I Couldn’t Have Said It Better Myself

I have debated on more than one occasion the wisdom of writing how I really feel about Yitzchak Rabin and how the media goes crazy this time of year (the anniversary of his murder by Yigal Amir). Every time I reject the idea.

This year I have stopped listening/reading the news, so the topic really wasn’t at the forefront of my mind. But then I did a round of blogs, and Jameel at the Muqata wrote a post that sums up my feelings so perfectly that I had to link to it (and write my post anyway).

Those of you who do not live in Israel, or did not live here at the time of his assasination, cannot really comprehend what happened here afterwards. The fact that a Jew with a kippa shot the Prime Minister gave anyone who hated religious people the right to make sweeping generalizations. We religious Jews, and especially those of us who protested against the Oslo Accords, were subjected to a barrage of blame. It seems that we were all collectively responsible for Amir’s actions – since we agreed with some of his views about how wrong and dangerous Rabin’s actions were for Israel. This collective blame is repeated every year for a few weeks before the anniversary of Rabin’s assisination.

Rabin made nasty comments about those of us who disagreed with him and took to the streets to protest (calling us “propellors” – in other words, keep spinning, I don’t give a damn). He disregarded the real dangers to Israel’s security caused by giving up the right of the IDF to enter all areas of Yehuda and Shomron, and he considered giving up control of Rachel’s Tomb and only changed his mind after tearful protests by Members of Knesset (yes, grown men cried over this). He was responsible for giving guns to the Palestinian authority – which were then used later to kill innocent Jews (and injure many, like the young soldier who was shot in the stomach today waiting for a ride near Ariel, a five minute drive from my yishuv). He didn’t reconsider his policies after busses started blowing up (yes, busses blew up before September 2,000!).

Despite all of these things, I don’t think it was right to kill him – and I bitterly resent the fact that I have to say this! Others resent it too – and are beginning to speak up.