, Yigal Amir 

Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert praised the decision by Israeli TV channels to not air an interview with Yigal Amir, the rightist who assassinated prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.

The broadcasting of excerpts from the interview on Thursday raised such an uproar that Channels Two and Ten decided to pull the rest of the program, which was scheduled to air on Friday evening.

"The airing of the interviews would hurt the feelings of the general public, especially now on the eve of the memorial day for Yitzhak Rabin," Olmert said. "One can only regret the exaggerated and redundant preoccupation with the murderer instead of with the murdered, Yitzhak Rabin, and his memory and legacy."
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Excerpts from the interview were aired on Thursday evening on Channel 10 and Channel Two.

The promo for the interview raised a slew of public criticism. First, Channel Two's concessionaire Reshet called up the station and requested that the broadcast be pulled.

Sources at Channel Two said that representatives of the Rabin family and the Second Broadcasting Authority also issued a complaint against the piece.

In the end, Channel Two News Director Avi Weiss decided to pull the two and a half minute interview in its entirety. Channel 10 later Friday decided to follow suit.

The broadcast was likely to awaken further criticism, and it was possible that the Second Broadcasting Authority would even have issued a condemnation along with a request to viewers not to tune in.

Yigal Amir describes how idea to murder Rabin came about

In the interview, Amir spoke about how the idea to commit the murder initially came about.

He that he was at a wedding, which was also attended by Rabin, and realized that the prime minister was protected by only one bodyguard.

"If I were to shake his hand, I could have easily shot him, if I had wanted to," Amir told Channel 10. "I was inside with a gun. I saw that it was so easy, and told myself that in several years I would regret not having killed him."

When asked who influenced his decision to commit the murder, Amir said "all those that understand the military," specifically naming former prime minister Ariel Sharon, former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff and cabinet minister Refael Eitan (Raful), and slain extreme right-wing MK Rehavam Ze'evi.

"All the military experts said that the Oslo Accord was a disaster," Amir said, referring to the 1993 deal between Israel and the Palestinians which was signed by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Rabin.

Amir never given permission for interview

The Israel Prisons Service was shocked to learn, on Israel's two main commercial television channels, that Amir had given phone interviews to both networks from prison. Amir was never given permission to conduct the interviews.

Amir's privileges were revoked after Channel 10 aired excerpts from the interview, among them phone privileges, until further notice. The fact that Amir was able to conduct the interviews without the knowledge of the Israel Prisons Service proves that Amir's telephone conversations are not being monitored, as they have been in the past.

Last August, Amir used the prison's phone to issue threats against his wife's neighbor following a dispute between the neighbors over a burst pipe. In the past, the IPS has closely monitored the content of the phone calls made by Amir, and his brother Hagai who is also serving a prison sentence for conspiracy to commit murder. Several years ago, Hagai Amir's phone privileges were revoked and he was sentenced to another year in prison after saying to prison guards "I can have the prime minister blown up with one phone call."

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      1.   Rabin`s murder 21:58  |  Ralph 30/10/08
      2.   a nutter and a wanker - lethal combo 22:04  |  Palestinian in UK 30/10/08
      3.   Throw away the key, lest he ever get out of prison. 22:46  |  Elad Lending 30/10/08
      4.   yigal amir 00:27  |  allan 31/10/08
      5.   Israel is weaker than we ever thought 00:51  |  BradL 31/10/08
      6.   May he burn in hell forever. 01:04  |  Northern 31/10/08
      7.   The old Leftist trick 02:24  |  Frank the plumber 31/10/08
      8.   Rabin Killer 03:07  |  h gadban 31/10/08
      9.   They turned this murderer into a celebrity 03:50  |  Moshe 31/10/08
      10.   They turned this murderer into a celebrity 03:51  |  Moshe 31/10/08
      11.   Sinat Hinam: Just the Tip of the Iceberg 05:18  |  Itzik 31/10/08
      12.   He didn`t Do it 05:42  |  Dudu Perky 31/10/08
      13.   Peace Now Is Thrilled That Amir Gave These Interviews 06:23  |  Ben Israel 31/10/08
      14.   Scumbag! 06:47  |  Yosemite 31/10/08
      15.   "frank the plumber" 07:08  |  BBSNews 31/10/08
      16.   Ben Israel, your claim is abominable... 07:37  |  BBSNews 31/10/08
      17.   someone needs to "accidently" leave his cell door unlocked 08:21  |  eric 31/10/08
      18.   Please do not give this murderer so much attention 08:40  |  Benjamina 31/10/08
      19.   Are we entirely off-our-heads...? 09:05  |  Esther 31/10/08
      20.   BBSNews #16 I can`t stand some of your exagerations but here 09:35  |  S 31/10/08
      21.   Channel 10 ! 09:39  |  HAL 31/10/08
      22.   Only Marwan Barguti can give interviews? 09:45  |  Zvi 31/10/08
      23.   Maybe this "peace" thing is a lot of old cobblers 09:56  |  Harvey 31/10/08
      24.   Why not vote for Yigal Amir as PM in February....???? 09:57  |  Swiss (Dino) 31/10/08
      25.   BBS cares! LOL!!!! 10:22  |  A. Chaim 31/10/08
      26.   Yigal Amir 10:41  |  Yoel 31/10/08
      27.   Universal order...accounts of worthless life 10:45  |  allang 31/10/08
      28.   Shame on Aruz Eser. Shame on Haaretz 10:55  |  Proud Israeli 31/10/08
      29.   SIMPLY OUTRAGEOUS!! 11:12  |  Mike 31/10/08
      30.   "A Man of Peace" 11:13  |  Sharif Hafez 31/10/08
      31.   to Palestinian in UK 11:19  |  zohan 31/10/08
      32.   Prison conditions for Igal Amir 11:20  |  Shlomo 31/10/08
      33.   # 21, SWISS (DINO) 11:20  |  indrajaya 31/10/08
      34.   BOYCOTT CHANNEL 10 11:41  |  HAL 31/10/08
      35.   CHANNEL 10 11:42  |  mike the plumber 31/10/08
      36.   Yigal Amir didn`t give this interview 12:00  |  Shlomo from Tel-Aviv 31/10/08
      37.   YIGAL AMIR WAS ONLY ONE SMALL PART OF A BIGGER PICTURE 12:05  |  indrajaya 31/10/08
      38.   I just dont believe what I hear: 12:13  |  msh 31/10/08
      39.   the idiots 12:18  |  amihai 31/10/08
      40.   Channel 10 just lost a viewer 12:25  |  Michae 31/10/08
      41.   The Hero of the Right 12:31  |  Mark Lincoln 31/10/08
      42.   Desperation of Channel 10.... 13:32  |  Esther 31/10/08
      43.   sharif hafez 14:12  |  Rachel 31/10/08
      44.   To # 12 14:19  |  Hans 31/10/08
      45.   Yigal Amir 14:32  |  Khader Abu Alia 31/10/08
      46.   He is the same kind of loon as Sirhan Sirhan 14:44  |  Lynn 31/10/08
      47.   channel 10 14:52  |  rut 31/10/08
      48.   Quite comfortable for alleged assasination 14:58  |  someguy 31/10/08
      49.   #2 15:23  |  Susan 31/10/08
      50.   # 43, LYNN 15:35  |  indrajaya 31/10/08
      51.   Yigal Amir 15:35  |  Slim Jim 31/10/08
      52.   To Sharif Hafez 15:42  |  Yosi 31/10/08
      53.   perverted, like watching porn 15:48  |  Tom Lobo Meyer 31/10/08
      54.   The murderer 16:13  |  Abi Schatz 31/10/08
      55.   Lynn #43 16:13  |  Esther 31/10/08
      56.   #12 PLEASE give it a rest 16:20  |  Dr Noam 31/10/08
      57.   Israel is sick 16:20  |  JonathanInTelAviv 31/10/08
      58.   Why give this filthy piece of drek the time of day even 16:24  |  Ari ben Yisrael 31/10/08
      59.   BradL #5 16:26  |  Esther 31/10/08
      60.   Very wrong to allow this animal to speak publically 16:52  |  newageblues 31/10/08
      61.   BS NEWS #15 boy are you slanted 17:21  |  Big Sur 31/10/08
      62.   BS news #16 17:24  |  Big Sur 31/10/08
      63.   I do not see why this murderer is different from any other 17:34  |  Realist 31/10/08
      64.   amir responsible for the death of one human being 18:02  |  chaim 31/10/08
      65.   INDRA #35 18:02  |  joe 31/10/08
      66.   Yigal Amir 18:04  |  Slim Jim 31/10/08
      67.   He should stay in his cage. 18:11  |  Jane 31/10/08
      68.   Censorship only acceptable when left desires it? 18:16  |  Arie 31/10/08
      69.   Esther....I feel the same about Robert Kennedy 18:38  |  Lynn 31/10/08
      70.   Piece of crap 18:40  |  suspicious 31/10/08
      71.   Compare this to teh way Vanunu is treated 19:12  |  Abe 31/10/08
      72.   #52 Realist 19:21  |  JR 31/10/08
      73.   Yigal Amir - Haaretz Website 19:23  |  Paul 31/10/08
      74.   #42 Hadar...how many times have the Pals 19:31  |  Lynn 31/10/08
      75.   Yigal Amir 19:45  |  Slim Jim 31/10/08
      76.   Release the tape 19:50  |  bn 31/10/08
      77.   #39 Esther....if it`s any consolation 19:52  |  Lynn 31/10/08
      78.   Sadat and Rabin went against their people 20:20  |  z, the monarchist 31/10/08
      79.   Amir 20:56  |  Israeli 31/10/08
      80.   # 55 21:04  |  Khader Abu Alia 31/10/08
      81.   Re:43. He is the same kind of loon as Sirhan Sirhan 21:29  |  Psalms 83 31/10/08
      82.   My Israelis Come Live in The USA! 21:35  |  Ari 31/10/08
      83.   Hey "Ari" 23:30  |  Scharker Yid 31/10/08
      84.   Psalms 83-hardly 23:38  |  Roo 31/10/08
      85.   Ari from NY, 9/11 never occured according to you 23:40  |  Simon 31/10/08
      86.   Amir`s popularity belies the ugly truth about Israel 23:51  |  peacelover 31/10/08
      87.   #58 ari forgets why israel was created 00:00  |  victor hardman 01/11/08
      88.   #53 Lynn. The Bush appointed U.S. attorney... 00:36  |  Maureen Ann 01/11/08
      89.   Rabin watch 01:24  |  Rhonda Saperstein 01/11/08
      90.   Yigal Amir, Hero of the Right 01:47  |  Mark Lincoln 01/11/08
      91.   re:Psalms 83-hardly 02:58  |  psalms 83 01/11/08
      92.   To # 59 Come Live in the US 03:26  |  Marcos Susskind 01/11/08
      93.   #66 Prairie of Fire....by Bill Ayers and Dohrn 05:02  |  Lynn 01/11/08
      94.   How nice! 05:06  |  Mark Lincoln 01/11/08
      95.   The Anti-peace Group is behind it & the Media is complice 06:19  |  Simon Mohammed 01/11/08
      96.   Maureen Ann - I am not surprised 07:03  |  Mark Lincoln 01/11/08
      97.   Really? 07:09  |  Mark Lincoln 01/11/08
      98.   Channel 10 Presenters Mandate.? 07:53  |  HAL 01/11/08
      99.   #96 Mark Lincoln. Did someone plant the weapons on the suspects? 08:11  |  Maureen Ann 01/11/08
      100.   Re : 97Really ? 10:36  |  Psalm 83 01/11/08
      101.   Murder 11:25  |  Dani 01/11/08
      102.   How about Kuntar 13:03  |  Jackie 01/11/08
      103.   95 S. Mohamad, I remeber better days before the Intifada 15:48  |  Simon 01/11/08
      104.   Bradl & BBS, do you enjoy writing "Israel destroyed"? 19:14  |  Israeli citizen 01/11/08
      105.   Yigal Amir and the Goat Pagent 19:49  |  Astounded 01/11/08
      106.   Prison conditions 21:09  |  Gregor 01/11/08
      107.   And so Olmert should do, he might have been next! 21:12  |  Natasha 01/11/08
      108.   # 33 indrajaya 21:40  |  Swiss (Dino) 01/11/08
      109.   Maureen Ann - I do not know 23:50  |  Mark Lincoln 01/11/08
      110.   Maureen Ann - the prosecutor`s reason 23:59  |  Mark Lincoln 01/11/08
      111.   # 104 Astounded .... a good sarcastic tickle 01:31  |  allang 02/11/08
      112.   #20, S 01:44  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 02/11/08
      113.   # 33 indrajaya 02:25  |  Swiss (Dino) 02/11/08
      114.   Leftists are a bunch of hippocrites 03:37  |  Dr eric 02/11/08
      115.   # 108, SWISS (DINO) 08:52  |  indrajaya 02/11/08
      116.   Left or Right - Assassinate -No civil rights 12:51  |  HAL 02/11/08
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