Zionist history of the past 120 years has seen only two and-a-half Jews who gained national consensus: The first, of course, is Theodor Herzl; the second is Joseph Trumpeldor; and the "half" belongs to David Ben-Gurion, whose contribution to the State of Israel [2] and the Israeli nation has been increasingly recognized by people of this generation, even by those citizens who rejected his path.
Yitzhak Rabin [3] could have belonged to this prestigious group: He was not a typical leftist, he was a commander during the bloody battles on the road to Jerusalem, and, most of all, he was IDF chief of staff during the amazing victory in the Six-Day War [4] and the prime minister responsible for the Entebbe Operation [5]. And if all this isn't enough, the despicable murder alone should have earned him a place in the national pantheon.
Two legitimate approaches regarding Rabin's commemoration surfaced immediately after the assassination: The first approach, which I supported, was that Rabin was dead and would never come back, so his actions and statements (well, not all of them) should be turned into policies and a path – into a part of our national heritage.
The second approach was based on the notion that Rabin was a political man, the incitement that preceded the murder was political and the murder itself was certainly political. Therefore, Rabin's actions and character should be viewed from a political perspective.
But the slain prime minister became a symbol only for the Left, and this has made it impossible to make him, and his memory, a consensus among all Israelis.
Some rightist leaders want Rabin to be forgotten, and the Left is playing right into their hands. Dalia Rabin founded, with her own two hands, a respectable center in her father's name - a monument of tears – but these tears a shared by only a certain segment of the Israeli nation.
Ten out of 10 Israeli public figures who babble about the Oslo agreement have never actually read the document. Since the murder all of Israel's prime minister's have followed the road Rabin paved with his blood: Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert. Benjamin Netanyahu, who was elected in 1996 after promising voters that he would pursue the path of Oslo, is trying to evade the Israeli-Palestinian radar, but he will apparently be the one who ends up implementing almost all of the agreement's clauses.
This reminds us of the recent truce with Hamas in Gaza. Who did we have to negotiate with in order to reach a ceasefire? Charlie Chaplin? Joan of Arc? Or was it Steve Jobs? This charade will end as well. This was how the road to Oslo began as well. The excuses and explanations won't help: Even if it takes years, Rabin's path will eventually prevail.
Front Page Features