20 years after the killing of the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin

Il 4 novembre 1995 un estremista ebreo uccideva il premier israeliano Rabin, “colpevole” di aver posto le basi per un accordo di pace con i palestinesi.

On the night of 4 November 1995 the history of the Middle East – and that of the entire world – has changed. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, promoter (together with Yasser Arafat) of the Oslo Accords, which introduced a peace process between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), was killed. Yigal Amir, Jewish ultranationalist against the end of the conflicts with Arabs, shot him.

Today, 20 years after the killing, the peoples of the two countries still suffer the consequences of that brutal action. On Saturday 31 October, thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv, in the square bearing the name of the Israeli leader. They gathered to commemorate his death, but also to cry out for hope: “Today, more than ever before, we feel Rabin so far away. But it is encouraging to see so many people taking to the street,” told a demonstrator to the news agency AFP.

 

It’s been months since the leaders of the two parties have had contact. And the question that many seem to ask is: “What would Israel and Palestine be like if Rabin hadn’t been killed?” Ouri Savir, the then chief negotiator of the Oslo Accords said to the French news agency: “With only one more term of office, maybe we could have managed to sign a permanent agreement with Palestinians. And maybe a lasting peace with Syria”. Contrarily, following the murder, the left-wing party lost the elections, and Benjamin Netanyahu – current Prime Minister – took the power, “intently destroying Rabin’s work,” added Savir.

 

Ceremony Commemorates The 20th Anniversary Since The Assassination Of Yitzhak Rabin
Thousands of people took part to the commemoration of the Israeli Prime Minister Rabin ©Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images

 

Dalia, former deputy and daughter of Rabin, attended the demonstration. On the stage, she hugged Bill Clinton, ex-president of the US, who was committed to reaching an agreement between Israel and the PLO. Clinton called on the Jewish people: “His legacy is clear and untouchable. He gave his life so that you could live in peace. The last chapter must be written by the people he gave his life to save and to nourish. He defended the country, but more importantly for tonight, he advanced the values fundamental to Israel and stood for freedom, peace, acceptance of those who are different from us”.

 

Translated by

Siamo anche su WhatsApp. Segui il canale ufficiale LifeGate per restare aggiornata, aggiornato sulle ultime notizie e sulle nostre attività.

Licenza Creative Commons
Quest'opera è distribuita con Licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale.

Related articles
Holy water in the Israeli-Palestinian water conflict

Tiberio Grimberg lives on the outskirts of Beka’ot, an Israeli settlement near the Jordan Valley. He works as a gardener, nurturing and watering plants in his moshav, a type of Israeli town or settlement. “Around here in the Jordan valley, vineyards dominate the agriculture,” says Tiberio as he wipes his sweat, sitting in the seat of

Israel cuts water supply to Palestine during Ramadan

“Water is life”. June Kunugi, UNICEF’s special representative to Palestine, reaffirmed it during the opening of the first water desalination plant in Gaza. Exactly while Israel decided to cut water supplies to West Bank, leaving tens of thousands of Palestinian people without water during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.     In the first

4 Palestinians, 4 Israelis dead. 8 reasons why West Bank violence is out of control

September ended with the raising of the Palestinian flag at the United Nations, yet October has seen an escalation of violence in the West Bank, which forms the bulk of Palestinian territories. Clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli military have left two Palestinian teenagers dead and almost 500 Palestinians injured. In separate incidents another two

Ben-Ami’s dream: paying tribute to Lorde with covers in Hebrew and Arabic

Author, journalist but also musician, Yuval Ben-Ami was born in Jerusalem. He writes for a number of Jewish cultural magazines and has published some popular books about his birthplace. He likes classical music,  Schubert in particular. But since he listened to New Zealand singer Lorde’s first album, he has developed a true obsession for her. He said

Olive oil eliminates the borders between Israel and Palestine

Olive oil without borders (OOWB), is a triennial project among 34 olive oil farming communities in Israel and the West Bank (Palestine). The initiative was established by Near East foundation (NEF) and financially supported by USAID, the American agency against extreme poverty.   Olives and olive trees are vital to local economy. In Palestine about 100 thousands