Kempler video

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The Kempler video is a film made by Roni Kempler while standing initially nearby the convicted murderer Yigal Amir and later on the roof of the Gan Ha'ir-mall overlooking the scene at the northeast side of the City Hall of Tel Aviv-Yafo before and during the assassination of Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995 in Tel Aviv.

[edit] The video and its maker

The filmmaker was the Israeli amateur photographer Roni Kempler, who frequently covered events with his private camera looking for a special angle. Immediately after the assassination Kempler submitted the video to the Shamgar Commission, which was tasked with researching the security failures of Yitzhak Rabin's guards. After short negotiations with the maker and almost two months after the Rabin assassination, the Israeli Channel showed the non-static parts of this amateur video with commentary. In his sole television appearance the night his video was broadcasted, Kempler reflected on the thoughts and feelings that he experienced during and after taking the video.

The Kempler video was shown two times on Channel 2 in late December 1995, after it acquired the rights and prepared it for broadcast. According to reports Kempler received $350,000 from the Channel 2 News Corporation and Yedioth Ahronoth, the evening newspaper of Israel, for his video footage. The sum or most of it was recovered by selling the rights for broadcasting it to other news channels.

The complete version with the commentary in Hebrew by reporters of Israeli Channel 2 is available through Google Video (see links). A video blurb with the shootout is available from CNN.com (see links).

The Kempler video was used as evidence during the trial of Yigal Amir as well as by the independent judicial Shamgar Commission. Partially based on the Kempler video, the Shamgar Commission concluded that Amir was guilty and that Carmi Gillon, head of the Shabak should be removed from his position.

Proponents of the Yitzhak Rabin assassination conspiracy theories also make use of the video.