Killing a King
The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Remaking of Israel
4 November 2016
Description
A riveting story about the murder that changed a nation: the assassination of the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin by Orthodox Jew Yigal Amir, twenty years ago this November, remains the most consequential event in the country’s recent history. Killing a King relates parallel stories over the two years leading up to the assassination, as Rabin plotted political deals he hoped would lead to peace and Amir plotted murder.
Dan Ephron covered both the rally where Rabin was assassinated and the subsequent murder trial. This deeply researched narrative is based on a trove of documents from the era and interviews with the key players, including members of Amir’s family. Only through the prism of the murder is it possible to understand Israel today, from the paralysis in peace-making to the relationship between Netanyahu and Obama.
Reviews
"...a riveting new book about the prime minister and his murderer." — Ian Black, The Guardian
"Vividly written and sharply insightful, Killing a King is an important and valuable addition to our understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." — Literary Review
"A clear-eyed account…captures the way politics in this young and tiny country are uniquely and deeply personal." — The Economist
"Exceptional...an electrifying political narrative twinned with an old-fashioned crime story—of the sort that ought to be taught in journalism schools for its restraint, pacing and expert creation of suspense...The book is a Greek tragedy told in split screen, a frame-for-frame chronicle of a deplorable death foretold." — Jennifer Senior, The New York Times
"...compelling..." — Jewish News
"... Ephron's fascinating study..." — The Jewish Chronicle
Awards
Shortlisted — Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, 2016