Newly unsealed FBI files reveal unusual Israel connection in Robert F. Kennedy assassination

The Trump administration on Friday unsealed approximately 10,000 previously classified FBI documents related to the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy (RFK). This release comes just a month after the administration also declassified documents relating to the 1963 assassination of his brother, President John F. Kennedy.

The newly unsealed FBI documents related to the assassination of presidential candidate RFK reportedly contain an unusual angle involving Israel.

The documents note that, a month before RFK’s assassination, a tour guide in Israel allegedly told a group of American tourists that Kennedy had been murdered in Milwaukee. Another local reportedly claimed he had been killed in Nebraska.

On June 5, 1968, one month later, RFK was assassinated in Los Angeles, California. The highly irregular FBI reports prompted agents to interview the tourists upon their return to the United States. Following a probe, the FBI concluded there was no proof that anyone had secret information about the assassination of RFK.

At the time, Kennedy served as a New York senator and was eyeing to win the presidential election as the candidate of the Democratic Party. 

RFK's assassin was later identified as Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, a Jerusalem-born Arab Christian from Jordan who moved to the United States in 1957. The unsealed files revealed that Sirhan was guided by anti-Zionism and opposition to Israel’s existence. Sirhan reportedly became obsessed with the idea of killing Kennedy, writing in his journal, "RFK must die” and “RFK must be killed.”

Sirhan later testified to U.S. authorities that his "uncontrollable rage" toward Robert F. Kennedy was sparked by a story about the Miracle March for Israel, a pro-Israel parade held in Los Angeles on March 26, 1968 – just over a month before RFK's assassination. Sirhan, an avid reader of the B’nai B’rith Messenger, a Jewish newspaper in California, claimed the paper reminded him of the Zionist "enemy," which he perceived as a destructive global threat.

Although he admitted to murdering Kennedy, Sirhan claimed he felt he had no choice, citing Kennedy’s strong pro-Israel stance. During the 1968 presidential campaign, RFK had publicly supported Israel and pledged to increase U.S. military aid to the country.

Sirhan later recanted his initial statements about RFK but maintained that he was willing to die for “Palestine.” Now 81, he is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison for Kennedy’s 1968 assassination. Sirhan's requests for early release have been repeatedly denied, with prosecutors arguing that he still fails to grasp the true motives behind the killing.

In February 2025, RFK’s son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., became U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under Republican President Donald Trump and has emerged as a strong supporter of Israel in the ongoing war against Iran and its terror proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah.