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Subject: Rabin Assassination Part I
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Director: Dr. Motti Friedman
Contact: Esther Carciente
Tel: 972-2-759 059
Fax: 972-2-759 133
E-mail address: pedagog@jajz-ed.org.il
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1. We grieve
2. Love and Hate
3. Activity Suggestions
4. Points of Emphasis
5. Yitzhak Rabin - Curriculum Vitae
6. A Song for Peace
7. Food for Thought
8. Recent Speeches
9. Rally Speech, Motzei Shabbat, 4th November 1995
10. Activity: Rabin accepts an honorary doctorate in Jerusalem [to come]
11. Activity: Rabin's Curriculum Vitae and the State of Israel [to come]
1. WE GRIEVE
We grieve.
In the stunned shock following the horrific assassination of our Prime Minister and peace-maker, Yitzhak Rabin, we feel bereft of a figure of great political stature, a statesman of our generations.
The realization also dawns as to the enormity of the terrible crime that has been committed - not by an Arab terrorist, but by an "unaffiliated" young Israeli - and of the pressing need for us all to reflect on where we are going and how to respect one another's views in a democratic manner.
2. LOVE AND HATE
*The Second Temple and the Kingdom of Judah are said to have fallen because of causeless hatred:
Gemara, Yoma 9b: "But why was the second Sanctuary destroyed, seeing that in its time they were occupying themselves with Torah, [observance of] precepts, and the practice of charity? Because therein prevailed hatred without cause. That teaches you that groundless hatred is considered as of even gravity with the three sins of idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed together."
3. ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS
1. Israeli and Jewish groups could formulate a "Rabin Memorial Pact", where they commit themselves to condemn violence, whether expressed physically or through verbal incitement.
2. Send your organization or group's condolences to the Knesset and to the late Prime Minister's family.
3. Create your own Memorial ceremony for the Shiv'a week of mourning, for which we are providing texts today and tomorrow.
4. Align Yitzhak Rabin's career and achievements with his curriculum vitae. The full chart for a Memory Game will appear tomorrow: the curriculum vitae is up today. Tape any life-story materials by CNN and other TV news agencies tonight!
5. Look at the other Sources and Food for Thought for discussion materials.
4. POINTS OF EMPHASIS
* Prime Minister Rabin was leading a Peace Supporters' Rally, which had just concluded, and he was assassinated as he left the rostrum.
* Moments before he was assassinated, Prime Minister Rabin joined in public singing for the first time of "A Song for Peace". (See excerpts below)
* This is the first assassination in Israel of a leading statesman.
* The perpetrator of the assassination is a third-year law student from Herzliya, at Bar Ilan University.
* All Israel's political parties in the "national consensus" have united to deplore and condemn this terrible crime, as have political leaders and Jewish organizations worldwide.
* WHAT YITZHAK RABIN ACHIEVED IN HIS LIFETIME:
See excerpts from his curriculum vitae, below.* DO YOU KNOW WHAT YITZHAK RABIN THOUGHT ABOUT PEACE:
See excerpts from his speeches, below.
5. PRIME MINISTER YITZHAK RABIN
CURRICULUM VITAEBorn Jerusalem, March 1922. After completing his studies, he served in the Palmach and the IDF for 27 years, including as Chief of Staff from 1964-68, which was his position during the Six Day War [June 1967].
After serving as Israel's Ambassador to the US from 1968-73, Yitzhak Rabin entered the Labor Party and the 8th Knesset. He headed the new government of 2 June 1974, after the fall of Golda Meir's government.
As Prime Minister, with American mediation, he conducted the negotiations which resulted in the 1975 interim agreement between Israel and Egypt.
In June 1976, Prime Minister Rabin's government ordered the Entebbe Operation to rescue Jewish Air France skyjack hostages from Uganda.
From 1977 to 1984, Yitzhak Rabin was an active opposition MK and then joined the National Unity Government of the 10th Knewsset, serving as Defense Minister uunitl March 1990.
Following his election as Chairman of the Israel Labor Party in March 1992, Yitzhak Rabin led the Labor Party to election victory in June 1992.
As Prime Minister, he signed the Israel-Palestinian Declaration of Principles on 13 September 1993, the Cairo Agreements with the Palestinians in May 1994, the Peace Agreement with Jordan on 24 July 1994 and the Interim Agreement with the Palestinians on 28 September 1995.
He was also one of the three laureates awarded the highest accolade recognized by the entire world: the Nobel Peace Prize, on 10 December 1994.
6. A SONG FOR PEACE
SHIR LASHALOM Words: Yaakov Rotblit
Music: Yair Rozenblum
NOTE: As this song is copyright, we can only provide excerpts.
TNU LASHEMESH LA'ALOT
LABOKER LEHA'IR
Let the sun rise,
The morning shine...
MUTAV TASHIRU SHIR LASHALOM
BETZE'AKA GDOLA
Far better sing a song to peace
And sing it way out loud.
AL TAGIDU YOM YAVO
HAVI'U ET HAYOM
Don't say "wait, the day will come,"
Go bring that day yourself...
7. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
One question which is now being asked is whether a political assassination actually changes the course of history. Does it serve the ends of its perpetrators, or strengthen the resolve of those who supported the victim's ideas to pursue his humanitarian quest?
From this point, at least, it would seem that the indications afford some degree of hope: the light does not die with the murdered person, but is rekindled anew by many more followers who take up the cause.
There have been other political murders in Israel:
- Yaakov Yisrael Dehan, ultra-orthodox anti-Zionist spokesman, 1924; - Zionist leader, Chaim Arlozorov, 16 June 1933; - Emil Greenzweig, peace activist, 10 February, 1983In the world, the past four decades have seen several major assassinations and attempts at assassinations:
- US President John F. Kennedy, Dallas, 1963; - US black Civil Rights leader, Martin Luther King, 1964; - US Presidential candidate, Robert Kennedy, 1968; - Egyptian President, Nobel laureate, Anwar el-Sadat, 6 October 1981; - Indian Prime Minister, Indhira Gandhi, 1984.- The Pope and former US President Bush recovered from assassination attempts.
8. RALLY SPEECH, 4TH NOVEMBER 1995
A. 26 July 1994: SIGNATURE OF PEACE AGREEMENT WITH JORDAN - ADDRESS TO THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS
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"We have come from Jerusalem to Washington because it is we who must say,-- and we are here to say: Peace is our goal. It is peace we desire.
With me here in this House today, are my partners in this great dream. [...]
[...] I stand here today on behalf of those youngsters who wanted to live, to love, to build a home. [...]
The debate goes on: Who shapes the face of history -- leaders or circumstances?
My answer to you is: We all shape the face of history. We the People [...]
And we, the Leaders, hear the voices, and sense the deepest emotions and feelings of thousands and millions, and translate them into reality. [...]
We bear the responsibility. We have the power to decide. [...] We are graced with the privilege of fulfilling this duty for our peoples. [...]
There is much work before us. We face psychological barriers. We face genuine practical problems. [...]
Your Majesty,
We have both seen a lot in our lifetime. We have both seen too much suffering. What will you leave to your children? What will I leave to my grandchildren? I have only dreams: to build a better world -- a world of understanding and harmony, a world in which it is hoy to live. This is not asking for too much.
[...] Today we are embarking on a battle which has no dead and no wounded, no blood and no anguish. This is the only battle which is a pleasure to wage: the battle for peace. [...]
[...] in the Book of Jeremiah, we find a lamentation for Rachel the Matriarch. It reads: "Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears: for their work shall be rewarded, says the Lord".
I will not refrain from weeping for those who are gone. But [...] we sense that our work will be rewarded."
B. 3 August 1994: RATIFICATION OF THE AGREEMENT WITH JORDAN: PRIME MINISTER YITZHAK RABIN'S ADDRESS TO THE KNESSET ON THE WASHINGTON DECLARATION
[...] "Israel has experienced great days.
Even if there are many hardships, even if the effort is tremendous, even if we must live through moments of disappointment and hours of frustration, we still have no doubt in our hearts -- Arab nations are joining us on the path to peace. The path is indeed long, and our work is not nearly done."
[...] "There are many more who live among us and who are deserving of thanks, and there are many more abroad to whom we also owe a debt of gratitude."
C. 26 October 1994: PRIME MINISTER RABIN'S SPEECH AT THE SIGNING CEREMONY OF THE PEACE TREATY BETWEEN ISRAEL AND JORDAN
[...] "There comes a time when there is a need to be strong and to make courageous decisions, to overcome the minefields, the drought, the barrenness between our two peoples.
We have known many days of sorrow, you have known many days of grief -- but bereavement unites us, as does bravery and we honor those who sacrificed their lives. We both must draw on the springs of our great spiritual resources, to forgive the anguish we caused each other, to clear the minefields that divided us for so many years and to supplant it with fields of plenty."
[...] "The time has now come not merely to dream of a better future -- but to realize it."
[...] "As dawn broke this morning and a new day began, new life came into the world -- babies were born in Jerusalem. Babies were born in Amman. But this morning is different."
D. 14 October 1994: STATEMENT OF PRIME MINISTER YITZHAK RABIN ON RECEIVING THE NEWS OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AWARD
[...] "This prize is for the whole nation, for the citizens of the State of Israel, for the bereaved families and the disabled, for the hundreds of thousands who have fought in Israel's wars.
The work is not yet finished -- and the Prize is a prize for the future, more than it is a reward for the efforts for peace that have been made up until now.
Peace is not the enterprise of one man: many people have contributed to the path towards peace, first and foremost, the ministers of the Government."
E. 10 December 1994: PRIME MINISTER YITZHAK RABIN'S SPEECH UPON ACCEPTANCE OF NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
[...] "And of all the memories I have stored up in my seventy-two years, what I shall remember most, to my last day, are the silences:
The heavy silence of the moment after, and the terrifying silence of the moment before."
[...] "That is the moment you grasp that as a result of the decision just made, people might go to their deaths. People from my nation, people from other nations. And they still don't know it.
At that hour, they are still laughing and weeping; still weaving plans and dreaming about love; still musing about planting a garden or building a house -- and they have no idea these are their last hours on Earth. Which of them is fated to die? Whose picture will appear in the black frame in tomorrow's newspaper? Whose mother will soon be in mourning? Whose world will crumble under the weight of the loss?"
[...] "And of all the memories I have stored up in my seventy-two years, I now recall the hopes.
Our peoples have chosen us to give them life. Terrible as it is to say, their lives are in our hands. Tonight, their eyes are upon us and their hearts are asking: How is the power vested in these men and women being used? What will they decide? Into what kind of morning will we rise tomorrow? A day of peace? Of war? Of laughter? Of tears?"
[...] "But there is one universal message which can embrace the entire world,"
[...] "It is a message which the Jewish people has carried for thousands of years, the message found in the Book of Books: V'nishmartem me'od l'nafshoteichem, it is -- "Therefore take good heed of yourselves" -- or, in contemporary terms, the message of the Sanctity of Life.
The leaders of nations must provide their peoples with the conditions -- the "infrastructure," if you will -- which enables them to enjoy life: freedom of speech and movement; food and shelter; and most important of all: life itself. A man cannot enjoy his rights if he is not alive."
[...] "We will pursue the course of peace with determination and fortitude. We will not let up. We will not give in. Peace will triumph over all its enemies, because the alternative is grimmer for us all. And we will prevail."
I stand here mainly for the generations to come, so that we may all be deemed worthy of the medal which you have bestowed on me and my colleagues today."
[...] "Allow me to close by sharing with you a traditional Jewish blessing which has been recited by my people, in good times and bad ones, as a token of their deepest longing:
"The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will bless his people -- and all of us -- in peace."
F. 23 January 1995: RABIN'S REMARKS ON BEIT LID BOMBING
[...] "Yesterday and today, we suffered a terrible blow. The eyes of many are filled with tears, and the heart aches as one sees the faces of the parents, the brothers, the sisters and the friends. There are no words which can console and heal the pain of loss."
[...] "In this difficult hour, there is no right or left, secular or religious; we are all the People of Israel. And in the name of this People of Israel, which has known difficult days, and great moments, we share the pain and the tears."
[...] "I know that many are asking, have you brought us peace, or terror? The road to peace is not easy. About seventeen years ago, peace was made for the first time between an Arab country and Israel, due to efforts by then Prime Minister Menachem Begin, who had the courage to make a painful decision and pay a painful price for peace. Today, we are continuing on the path to peace."
[...] "There is no other alternative. We will achieve peace, for this is the solution for the long term, and to the terrorism, even if it is difficult for us now. I am convinced that the path the Government has taken, is the path which will lead to the end of control over another people."
[...] "The residents of the State of Israel have known how to withstand wars and terrorism, and have always known how to dream about peace and to contend with enemies, while, at the same time, building a wonderful country -- one with 4.4 million Jews, and with a total of 5.3 million citizens. We will continue the struggle to achieve peace, to build the country and to fight the enemies of Israel and the enemies of peace. We will not yield to moments of weakness. The Jewish People's special ability, throughout all of its history -- the ability of the State of Israel to overcome the wars in which thousands of its sons fell -- is the ability which is within us, which makes us special, and we will achieve our goal.
Fellow citizens of Israel, what I would like to say to you this evening is this: we are a strong country, we have a tremendous army, we have a great ability to achieve all of our goals if we know how to define them as peace, security, building and development. There are difficult moments and we have to overcome them. We must find the denominator common to us all, and thus achieve the dream of generations of Jews in the 2,000 years of Exile, and we will fulfill the Jewish belief in the Return to Zion, in building a strong country in which we will live in peace and security."
G. 2 May 1995: RABIN'S SPEECH ON MEMORIAL DAY FOR THE FALLEN OF ISRAEL'S WARS
[...] "We are continuing, continuing to build, continuing to fight. It is our obligation. We are continuing because 2,000 years of exile have not succeeded in uprooting our dreams, or the Jewish people, from its chosen land. We are prepared to suffer and are determined to have peace, if not for us, then for those who will come after us."
H. 15 May 1995: RABIN'S KNESSET POLICY STATEMENT
[...] "We are travelling surely on the road to peace and see the fruits of our labors, even if difficulties are mounting. Our political, security, and economic situations are a source of optimism and hope for us all." ***********************************
I. 21 August 1995: STATEMENT BY PRIME MINISTER RABIN ON ISRAEL RADIO
[...] "We will determine what must be done in other areas, and I truly hope that the Israeli public, including those who oppose the government's policies, will enable the police and the security forces, to first of all, fight terrorism, and not have to waste energy, and not divert forces, from the war against terrorism, to other problems. We are a democratic nation, with the right to express one's views, to demonstrate lawfully."
J. 28 September 1995: PRIME MINISTER YITZHAK RABIN'S ADDRESS AT ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN INTERIM AGREEMENT SIGNING CEREMONY, WASHINGTON D.C.
[...] "Our dream is also your dream. King Hussein, President Mubarak, Chairman Arafat, all the others, and above all the President, Bill Clinton -- a president working in the service of peace -- we all love the same children, weep the same tears, hate the same enmity, and pray for reconciliation. Peace has no borders."
[...] "Ladies and Gentlemen: Let me extend my wish, to all of us, that we may meet here again -- and soon. Happy New Year."
K. 5 October 1995: RABIN'S SPEECH TO THE KNESSET ON RATIFYING THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN INTERIM AGREEMENT
[...] "Here, in the land of Israel, we returned and built a nation. Here, in the land of Israel, we established a state. The land of the prophets, which bequeathed to the world the values of morality, law and justice, was, after two thousand years, restored to its lawful owners -- the members of the Jewish people. On its land, we have built an exceptional national home and state."
[...] "We can continue to fight. We can continue to kill -- and continue to be killed. But we can also try to put a stop to this never-ending cycle of blood. We can also give peace a chance.
The Government chose to give peace a chance. The Government chose to do something to achieve it."
L. 29 October 1995: PM YITZHAK RABIN'S ADDRESS TO THE AMMAN ECONOMIC SUMMIT
[...] "Today and from here on, we are committed to invest in peace.
There are serious barriers ahead of us. We must overcome, on both sides, psychological barriers, and generations of hostility."
10. ACTIVITY:
YITZHAK RABIN RECEIVES AN HONORARY DOCTORATE, FROM THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM, 1967
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Morele Bar-On
YITZHAK RABIN'S ADDRESS OF ACCEPTANCE
MT. SCOPUS CAMPUSMr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. President of the Hebrew University, Mr. Rector of the Hebrew University, Members of the Board of Governors, Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am filled with reverence as I stand here before the teachers of our generation in this ancient, magnificent place overlooking our eternal capital and the sacred sites of our nation's earliest history.
You have chosen to do me the great honor of conferring upon me the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, along with a number of distinguished pesons who are doubtless worthy of this honor. May I be allowed to speak the thoughts that are in my heart?
I consider myself to be here solely as the representative of the whole Israel Defense Forces: of the thousands of officers and tens of thousands of soldiers who brought the victory of the Six Day War to the State of Israel.
It may well be asked why the University should have been moved to bestow upon me the degree of honorary Doctor of Philosophy, upon a soldier in recognition of his war services. What have soldiers to do with the academic world, which stands for the life of civilization and culture? What have those who are professionally occupied with violence to do with spiritual values? The answer, I think, is that in this honor which you have conferred through me upon my fellow soldiers you chose to express your appreciation of the special character of the Israel Defense Forces, which is itself an expression of the distinctiveness of the Jewish People as a whole.
The world has recognized that the Israel Army is different from most other armies. Though its first task, that of maintaining security, is indeed military, it also assumes numerous tasks directed to the ends of peace. These are not destructive, but constructive and are undertaken with the object of strengthening the nation's cultural and moral resources. Our work in the field of education is well known: it received national recognition in 1966 when the army won the Israel Prize for Education. Nahal, which already combines military duties with work on the land, also provides teachers for border villages, thus contributing to the social development. These are only a few examples of the special services of the Israel Defense Forces in this sphere.
Today, however, the University is conferring on us an honorary degree not for these things but in recognition of the army's moral and spiritual force as shown precisely in active combat. For we are all here in this place only by virtue that has astounded the world.
War is intrinsically harsh and cruel, and blood and tears are its companions. But the war we have just fought also brought forth marvellous examples of a rare courage and heroism, and the most moving expressions of brotherhood, comradeship and even spiritual greatness. Anyone who has not seen a tank crew continue its attack even though its commander has been killed and its tank almost destroyed, who has not watched sappers risking their lives to extricate wounded comrades from a mine field, who has not witnessed the concern for a pilot who has fallen in enemy territory and the unremitting efforts made by the whole Air Force to rescue him, cannot know the meaning of devotion among comrades.
The nation was exalted and many wept when they heard of the capture of the Old City. Our Sabra youth, and certainly our soldiers, have no taste for sentimentality and shrink from any public show of emotion. In this instance, however, the strain of battle and the anxiety which proceeded it joined with the sense of deliverance, the sense of standing at the very heart of Jewish history, to break the shell of hardness and diffidence, stirring up springs of feelings and spiritual discovery. The paratroopers who conquered the Wall leaned on its stones and wept. It was an act which in its symbolic meaning can have few parallels in the history of nations. We in the army are not in the habit of speaking in high-flown language, but the revelation at that hour at the Temple Mount, a profound truth manifesting itself as if by lightning, overpowered customary constraints.
There is more to tell. The elation of victory had seized the whole nation. Yet among the soldiers themselves a curious phenomenon is to be observed. They cannot rejoice wholeheartedly. Their triumph is marred by grief and shock, and there are some who cannot rejoice at all. The men in the front lines saw with their own eyes not only the glory of victory, but also its cost, their comrades fallen beside them soaked in blood. And I know that the terrible price the enemy paid has also deeply moved many of our men. Is it because their teaching, not their experience, has ever habituated the Jewish people to exalt in conquest and victory that they receive them with such mixed feelings?
The heroism displayed in the Six Day War generally went far beyond that of the single, daring assault in which a man hurls himself forward almost without reflection. In many places there were long and desperate battles: in Rafah, in El-Arish, in Um-Kal Um-Kataf, in Jerusalem and on the Golan Heights. In these places, and in many others, our soldiers showed a heroism of the spirit and a courage of endurance which inspired feelings of wonder and exaltation in those who witnessed them. We speak a great deal of the few against the many. In this war, perhaps for the first time, since the Arab invasions in the spring of 1948 and the battles of Negba and Degania, units of the Israel Defense Forces in every sector stood few against many. Relatively small units entered long, deep networks of fortifications, surrounded by hundreds and thousands of enemy troops, through which they had to cut and cleave their way for many long hours. They pressed on, even when the exhilarating momentum of the first charge had passed, and all that was left to sustain them was their belief in our strength, in the absence of any alternative, and in the end for which the war was being fought, and the compelling need to summon up every resource of spiritual strength to continue to fight to the end. Thus our armoured forces broke through on all fronts, our paratroopers fought their way into Rafah and Jerusalem, our sappers cleaned minefields under enemy fire. The units which penetrated the enemy lines after hours of battle struggled on, refusing to stop, while their comrades fell to the right and to the left of them. These units were carried forward, not by arms or the techniques of war, but by the power of moral and spiritual values.
We have always insisted on having the best of our young people for the Israel Defense Forces. When we said HaTovim La Tayis ("The Best for the Air Force") and this became a standard for the whole army, we were not referring only to technical skills and abilities. What we meant was that if our Air Force was to be capable of defeating the forces of four enemy countries in a few short hours, it could do so only if it were sustained by moral and human values. Our airmen who struck the enemies' planes with such accuracy that no one understands how it was done and the world seeks to explain it technologically by reference to secret weapons; our armoured troops who stood their ground and overcame the enemy even when their equipment was inferior to his; our soldiers in all the several branches of the army who withstood our enemies everywhere despite the superiority of their numbers and fortifications: what they all showed was not only coolness and courage in battle but a passionate faith in the justice of their cause, the certain knowledge that only their personal, individual resistance against the greatest of dangers could save their country and their families, and that the alternative to victory was annihilation.
In every sector our commanders of all ranks proved themselves superior to those of the enemy. Their resourcefulness, their intelligence, their power of improvisation, their concern for their troops, and above all, their practice in leading their men into battle: these are not matters of technique or equipment. There is no intelligible explanation except one -- their profound conviction that the war they were fighting was a just one.
All these things have their origin in the spirit and end in the spirit. Our soldiers prevailed not by the strength of their weapons but by their sense of mission, by their consciousness of the justice of their cause, by a deep love of their country, and by their understanding of the heavy task laid upon them: to insure the existence of our people in their homeland, and to affirm, even at the cost of their lives, the right of the Jewish people to live its life in its own state, free, independent and in peace.
The army which I had the privilege of commanding through this war came from the people and returns to the people: a people which rises above itself in time of crisis and prevails over all enemies in the hour of trial by its moral and spiritual strength.
As representative of the Israel Defense Army and in the name of each and every one of its soldiers, I accept your appreciation with pride.
Pedagogic Center Materials: Part I | Part II
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