January/February 1996

David Dolan reports on the situation in Israel following the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin

 Peace in Pieces?

The tragic assassination of Yitzhak Rabin rocked the state of Israel in a way not seen since the surprise Egyptian-Syrian Yom Kippor attack in 1973. A beloved military and political leader, a father figure to many, was brutally murdered along with his country’s cherished self-image as a place where such a thing could never occur.

Although the nation united in mourning the fallen Prime Minister, the deep divide over his government’s peace accord with Yasser Arafat remains.

Yigal Amir’s two bullets to Rabin’s exposed back shattered the Israeli per­ception that a Jew - especially a religious one - would never break the sixth commandment and take the life of an Israeli leader, no matter how controversial his policies. That myth has now been laid to rest next to Rabin’s body. With the taboo broken, many Israelis fear more assassinations could follow as the hotly contested ‘land for peace’ process continues to move forward. Others fear something even worse - violence approaching civil war in the terribly troubled nation.

The late Premier’s unexpected death came exactly one month after Yom Kippor - the day when Jews everywhere take stock of their lives in what is known in Hebrew as heshbon nefesh, literally ‘accounting of the soul’. Rabin’s murder at the hands of a 25-year-old Orthodox Jew brought a second Yom Kippor to Israel as people from all political persua­sions stopped to examine if their words or deeds had in any way contributed to the killing.

Many of the slain leader’s closest colleagues echoed Leah Rabin in saying that the Prime Minister’s constituents had not spoken loudly or often enough to support the ‘warrior for peace’. His lifelong partner insisted that the ‘silent majority’ backed her husband, but ‘were not vocal enough’ to counter shrill voices who opposed his peace policies. She predicted that ‘voices for peace will remain silent no longer’.

The bereaved widow bluntly blamed right-wing opposition politicians for being ultimately responsible for Rabin’s assassination, especially Benjamin Netanyahu. The Likud leader’s bombastic speeches and indifference to radicals in his camp had produced the climate for murder, she maintained, adding that he had not lifted a finger when blood-curdling pictures of her late husband in Nazi uniform had been held up during an anti-government rally in Jerusalem. Similar charges were also levelled by several cabinet ministers and Labour Party leaders.

Indeed, it was Israel’s right-wing politicians and related organisations that were engaged in the deepest soul searching following Rabin’s assassina­tion on 4th November. Most opposition leaders agreed that they had been overly complacent towards radical fringe elements in their midst, especially followers of slain rabbi Meir Kahane. Some had even warned before Rabin’s death that the political rhetoric was becoming too heated and needed to be toned down before just such a tragedy occurred.

Still, opposition politicians main­tained that the charges against them were overblown, and potentially dangerous. They warned that attempts to score political points over the terrible assassination would lead to further division and civil strife in the torn promised land. Some said Rabin had brought his death upon himself by part­nering with Arafat, a man responsible for the shedding of so much Jewish blood down through the years.

Netanyahu refused to directly answer Mrs Rabin’s charges, noting that Jewish tradition teaches not to take negative words from a recently bereaved person too seriously. But he did point out that he had recently denounced cries from many in his audiences that Rabin was a ‘murderer and traitor’ to Israeli Zionism. He also said that he had not seen pictures of the late Premier in Nazi garb at the rally in Jerusalem’s Zion Square on the 5th October. ‘We all saw the rela­tively small pictures later on television, but not at the packed demonstration itself.’

 In fact, the Likud leader had publicly denounced the offensive pictures in the Knesset later that same night. His televised statement came just moments after the government’s newest agreement with the PLO was narrowly approved by 61 to 59 votes.

When Knesset Speaker Shevach Weiss announced that Netanyahu wanted to make a statement denouncing the pictures, pandemonium broke out among government politicians. How dare the Labour Party Speaker allow Netanyahu to make such a statement when he had failed to denounce them earlier at the rally, they cried. Among those who shouted out their fierce disapproval was PM Rabin, who got up and left the Knesset chamber when the Likud leader rose to speak.

The Knesset exchange illustrates an important point in the searing dispute over who is to blame for the Premier’s heinous assassination. It is certainly true that opposition statements about the on-going peace process have often been vociferous, if not vitriolic, undoubtedly contributing to a climate of hate which led to the political killing. Many strong statements came from Netanyahu himself; who said, among other things, that the Rabin government was ‘betraying our Zionist heritage’ – undoubtedly fighting words to radicals who agreed with him

Government leaders, however, have also thrown petrol bombs on the rhetorical fires burning in the holy land. Several have denounced Knesset peace process opponents in the strongest possible terms, accusing them of being racist war-mongers who would destroy Israel if they came back into power. Among those with the sharpest tongues has been the new Prime Minister, Shimon Peres.

With all due respect to one of Israel’s greatest leaders, Rabin himself had often said and done things which undoubtedly contributed to the overheated climate. Known as a man who spoke his mind, he was not above name-calling and strong denunciations of his opponents when it suited him, as the public record over the past two years clearly demonstrates. Many people, especially Orthodox Israelis and settlers, felt that Rabin and his associates were unnecessarily denigrating them and their beliefs, if not the Bible itself. Such statements were bound to stir up fierce passions, which they did. Tragically, some of those passions were murderous.

The Premier’s last recorded comment came just after he had finished address­ing the Tel Aviv peace rally which would end in his untimely death. Asked by a reporter if he would meet with Netanyahu to discuss growing threats of political violence, he firmly said ‘no’. The Likud leader had asked several times to meet with Rabin to discuss the issue, but was tamed down each time, revealing the apparent contempt that the PM had for his political rival.

It should also be obvious that the government’s controversial policies themselves contributed much to the divisive mud-slinging which preceded Rabin’s assassination. Many Israelis have still not recovered from the shock of August 1993 when Rabin suddenly announced that secret talks in Norway had led to a preliminary peace deal with Arafat’s ‘Liberation’ organisation. After all, had the Labour Party not pledged in its 1992 campaign platform that it would never negotiate directly with the PLO? After being correctly told by their leaders – including Rabin – for almost three decades that Arafat and company were mortal enemies, seeking the Jewish state’s ultimate destruction, government leaders should have realised that many Israelis would not fathom, let alone welcome, the unexpected news.

In the opinion of this close observer of the Israeli political scene, government leaders haven’t done nearly enough to explain their radical about-face regarding Arafat. This has left many citizens – soldiers and civilians – fearful and confused. On top of this, they have apparently ignored or played down many dubious statements that continue to come from the PLO chief; such as repeated calls for Muslims to prepare for jihad over Jerusalem.

Arafat’s most recent disturbing statement was made during a mid-September interview with a Jordanian newspaper. He repeated earlier ‘assurances that the Israel-Palestinian peace deal ‘is in line with the ten points we came out with in 1974’, a clear reference to the PLO Phased Plan to destroy Israel in stages - either by military or peaceful means. Coming on top of an unprecedented wave of terror attacks that have left over 160 Israelis dead since the preliminary peace accord was signed in 1993, such statements are bound to give pause for thought, if not outright anxiety attacks, to many Israelis. The seeming indifference of most government ministers to Arafat’s statements has only exacerbated opposition attacks on the unfolding peace programme.

Israeli security forces are, after all, per­manently withdrawing from towns and villages adjacent to the tiny country’s main population centres. With the Iranian and Syrian-backed Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups vowing to continue their holy war forever, this reality is much more troubling to most opponents of the Israel-PLO accord than the fact that Judea and Samaria is also the biblical heartland of the Jewish people. Adding to anxiety, the withdrawal agreement was only barely approved by just one Knesset vote, with two Labour members voting with the opposition and a majority of Jewish members voting against it.

Empathising with the deep concerns of many of his compatriots, President Ezer Weizman has repeatedly expressed his reservations over the government’s peace programme. The close friend of the slain Premier has called several times for the with­drawal process to be halted until a greater consensus could be built up for it in the land. Weizman, a former Labour Party leader, has been sharply attacked by many government ministers over his stand.

Despite widespread grief and reflection over Rabin’s assassination, the threat of serious internal violence in Israel has not passed. If anything, left-wing supporters of the peace process are more determined than ever to push on with the withdrawal accord, whatever the cost in terms of internal peace. Many right-wing opponents are now afraid to speak up, leaving them more frustrated than ever. They realise that Rabin’s murder at the hands of Orthodox zealots will probably strengthen and speed up the peace process - just the opposite of what his killers intended – although some doubt that Peres has the public backing to push the process much further than it has already gone.

Orthodox Jews are particularly trauma­tised by the current state of affairs. They cannot deny that the assassin and his comrades believed they were acting out the will of God by killing Rabin, based on rulings by several rabbis that sought to justify such murder. They were appalled when press reports revealed that an ancient curse of death had been placed on the PM by kabbalistic rabbis and their followers in October (news of the curse appeared in the press just days before the assassination).

They realise that a growing number of Israelis are expressing revulsion toward Judaism as a whole, blaming the entire Orthodox community for the acts of a few extremists.

But other religious Jews are pointing their fingers back at the secular majority. They say that it was a horrible sin for Rabin – the Chief of Staff who led Israeli forces in their 1967 capture of the Temple Mount, Judea and Samaria – to turn over the biblical heartland to the likes of Arafat. They note that the synagogue Bible reading on the day Rabin was killed was Genesis 17, where God promises to give ‘all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession’ to the Jewish descendants of Abraham.

Some Orthodox Israelis and peace process opponents went even further. They noted that the first and last Hebrew letters of Yigal Amir’s name are Yod and Resh, the initials of Yitzhak Rabin. If these are removed from Amir’s name, it becomes Gal Ami, Hebrew for ‘redeemer of my people’. These Israelis believe Amir is a true Jewish hero. They believe Rabin was a false messiah, seen by most Israelis, especially the young, as having given his life as the ‘sacrificial lamb’ on the altar of peace. As evidence of this, many pointed to the nation­wide messianic-sounding signs put after Rabin’s assassination which read, ‘In his death we are commanded toward peace’.

Israel’s Messianic Jews have not been able to avoid the conflicting waves crashing together in their small country. Eliyahu Ben­Haim, head of Intercessors for Israel, issued a statement expressing both sorrow over Rabin’s death and also over the fact that Shimon Peres has now become Prime Minister. Known as a vocal opponent of the government’s agreements with the PLO, he noted that the word peres is found in Daniel 5:28 and means ‘to split up or divide’. He warned that full-scale civil war could occur if Peres speeds up the withdrawal process and abandons the strategic Golan Heights to Syria.

On the other side of the political divide, the former head of the Messianic Alliance in Israel sent out an open letter after Rabin’s assassination saying he had ‘recently observed how Messianic Jews and Christians had entered the circles of hatred and slander to support zealots undermining the authority of the government’. Menachem Benhayim went on to condemn what he called ‘the false messianism which was ready to risk civil war in order to push forward biblical prophecies.

Although not naming names, it was generally assumed that he was referring to Ben-Haim and several other Messianic leaders who have strongly denounced the army withdrawal as a surrender of God-given land, and to the International Christian Embassy which sponsored a march in October to Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem. Speakers at the widely-publicised event called for world-wide Christian support for Jewish settlers facing evacuation from their homes.

Local Messianic and Christian opponents of the Israel-PLO peace accord expressed shock over Benhayim’s letter. ‘He is completely out of touch with reality if he thinks that we in any way support the murderers who took Rabin’s life,’ said one of them who wished to remain anonymous. Christian Embassy leaders noted that they had placed a large condolence advert in the Jerusalem Post newspaper expressing their organisation’s grief over Rabin’s assassination.

Still, Messianic opponents of the slain leader’s policies were also caught up in the soul searching that swept through the Jewish state in the days following the political killing. Memorial services were held in many congregations throughout the land. ‘I didn’t vote for Rabin and was not a supporter of his withdrawal programme,’ said one leader at a service in Jerusalem, ‘but I join with my people in mourning the murder of one of our greatest leaders.’

Despite yearnings for peace, the state of Israel may well be facing the greatest period of danger in its short, modern existence. Apart from divine intervention, internal divisions and hatred would weaken the nation to the point where it is almost inviting external attack – as occurred before the Roman assault nearly twenty centuries ago. Recent press reports in most Arab countries and Iran reveal a definite gloating over Israel’s evident division and trauma, reflecting a growing hope that Jewish civil strife could lead to ultimate victory in the holy war to wipe Zion off from the face of the Middle East.

At the very least, tensions will remain explosive as parts of the biblical heartland are handed over to autocratic Palestinian leaders with a violent past and dubious future. Further political assassinations cannot be ruled out. Meanwhile, Syria continues to back armed Hizbullah attacks against Israeli forces in Lebanon while warning that it could smash the entire peace process if its rigid negotiating demands are not met.

The Jewish state has only one real hope in these traumatic days. That hope is the Prince of Peace, Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah. Jacob’s troubles are clearly increasing, even as talk of peace mounts. World leaders who flocked to Jerusalem for Rabin’s state funeral will continue to demand a final Arab-Israeli peace settlement, whatever the cost. But as the widening chasm in Israel reveals, true and lasting peace in the Middle East will not come through the efforts of flawed human beings, but only from the God of Israel, who sent His only Son to redeem Jacob’s children and the rest of fallen humanity.

David Dolan is an internationally recognised observer of the Arab/Israeli struggle. Since 1988 he has covered Israel for CBS Radio. His book Holy War for the Promised Land is an overview from first hand of the complex Middle East situation. He is also the author of Israel: the Struggle to survive and The End of the Age.