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Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Day

My Old New Land

Yom Hazikaron leYitshak Rabin


Memorial Day for the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is a national day of remembrance commemorated every year on the 12th of Cheshvan in the Hebrew calendar.


Yitzhak Rabin served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Israel Defense Forces during the Six-Day War. He also held the roles of Defense Minister and Prime Minister of Israel and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.


On Saturday evening, November 4, 1995, shortly after Shabbat, Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated at the end of a rally supporting the Oslo Accords (1993/1995). The event took place at Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv, now known as Rabin Square.


Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist, Yigal Amir, in a tragic event that shocked Israeli society. Thousands of people from across the political spectrum marched in the streets and lit candles in his memory. In the days and months that followed, a public demand emerged to establish an annual commemoration of his murder.

Rabin's funeral, held on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on November 6th, gathered leaders from all around the world (USA, Egypt, Jordan, Australia, etc.).


Two years later, in 1997, the Knesset passed a law to commemorate Yitzhak Rabin's assassination. Memorial Day is observed with state ceremonies on Mount Herzl, at Rabin Square, and across Israel. State flags are lowered to half-mast at all state institutions.

You can see in the following YouTube video the official announcement of Yitzhak Rabin's death an hour and a half after the shots. You can also see the atmosphere in the streets at that same moment. This is another live announcement on TV.


Rabin's assassination had a profound impact on Israeli society, particularly its political landscape, with consequences that are still felt today.

"Violence erodes the basis of Israeli democracy. It must be condemned and isolated. This is not the way of the State of Israel"

Words from Yitzhak Rabin's last speech, on November 4, 1995


Later, his granddaughter said, "He never knew it was one of his people who shot him in the back"*.


The Song of Peace (composed by Yair Rosenblum) was found in his pocket after his death.


Sources:

Wikipedia


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