Amir – I just don’t want to know…

October 28, 2007 - 2:40 PM by Nicky

I was on a car journey yesterday when my nine-year-old suddenly blurted out in horrified tones: “Mummy, is it true they’re going to release Yigal Amir?”

Having learned about him every year on the anniversary of Rabin’s death from kindergarten onwards, Amir is synonymous with evil to my children. They may not have been alive when Rabin was killed, but they sure do have a clear picture of what happened the night he died and who shot him, and they speak about it as if they were actually there.

“No,” said my husband categorically. “He’s going to die in jail. He’ll be there a very long time.”

Trouble is. It’s not that clear any more. The media should have buried Amir when he went to prison. Instead they keep on talking about him, bringing us pictures, filling us in on details of his life, his marriage to the peculiar Larissa Trimbobler, and now – worst of all – his forthcoming child.

A few years ago, when Trimbobler first married Amir through some cooked up ceremony I thought about interviewing her. I got her telephone number from a friend and gave her a call. We spoke briefly and she said she would be willing to talk, and I told her I would call her again. I never did. I spoke about it with a friend, and he said to me: “Don’t do it. Don’t give them any space. Don’t help them legitimize what Amir did.” And he was right.

But now there’s a baby on its way and the media are building up with a frenzy of reports. How could this have happened? How could we have let it happen? Now we have to see Amir’s face in every paper, we’ll have to deal with the birth of his baby, consider Amir’s rights to see his child, and follow the progress of this child of the man who killed Rabin.

I don’t think we should. I think the media should bury this story once and for all. Amir did something terrible to Israel, and instead of being punished, he’s being rewarded with a shower of constant media attention that brings him additional notoriety and supporters. Forget this man. Cut him off. Bury the stories about him and his wife and forthcoming child. Every story gives him power, and he certainly doesn’t deserve it.

Share with others