The Tel Aviv District Court today convicted Margalit Har-Shefi of failing to prevent the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and acquitted her of the crime of providing the means for the assassination.
The prosecutors claimed that Har-Shefi knew Yigal Amir from her law studies at Bar-Ilan university. Amir told her over again that the "Din Rodef" (law of the pursuer) applied to Rabin, that he had to be assassinated, and that he intended to do so with the gun he had in his possession and carried with him.
It was further claimed that, following a news broadcast of the assassination in which it was claimed that a man from Herzliya had murdered Rabin, Har-Shefi telephoned Amir’s home to verify that it was him. The prosecution therefore claimed that Har-Shefi knew Amir planned to assassinate Rabin and did not take any reasonable steps to prevent him from doing so.
Judge Lidski declared that the evidence that Har-Shefi took Amir seriously, and did not regard him as a liar or day-dreamer, was, among other things, the numerous occasions on which she argued with him, the consultation she held with Rabbi Aviner on the question of "Din Rodef", and the lie she told Amir about the location of the weapons cache in Bet-El, after he raised the idea of stealing a weapon from there, as part of the establishment of an underground for the protection of Jewish settlements following Israel Defense Forces’ retreat from the Territories.
Judge Lidski further declared upon sentencing that Har-Shefi knew of Amir’s intention and wish to assassinate Rabin, and that she did not appear to have objected, since she wanted to visit him during his arrest.
The pleadings stage was postponed until Tuesday. The maximum sentence for the offense for which Har-Shefi was convicted is two years in jail.
The defense announced that, after reviewing the long verdict, an appeal would probably be submitted.
Published by Israel's Business Arena June 14, 1998