I Did It for My Country: Sirhan Sirhan, Palestine, and the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780231222112)

In June 1968, a twenty-four-year-old Palestinian immigrant named Sirhan B. Sirhan assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy, marking yet another killing in a decade haunted by political violence. As he was being subdued, Sirhan shouted, "I can explain. I did it for my country," by which he meant Palestine. On trial, he testified that his motives included opposition to Zionism, with particular anger directed toward Kennedy because of the senator's call for arms sales to Israel. Despite Sirhan's confessions, the significance of the Arab-Israeli conflict to the slaying largely escaped notice--or was actively obscured.

I Did It for My Country is a revelatory account of Sirhan and the political dimensions of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. It illuminates Sirhan's Palestinian background, war-torn childhood, and experience of displacement, considering to what extent trauma contributed to his mental health problems. Michael R. Fischbach uncovers how prominent actors--from the United States and Middle Eastern governments to Jewish and Arab American groups--deliberately depoliticized the assassination by downplaying Sirhan's grievances about American support for Israel. He also examines why US authorities investigated possible Arab co-conspirators and explores how Palestinians understood Sirhan's action, as well as how Sirhan has maintained his Palestinian nationalism during his decades in prison. Drawing on in-depth archival research--including FBI and CIA documents--this book pinpoints a missed opportunity to consider how US foreign policy could affect domestic security.

Author: Michael Fischbach
ISBN-10: 0231222114
ISBN-13: 9780231222112
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Language: English
Published: 08/11/2026
Pages: 392
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.19lbs
Size: 8.80h x 5.90w x 1.10d