Opposition leader Yair Lapid harshly criticized the current government during ceremonies commemorating the 30th anniversary of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.
“Three bullets were fired here in the square, saying: ‘If there is a contradiction between Judaism and democracy, Judaism comes first. If you do not accept that Judaism comes first, we will shoot you in the back.’ And here we must say, ‘This is not Judaism. The extremists do not represent it,’” Lapid said in his address.
“The same thing is happening again now. Yigal Amir is not Judaism. The violent racism of Itamar Ben-Gvir is not Judaism. Those who propose dropping atomic bombs on Gaza do not represent Judaism. Settler violence is not Judaism. Judaism does not belong to the extremists, the corrupt, or the shirkers.”
The gathering marks the anniversary according to the Hebrew date. Tuesday will be the Gregorian anniversary of the assassination.
Freed hostage Gadi Mozes stated that if Rabin were prime minister today, there would be no hostages in Gaza.
“There isn’t a child in Israel who doesn’t know or hasn’t heard the story of the Gaza Envelope,” he said. “The story of Nir Oz is the essence of our lives. For 70 years we have lived this story and walked in the final words of Trumpeldor.
"Generations of fighters were raised on that sentence. The military cemeteries are a painful testament to its realization. If there is no choice, if a sharp sword is placed on our necks, if everything hangs in the balance — we go to battle. And I also say: it is good to live for our country.”
“Rabin was an honest man and a courageous leader, and I know that if Yitzhak Rabin were prime minister today, no one would be left behind,” Mozes added. “He would not have given up on us, the captives, for two years! And he would not have closed his eyes until everyone — even the fallen — returned home.”
'Rabin was a hero of Israel'
Democrats leader, Yair Golan, also slammed the government in his speech.
“Thirty years have passed since those three shots, but their echo has not yet faded. They still resonate today in every action of this government, which acts against its own people, wherever Israeli democracy is trampled, whenever a government incites against its citizens, when patriots are called ‘traitors,’ when demonstrators who fulfill their civic duty are beaten, when the media is silenced, the judicial system trampled, and loyal public servants are humiliated,” he stated.
“Rabin was a hero of Israel because he was a man of truth, who chose time and again to place the good of the people before his political interests or personal gain. Peace is the only way to ensure that young men and women in Israel will no longer have to pay the price of its absence.”
Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot stated that a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be reached in Rabin’s memory.
“Rabin knew that true security is not built from creeping annexation and endless war but from a political and national decision,” said Eisenkot. “The conflict cannot be managed; it must be resolved. Not for the Palestinians’ sake but for our own, to ensure a secure future for our children. This is what a good state should do, and this is what Rabin tried to do.
“Polarization and incitement driven from above by corrupt motives have nothing to do with us, the people, who serve, work, love, and cherish life. These people deserve leadership that will join hands and work together toward repair and renewal.”
The memorial service had not been held at the square for the past five years due to the war in Gaza and significant construction in the square, N12 reported