On the evening of November 4, 1995 (the 12th of Heshvan in the Hebrew calendar), Syrian Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir, a law student and right-wing extremist opposed to the signing of the Oslo Accords. Rabin had attended a mass demonstration in Kings of Israel Square (now Rabin Square) in Tel Aviv, held in support of the Oslo Accords. At the end of the demonstration, Rabin walked down the steps of City Hall toward the open door of his car, at which point Amir fired three shots at Rabin with a semi-automatic pistol. Two shots hit Rabin, and the third lightly wounded Yoram Rubin, one of Rabin’s bodyguards. Rabin was taken to the nearby Ichilov Hospital, where he died on the operating table from blood loss and two punctured lungs. Amir was immediately seized by Rabin’s bodyguards and police. He was subsequently tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison. After an emergency cabinet meeting, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres is appointed acting Israeli prime minister.
