Did Anti-Israel Sentiment Play a Role in Sirhan Sirhan's Parole Recommendation?

Much of the focus on the California Board of Parole's decision to recommend parole for Robert F. Kennedy's assassin Sirhan Sirhan has focused on two of Kennedy's sons being in favor of the release of their father's killer. 

But here is what struck me the most:

Many of the questions at the hearing focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Mr. Sirhan at one point began crying when he spoke about refugees suffering in the Middle East.

Now Sirhan Sirhan murdered RFK because of his public expressions of support for Israel during his ill-fated presidential campaign. 

Yet the fact that "many of the questions at the hearing focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" beg further questions. First, who asked these questions? Second, what were the nature of these questions? Third, did anti-Israel sentiment play a role in the board's decision to recommend him for parole?

The only way to answer these questions definitively is to examine the transcript of the hearing. This is not yet available. However, given their recommendation, it would behoove the California Board of Parole to be forthcoming.

Of course, there is no guarantee Sirhan Sirhan will actually be released. The Board still has 120 days to review the recommendation. Even if they concur it is ultimately up to California's Governor whether to grant or deny parole. I cannot see Gavin Newsom (or his successor should Newsom be recalled next month) wanting to go down in history as the elected official who freed the man who killed Bobby Kennedy.