‘They chose him to make the state tremble’: The dark secret behind the assassination of Israel’s first sitting judge

Twenty years after the murder of Judge Adi Azar, the plot is revealed: two life prisoners, Yitzhak Zuziashvili and Rafi Nakhmani, chose him at random to shock the state. They planned to kill a senior figure, then offer information about the gun in exchange for release. Azar was killed in 2004 in Ramat HaSharon, and the plan was only exposed months later. The two were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Twenty years after the murder of Judge Adi Azar, the diabolical plot behind the first assassination of a sitting judge in Israel has been revealed. Azar, a district court judge, was shot to death in 2004 in Ramat HaSharon, in front of his home, while sitting in his car. No one in the household heard the shots, and his seven-year-old son discovered his body while going out to walk the dog. The investigation revealed that Azar was not murdered because of a case he handled or a personal dispute, but was chosen at random by two life prisoners, Yitzhak Zuziashvili and Rafi Nakhmani, who sought to shock the state. They planned to kill a senior figure from the law enforcement system, then use the gun as a 'bargaining chip': Zuziashvili, who remained in prison, would offer the police information about the gun's location in exchange for release. Azar was chosen because he lived in a private home and was easy to follow. Nakhmani shot him, left a note with the demand, and burned his clothes on the beach in Mikhmoret. The plan was exposed when Zuziashvili's associates approached the Attorney General. The two were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Following the affair, the practice of granting life prisoners furloughs was discontinued.