MK Betzalel Smotrich asserted that the religious Zionist movement had been incorrectly blamed for former prime minister Yitzchak Rabin’s death during the official Knesset event commemorating his memory on the 27th anniversary of his murder.
According to Smotrich, every community has the right to demonstrate, protest, and even criticize harshly, and this is what the religious Zionist community did in the wake of the Oslo Accords, which put the state of Israel at risk and sparked a wave of terrorism that claimed thousands of lives.
“The harsh words did not cause the murder of the prime minister but rather a degenerate murderer- Yigal Amir,” Smotrich said. “Who failed to protect him were not right-wingers, not settlers, but rather the security services who did not only forget to save him but also used irresponsible manipulations which have not been revealed to this day,” Smotrich added.
Smotrich was alluding to the employment of an undercover agent named Avishai Raviv, whose responsibility was to incite right-wing fanatics to violence against the government.
Raviv employed several ruses, such as a sign depicting Rabin dressed in SS garb, and was fully aware of Yigal Amir’s deadly intentions.
Despite this, Raviv was never put on trial since he claimed to have told his GSS operators about Amir’s plans.
Leaders of the GSS replied to the criticism of Smotrich’s speech unprecedentedly, saying that “on this day, an elected leader chose to encourage conspiracies and to degrade an organization dedicated to thwarting terrorism and preserving the security of the country. Such remarks that incite radical discourse ought to be denounced.
“It is quite upsetting that the Shin Bet did not take responsibility for its failings in the Rabin assassination,” Smotrich retorted.
Unambiguously admitting that it was in charge of running the “champagne” agent who made provocations and contributed to the failure, the Shamgar committee has now added to its culpability by criticizing a Knesset member for this.
All Israeli people should be concerned when a government agency cannot accept criticism and make improvements.
Amit Segal, a political commentator, and MK Michal Waldiger, a proponent of religious Zionism, praised Smotrich’s views despite criticism from several MPs.
Segal claimed that Smotrich had not approved a conspiracy but had instead exposed a “terrible story which had been pushed under the carpet” regarding using an agent provocateur to incite radical attacks against the government.
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