demonstration<\/a>, which marked the 20th anniversary of Rabin’s assassination by a Jewish extremist incensed by his\u00a0government’s efforts to reach a peace accord with the Palestinians, was called \u201cRemembering the murder, fighting for democracy” — a nod to the slaying’s universal lesson of respecting the rule of law and the country’s elected leaders, no matter their politics.<\/p>\nBut some of the event’s speakers were interested in a different cause. The top-billed speaker, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, devoted much of his address to praising Rabin\u2019s dedication to the peace process, and he concluded with a call to finish Rabin\u2019s work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next step will be determined by whether you decide that Yitzhak Rabin was right,\u201d Clinton said. \u201cThat you have to share the future with your neighbors, that you have to give their children a chance, that you have to stand for peace, that the risks of peace are not as severe as the risks of walking away from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
President Barack Obama struck the same chord in a video address, where he lauded Rabin for relentlessly pursuing peace. The Obama speech\u00a0sounded like a thinly veiled jab at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently told lawmakers that Israel would not withdraw from territory in the foreseeable future and would \u201clive forever by the sword.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYitzhak Rabin understood the dangers Israel faces, but he also said the Palestinians are not to be ruled over forever by force,\u201d Obama said. \u201cLike a true statesman, he was willing to exhaust every opening, every possibility for peace. In these difficult days, his life, his dream, can inspire us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The addresses that did focus on social solidarity and respect for democracy in turn made little mention of the peace process. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin thanked Israelis for their resilience and — having himself received death threats — declared that leaders fighting extremism are not afraid. But in praising Israeli democracy, he also obscured the distinction between Israel and its West Bank settlements.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven in the midst of the current bloodshed, even in the face of the heinous terrorism which does not distinguish between Tel Aviv and Gush Etzion, Beersheva and Kochav HaShachar, Israel\u2019s democracy has not ceased to realize its strength and resilience,\u201d Rivlin said, naming a pair of Israeli cities and a pair of settlements. \u201cAnd for this we are today filled with pride.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even the signs in the crowd were split. Some stated \u201cIt is forbidden to raise a hand against democracy.\u201d But others, sponsored by Peace Now and Israel\u2019s left-wing parties, carried slogans like \u201cRabin understood: two states,\u201d or a sign with Rabin\u2019s face and the word \u201cleadership\u201d on one side, and Netanyahu\u2019s face and the word \u201ccowardice\u201d on the other.<\/p>\n
Some of the tens of thousands attending a Tel Aviv rally marking 20 years since the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Oct. 30, 2015. (Tomer Neuberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Tal Segev, 15, a member of the Scouts youth group holding a Peace Now sign, said he came to the rally \u201cto emphasize that the message won\u2019t be forgotten, the message of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Eliad Avreki, 35, one of the few men in the crowd wearing a kippah, said the rally was \u201cnot a matter of right or left.\u201d The focus, he said, should be on promoting civil dialogue to prevent extremist acts. A coordinator for the religious Zionist, pro-settlement youth group Bnei Akiva, Avreki said he went to anti-peace process rallies before Rabin\u2019s assassination, but sobbed when he heard about his death.<\/p>\n
\u201cI opposed his path,\u201d Avreki told JTA. \u201cBut I opposed his death even more.\u201d<\/p>\n
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