Shamgar Commission

The Shamgar commission was the official Commission of Inquiry set up to investigate the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in late 1995. Its objective was to investigate the chain of events leading up to the assassination, and the reaction of the organization responsible for the safety of the prime minister.

The commission was chaired by President of the Supreme Court Meir Shamgar, and included Gen. (res.) Zvi Zamir and Prof. Ariel Rosen-Zvi.

Key figure of the General Security Services appeared in front of the commission, especially figure from the personal protection unit, police representatives, members of the prime ministers entourage that evening, doctors who cared for Rabin upon his arrival at the hospital, and the pathologist Dr. Yehuda Hiss, who determined the cause of death. The commission also received a video of the events.

The Shamgar commission held its first meeting on 19 November 1995, and submitted its findings on 28 March 1996, in a partially confidential report. The public report dealt with security arrangements that were in effect, division of labor between different security elements (GSS, police, Special Patrol Unit), a description of the incident scene, the assassination, evacuation, and medical treatment. The confidential parts of the report described the work of GSS agent Avishai Raviv, who was involved in gathering intelligence within right-wing elements in Israel.

The report determined that the assassination was made possible as a result of security failures at the scene, lack of coordination between various bodies responsible for security, non-adherence to instructions and procedures, leading to a lax security ring. It was critical of Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, for exposing the Prime Minister to "serious risks", and for failing to act on threats to the prime minister's life by Jewish extremists.

The report stated that on Saturday evening, 4 November 1995, the assassin, Yigal Amir, left his home in Herzliya and took the bus to Tel Aviv, where he waited in the parking area of the building where the rally Rabin was attending took place. He mostly leaned on the back of a gray GMC van, whose driver was in the vehicle, with the door opened, in a spot with a clear view of the stairs leading from the stage to the parking area, but also stood behind a large potted plant. At 21:45, Rabin and Shimon Peres started for their cars. Peres passed the assassin, and then Rabin and his entourage walked towards his car. The Prime Minister's security detail comprised five men, most of whom remained unnamed in the commission's report. As Rabin passed the plant near which the assassin was standing, he fired three shots; two of which hit Rabin, and a third which hit the head of the security detail, Yoram Rubin. Immediately after the first shot was fired, a member of the security detail, and a number of special patrol unit officers jumped on the assassin. The report stated that yells of "blank! blank!" were heard, but their source could not be identified.

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