The scene on motzei shabbos was reminiscent of former years, hosting an array of Israeli notables aligned with the left-wing camp, making certain to shun the right-wing in what has become an annual event open only to the privileged members of the self-declared “peace camp”.

Under the guise of a memorial for Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, a former prime minister, government minister and chief of staff, the notables claimed their unique position as the peace-makers, rejecting any notion that that nationalistic camp is no less committed to such a noble concept, but unlike the organizers, right-wingers are not willing to engage in a process of self-destruction to achieve their goal. 

President Shimon Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and opposition leader Tzipi Livni competed in their remarks for the Rabin memorial award, addressing a noticeably smaller crowd than was present in any of the previous years, with this being the 14th since the assassination.

Peres made a direct appeal to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), asking him to remain on, based on last week’s announcement from Ramallah that the PA leader will not be seeking an additional term. Peres, a major Oslo architect, clings to that which placed him in the Nobel Prize hall of fame, insisting the path forged by Rabin is the only path, the righteous path, one that will lead to his new Middle East of which he frequently referred in recent years. 

The remarks this motzei shabbos as in the past ignored the harsh realities that have befallen the State of Israel since the signing of the Oslo Agreement on the White House lawn on September 13, 1993, using the clichés that have been long played out, repeating the yearning for peace mantra, but once again, ignoring the failed agreements, Oslo, Wye, Camp David II, and the Roadmap to name of few, not mentioning the names of the thousands of victims of Oslo, those who were killed and others who live with the constant pain and physical and emotional limitations which have become their new reality. The speakers ignored the realities of the 2005 Disengagement Plan, the thousands of families who remain homeless as a result, and the increased military threat against southern Israel from Gaza, now under total Hamas terrorist rule.

The almost total breakdown in Israel’s deterrence abilities accompanied by formidable Islamic fundamentalist armies on Israel’s southern and northern borders were not mentioned, nor were the armed terrorist police operating throughout Yehuda and Shomron, in PA autonomous areas, all byproducts of Rabin’s and Peres’ Oslo process. In the case of the latter, Israel actual armed the PA forces.

This year, adding to the fanfare was an address by the world’s newest Nobel Peace Prize laureate, US President Barak Obama, who aired his regular mantra, his vision for peace in the Mideast, highlighting his commitment to bringing peace to the region. In the videoed message the president spoke of the Rabin dream, referring to Rabin as a “soldier for peace” stressing those who seek peace have a true partner in the United States.

The lone voice of sanity perhaps came from Minister of Education (Likud) Gidon Saar, who did not follow the lead, but spoke of how the nationalistic camp was shunned in the annual memorial during past years, as well as mentioning the late prime minister’s policies preceding the assassination. Saar mentioned how those who did not agree with Rabin’s path have been “pushed out of the mourning tent”, which was evident by the lack of kippot and frum communities.

With the ending of the Rabin Square event, the nation once again closes another Rabin Memorial, one that should indeed be marked on a truly national level, the tragic assassination of a national leader, but instead, it has become a continuation of the left-wing self-destructive policies which are not new; perhaps just a continuation of the attack against the crew of the Altalena, the 1948 offensive against members of the Irgun weapons ship, headed by Rabin, an act which claimed the lives 16 Jews.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)