Ami Popper

Popper was 21 and lived in Rishon LeZion when he carried out the 1990 attack.[1][2] He had been dishonorably discharged from the army the previous year after being absent without leave for four months and had served four months in a military prison.[4]

On the morning of the attack, Popper took his brother’s army uniform and Galil rifle.[4] The rifle had been taken from his soldier brother, and Popper carried five ammunition clips to the junction.[1]

On May 20, 1990, Popper went to the Rose Garden, or Gan Havradim, junction in the Rishon LeZion area, where Palestinian workers—described in some sources as Arab workers—gathered to seek work in Israel.[5][1] At about 7:00 a.m., he ordered workers to line up and show identification. He also stopped a car bearing plates from the West Bank—known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria—and forced its passengers to join the line at gunpoint.[1] Believing he was conducting a routine identity-card check, the workers took out their cards before he opened fire.[4]

Popper first observed the gathering from a nearby hill, fired four magazines, fled in a vehicle belonging to one of the workers, and went to his girlfriend’s home. He told her he had shot 15 Arabs and gave his weapon to her brother before being arrested.[2] Other reports say he was arrested immediately after the killings.[1][6]

The attack killed seven workers.[5][1] INSS reports that eleven people were injured.[7] The National Library archive instead describes ten seriously wounded, including one critically injured.[4] Popper was convicted of seven murders and the attempted murder of ten additional workers.[1]

The killings were followed by major unrest in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Demonstrations and rioting broke out, and protesters were killed by Israeli army fire, although the cited report did not give a death toll.[6] Protests were especially intense in northern Israel and Nazareth, where a bank was burned, other buildings were damaged, and ten police officers were injured. The archive also relates the protests to rioting in Gaza the previous day, reporting six Arab deaths and 30 injuries there.[4] Its assertion that Arab leadership encouraged subsequent violence is the archive record’s characterization, not an independently corroborated finding in the material reviewed.[4]

Reports conflict over the structure of Popper’s original sentence. Ynet’s English report describes seven life terms and an additional 20 consecutive years, while its Hebrew report describes seven consecutive life terms and an additional 20 years to run concurrently.[1][6] Globes also describes the seven life sentences as consecutive.[3] In 1999, President Ezer Weizman commuted the sentence to 40 years following a recommendation by Justice Minister Tzachi Hanegbi.[3]

While imprisoned, Popper became religious and served time in the religious section of Ma’asiyahu Prison. He married a Canadian woman in 1993 and had three sons.[8] In 2007, he was involved in a fatal car crash during a 48-hour prison furlough. His wife, Sarah, and their six-year-old son Shimshon died, and Popper was moderately injured.[6] He was driving without a renewed license; preliminary investigative indications suggested that the children were unbelted and that passengers may have distracted him.[6] Reports differ on the additional prison term imposed after the crash: Mako says one year, while a later Ynet report says six months.[2][9]

In late 2012, Popper was transferred from Ma’asiyahu to maximum-security Ayalon Prison after repeatedly harassing former president Moshe Katsav.[8] A 2013 report said he had remarried and divorced and that a Jerusalem wedding that year was his third marriage.[8]

Popper and his relatives sought release or comparable treatment in the context of prisoner-release initiatives. In 2013, he asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for treatment comparable to that being considered for Palestinian long-term prisoners, or for a pardon. Relatives also campaigned for a mutual release involving Israelis imprisoned for security crimes.[10][11] INSS cited Popper among examples of “Jewish security prisoners” in a discussion of commutations and prisoner releases.[7]

Reports have given different dates for possible release. A 2013 Jerusalem Post article said Popper was eligible for parole in 2023.[11] Ynet and The Times of Israel later described 2030 as his scheduled release year.[8][12] In November 2024, a parole committee rejected his early-release request. Mako reported that the Shin Bet opposed release, warning that it could encourage violent extremists who regarded Popper as a role model. The prosecution also opposed release, citing the absence of treatment addressing violence during his imprisonment.[2] Popper’s lawyer argued that he had taken responsibility, participated in rehabilitation, and been permitted prison leave and work.[2]

The committee found that Popper had not received prison-service treatment addressing the violence underlying his offenses and did not meet the criteria for understanding the seriousness of his actions and reintegrating into society.[2][13] His lawyer disputed the decision and said he would consider seeking a renewed hearing or appealing.[13]

In August 2025, reports said President Isaac Herzog was considering a possible conditional sentence reduction connected to a hostage-ceasefire arrangement and prisoner releases. The President’s Residence confirmed receipt of a request but said no decision had been made; immediate release was not under consideration.[12][9]

Popper gave different accounts of his motive: he initially cited his girlfriend’s departure and later claimed he wanted revenge after an Arab man raped him when he was 13.[1][6] These are reported statements attributed to Popper, not independently established explanations for the attack or findings that the alleged assault occurred.

Sources vary on the number of people wounded or subjected to attempted murder.[4][7] Reports also conflict over the structure of Popper’s original sentence.[1][6] Mako and Ynet give different additional prison terms for the 2007 crash.[2][9] Reports likewise distinguish between parole eligibility in 2023 and scheduled release in 2030.[8][11]