Peres eulogizes Rabin. "One wearing a kipah who transgressed 'Do not murder'"

The president Shimon Peres spoke on Tuesday morning in the framework of a festive event to mark 20 years to Rabin's government, which took place at the Rabin center in Tel Aviv.

At the start of the event, the participants replicated the picture of the ministers of the 25th government of Israel, while keeping the place of honor for the Prime Minister, Yitzchak Rabin z"l.

The president, who served as the Foreign Minister in Rabin's government, opened the gathering with a speech. "The 25th Israeli government changed the priorities in Israel under the far-seeing leadership of Yitzchak Rabin z"l. This is a government which sought peace and pursued it with persistence and might. It received worldwide recognition and performed a social turnabout. Raising the social issues did not harm the security priority. The two flags – the security and social, waved high together. The Rabin government was a government of social justice and political wisdom".

The president emphasized the economical-social achievements of the government: "This was a revolutionary government in the realm of education too: the budget of the Ministry of Education was raised from 8 milliard to 14 milliard, there was a dramatic rise in the teachers' wages, and many colleges received an academic standing. The market moved from inflation to growth. Unemployment dropped from a rate of 11.5% to 6.5% and enabled a healthy market and a just society. The Rabin government knew how to bring Arabs and Jews closer. It equated the allowances for children to the Arab population. It worked for increasing equality and a feeling of civil partnership. It invested in infrastructures in the Arab sector's settlements".

Regarding its political achievements Peres said: "Another piece de resistance of Rabin's government is its unprecedented political achievements. The collapse of the USSR and the Persian Gulf War turned the USA to an only world power. During the period of Israel's 25th government, our relations with the USA, our most important strategic asset, reached a new peak. Yitzchak received unusual appreciation in the American government and in the American public's opinion. We lay a foundation for a stable solution for the Palestinian problem. Two countries for two nations. The Oslo process turned us from those who are led, to those who lead, to ones who create a new reality with wise gradualism. And the trust was built in stages, and proved that what seems impossible is possible. The Oslo agreement created a choice which was not present beforehand. All the Israeli governments from right and left adopted its basis.

"In the flowerbed of the Oslo process we planted the peace treaty with the Jordanian kingdom. Our eastern border became a border of peace. We proved that there can be other relations between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East. Whoever was present in the local economic conferences knows well that it is possible otherwise too. We received formal international recognition. New embassies opened like mushrooms after the rain".

The president further said: "The Rabin government worked as a team. Each minister was in charge of his defined area, and the government as a whole like a team which performs a big policy with full coordination between the political, social and security echelon. As a president, I am not allowed to give grades, but I can say that you are all worthy of appreciation, my friends and partners in the government which was headed by Rabin".

Peres emphasized Yitzchak Rabin's uniqueness as Prime Minister of Israel and said: "Yitzchak did not finish his cadency, but he wrote an amazing chapter in the history of our nation. The three short years from his election to his murder, will stand on their own as unforgettable in our history. We are full of faith that the special way of the 25th government will serve Israel in the future too, in its walks and results, with the figure of Yitzchak serving as a symbol and model and an everlasting light for the nation and country".

The president related to the murder of the Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin which severed the activity of Rabin's government and said: "To my great dismay, radical declarations came to light by us as well. A radical criminal, who wore a kipah, transgressed one of the basic Mitzvot of Judaism "do not murder". He murdered. He murdered a beloved Prime Minister to his nation. A sign of Kain will never be removed from his forehead. I did not relate my feelings after those three terrible shootings. Today I will only say that the mutual work with Yitzchak and the impossible parting with him, left me a tearful man, longing and believing until today".

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!