Two Convicted Of Spitting On Rabin’s Grave

Two Jewish seminary students were convicted Monday of spitting on Yitzhak Rabin’s grave.

The Jerusalem Magistrates Court will sentence Avraham Birenbaum and Yehudah Kiegel later this month, army radio said. They face a maximum three years in jail.

Birenbaum and Kiegel, both 20, confessed to spitting on Rabin’s grave on Mount Herzl. A judge has called their actions tantamount to “undermining the foundations of the state.”

Rabin was assassinated Nov. 4 by a Jewish law student opposed to his peacemaking with the Palestinians. His grave has become a pilgrimage site for tens of thousands of Israelis.

Also Monday, the Tel Aviv district attorney announced charges against Avshalom Weinberg, a friend of Rabin’s confessed assassin, Yigal Amir, Channel Two said.

Weinberg will be charged with membership in a group - led by Amir and his brother Hagai - that planned to attack Arabs, the station reported. He also will be charged with conspiracy and holding weapons.