In past years, organizers of the Yitzchak Rabin memorial contemplated canceling the event rather than face the embarrassment of the waning participation.

One of the events set for this motzei shabbos the eve of 12 Cheshvan 5773 was canceled, and another, organized by youth movements was held, attracting 10,000- 20,000 people, depending on reports. In the years following the 1995 assassination the number of participants was in the hundreds of thousands and the showing continued declining annually.

Bnei Akiva decided to officially be part of the event for a first time and the organization’s leader, Danny Hirschberg addressed the tzibur. His remarks focused around the need for peace and tolerance, unremarkable according to most present. Former Minister of Education Prof Yuli Tamir was also present, and she addressed the union between the Likud and Yisrael Beitenu parties, which concerns her and her left-wing political philosophy.

Also present were Rabbi Dr. Benny Lau and Rabbi Avi Gasser, with the latter being the mora d’atra of Yishuv Ofrah, who was received with boos for reasons that remain unclear.

On Sunday, 12 Cheshvan 5773, an official state memorial will take place at the kever at 15:00 followed by a Knesset memorial session at 17:00 in the presence of President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu commented on the assassination at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, stating, “Today, we mark 17 years since the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. I call upon ministers to stand and observe a minute’s silence.

“The murder of Yitzhak Rabin was one of the worst crimes of the new age. It certainly besmirches the annals of the state and of Zionism. It will be etched in Jewish history along with other traumatic events, including those from ancient times such as the murder of Gedalyah, the son of Achikam.

“This murder also obliges us to safeguard Israel’s democracy, to defend freedom of speech and to strongly reject all displays of violence. These words will certainly come up today in the remarks that will be made at the two ceremonies that we will go to, both on Mt. Herzl and at the Knesset. I think that as time passes, the deeper significance of this imperative becomes more cogent and it is important that we, as leaders, do not, in any way, allow it to become blurred.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)