Copyright ynetnews
Opposition leader Yair Lapid, Yashar Party chairman Gadi Eisenkot, Democrats Party head Yair Golan and former minister Tzipi Livni took part Saturday night in a rally marking 30 years since the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Thousands gathered at Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, where the event opened with the song “Shir HaRe’ut” (“Song of Friendship”). Lapid was the first to speak. “The three bullets fired here in the square were meant not only to kill a leader but to kill an idea,” Lapid said. “That is the meaning of political murder, to kill both a man and a vision. The man was killed. It is our duty to make sure the vision lives on. Yigal Amir did not only try to kill the Oslo process. He tried to kill something much greater, the idea that a country can be both strong and peace-seeking, both national and liberal, and above all, both Jewish and democratic.” Lapid continued, “Three bullets fired in this square declared that if there is a contradiction between Judaism and democracy, Judaism comes first. And if you do not accept that Judaism comes first, we will shoot you in the back. We must say clearly here in this square: that is not Judaism. It is not the Judaism of the overwhelming majority of Israeli citizens. The extremists do not represent it, and they do not speak for it. In this square, Judaism did not pull the trigger. Judaism was shot. Judaism did not murder. Judaism was murdered.” He added, “After Rabin’s assassination, decent and honest religious Jews across Israel said again and again, ‘This is not Judaism. If we had known where this was heading, we would have spoken out much earlier.’ I say to them now, look around you. ‘Much earlier’ is happening again right now. Once again, the essence of the Jewish idea is being distorted. Once again, Judaism is being turned into violence, bloodshed, and hatred of our own people. Yigal Amir is not Judaism. The violent racism of Itamar Ben-Gvir is not Judaism. Those who suggest dropping atomic bombs on Gaza do not represent Judaism. Settler violence is not Judaism.” Lapid said Judaism “does not belong to extremists, the corrupt, or the draft dodgers. We do not take moral lessons from them. Unlike them, we listen to the God of Israel who said, ‘Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed, for in the image of God He made humankind.’ Against that sacred principle, they raised a question and built forty years of incitement on it: ‘What are you, Israeli or Jewish?’ “No one authorized me to speak in Yitzhak Rabin’s name,” Lapid said, “but I know what he would have said: ‘That is a stupid question. I am Israeli because I am Jewish.’ Zionism is a Jewish movement. The Declaration of Independence is based on the Bible. Our democracy is rooted in the vision of the prophets of Israel. The IDF is a Jewish army, and our children enlist to defend the land of our ancestors. Those who seek to divide these ideas are merchants of hate. Leading the Harel Brigade in Israel’s War of Independence was a Jewish act. Liberating the Western Wall was a Jewish act. Pursuing peace is a Jewish act. Accepting that others think differently yet working with them for the country we all love is also a Jewish act.” Lapid also mentioned the protest group Brothers in Arms and former Hamas hostage Gadi Moses. “Going out on October 8 to help your fellow citizens, like Brothers in Arms did, is a Jewish act. Defending the rights of the 20 percent of Israel’s citizens who are not Jewish is a Jewish commandment. Fighting for the hostages is Jewish. Emerging from Hamas captivity and saying, ‘I am going to rebuild Nir Oz,’ as Gadi Moses did, is Judaism. Standing over your son’s grave, like Rabbi Doron Peretz did, and speaking of forgiveness and love, saying, ‘We may be the smallest people in the world, but we are the biggest family in the world,’ is the essence of Jewish existence.” Lapid concluded, “There is no war in Israel between Israelis and Jews, because there cannot be. On one side are Israelis who are Jews, the same thing, and on the other are those who distort Judaism into politics of hate and violence. Those people sit in the government today. But here we swear to you, Yitzhak, for Judaism, for Israeliness, for our children, we will not abandon Israel. We will lead it on a new path. On this day, in this place, the two greatest traumas of Israel meet: Rabin’s assassination and October 7.” “On this day, in this place, we do not come only to mourn Rabin but to draw strength from him. He taught us that when you see danger, face it. When something is broken, fix it. If you have lost your way, go back to the beginning and start again. Above all, he taught us that despair is the greatest gift we can give our enemies. Hope and faith will bring victory in the struggle over the soul of this nation.” The event also featured other speakers and artists. Rabin’s final speech was screened on giant displays throughout Ibn Gvirol Street and nearby areas. At 9:42 p.m., the exact time of the assassination, the crowd observed a moment of silence. The rally ended with “Song for Peace” and Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah.” The memorial returned this year after a five-year hiatus due to the war and ongoing renovations at Rabin Square. Thousands filled Ibn Gvirol and nearby streets, with the main stage set up beside the assassination memorial. The rally took place three days before November 4, the anniversary of Rabin’s death. Organizers from the “Returning to the Square” movement said in a statement, “Thirty years ago, amid a horrific campaign of incitement, Yitzhak Rabin walked down the steps when a vile murderer fired three bullets to kill the prime minister and to kill the peace process.” “Today, thirty years later and two years after the October 7, 2023 massacre,” they added, “incitement and division are once again on the rise. Division makes us strangers to one another, and hatred has again become a weapon in the hands of reckless politicians. Israeli society is at a breaking point, and it is our collective duty to stop the deterioration. This is a moment of truth for Israel. Let us not forget what unites us, our strength and resilience. Israel must return to the square and pledge that even when we disagree, we will stand together in hope and reconciliation, for all of us.”
