“Israeli democracy and Israeli society do not have a bullet-proof vest”

“Rather than the memory of the murder becoming a bridge between left and right, it has fallen victim to the divides between us. Rather than being a basis for dialogue between us, it has become a weapon. We need to think again about how we mark the anniversary of the murder.”    

President Reuven Rivlin today, 21 October / 12 Cheshvan, spoke at the official memorial ceremony for Prime Minister and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin ז"ל on the 23rd anniversary of his murder and the 18th anniversary of the death of Leah Rabin ז"ל. Members of the Rabin family, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein and President of the Supreme Court Justice Esther Hayut participated in the ceremony at Mount Herzl.

The president opened his remarks by saying, “On 1 November 1995, four days before the murder, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was interviewed on the television. Off camera, after the interview, Rabin was asked why he had refused to wear a bullet-proof vest, as his bodyguards had requested. ‘Israelis don’t get bullet-proof vests’, replied Yitzhak and added, ‘and I am like all other Israelis.’ That night, when Yitzhak Rabin’s blood was spilt in the city square, we were all in the crosshairs. Israeli society. Majority views and minority views. From left and from right. Not one of us had a bullet-proof vest. Israeli democracy did not die that night in the square. 23 years later, we can say with certainty: Israeli democracy is alive and kicking. But we must always remember: Neither Israeli democracy nor Israeli society have bullet-proof vests.”

“Two years before the murder, Rabin said ‘Even if we don’t all see eye to eye, even if we have disagreements, it is right and proper to argue but also to hold our tongue and to carry on together to reach our shared goals, because the good of the country comes before any personal or party-political considerations,’ he said. And I feel it is my duty to say it here, to say it again here. To remember and to remind us of that simple truth, that he bequeathed us in life and in death. The good of the country comes first. Her strength, her existence depends on our unity, and the responsibility for guarding it falls on each one of us, citizens of Israel, it’s leaders and presidents, legislators and journalists. Our only shield is our mutual sense of responsibility for ensuring the safety and the good of our society, our institutions, our defenders.”

President Rivlin continued: “If Independence Day is the birthday of the State of Israel, Rabin’s murder is the Yom Kippur of Israeli democracy. A day of judgement when our ability to not only argue, but to talk and listen is under scrutiny. In recent years, a battle over memory has been raging. The memory of Yitzhak, and the memory of the murder of Yitzhak Rabin. This is a battle that has already gone through several stages. I am afraid that, rather than the memory of the murder becoming a bridge between left and right, it has fallen victim to the divides between us. Rather than being a basis for dialogue between us, it has become a weapon. We need to think again about how we mark the anniversary of the murder. We must find a way to find the way for the memory of the murder and its lessons to penetrate to the whole of Israeli society, all its tribes. We must find the way to turn this day into an opportunity to stop, for a moment, the disagreement and to see the man or the woman who we are arguing with. Generations of Jews, men and women, have marked the murder of Gedalia ben Achikam. Many of them no longer know exactly who he was, and what his role was, but they – like their mothers and fathers and like their children and grandchildren - will always remember the murder of a Jewish leader at the hand of a Jew. Only if we find a way to remember together can we ensure that the gunshot wounds that Israeli society suffered will heal, and that the scar will remain in eternity as a witness and a warning.”

Concluding his remarks, the president said, “The figure of Yitzhak Rabin, prime minister, soldier and commander, military and political leader, man of peace and man of Jerusalem, will remain in the heart of the nation, dear Rabin family. We also remember Leah today, the wife of his youth who accompanied him with love and devoted her life to their family, alongside public activity on behalf of those less fortunate. May Yitzhak and Leah Rabin’s memory be a blessing.”