BICOM

The Knesset held a special session yesterday to mark the seventeenth anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Rabin, who was Israel’s Prime Minister at the time, was killed by a Jewish extremist in 1995, following a peace rally in Tel Aviv. A special Knesset session has taken place each year since then, corresponding with the Hebrew anniversary of Rabin’s murder.

At yesterday’s session, Knesset speaker Reuven Rivlin claimed that Rabin’s political legacy was one of failure, commenting “Today, almost 20 years after Oslo, we can see clearly that the idea of separating the [Israeli and Palestinian] nations failed.” However, he went on to praise Rabin as a “leader, a dreamer and a fighter for the freedom of Israel.” Opposition leaders took to the podium to defend the pursuit of a two-state solution with the Palestinians. Labour Party leader Shelly Yachimovich addressed Rivlin saying, “The Israeli public doesn’t want the vision you presented. They aren’t interested in it. There is almost no person in Israel who wants to live in a bi-national state.” Meanwhile, Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz said that without a diplomatic process leading to two states, the “dream of a Jewish, Zionist state in the Land of Israel will come to an end.”

Meanwhile, on Saturday evening, an estimated 20,000 people took part in a memorial rally in the very square where the assassination took place. Held under the banner, “Remembering the murder – fighting democracy,” speakers from across the religious spectrum highlighted the importance of freedom and democracy. The prominent religious leader, Rabbi Benny Lau took to the stage, saying “We have gathered here tonight to loudly say that we will not allow anyone to break our national union… Together we say no to violence, to racism.”