“Preventing the assassination of a prime minister and attacks on his family” was the heading of an unusual letter that Interior Minister Aryeh Deri sent to the head of the Shin Bet, Nadav Argaman, on July 19. Reading between the lines, it was easy to see the genuine concern expressed by someone who had served in the Cabinet of Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister who was assassinated 25 years ago. Deri is now worried about another political assassination.
In his letter to Argaman, Deri wrote that he cannot stand silent when confronting the unrestrained and dangerous rhetoric he is hearing, with its calls to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and attack his family. He then asked the head of the Shin Bet to take the necessary steps to prevent another assassination. He ended his letter by saying, “Israeli society will have a hard time withstanding another event of this magnitude.”