Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 5, 1995 TAG: 9511060075
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA SOBIERAJ ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Visibly shaken and on the verge of tears, President Clinton mourned the death of Yitzhak Rabin on Saturday, saying the Israeli prime minister gave his life trying to bring Israel a lasting peace. ``Goodbye, friend,'' Clinton said.
Standing in the Rose Garden, Clinton's voice choked with emotion as he said, ``I admired him and I loved him very much.'' The flag flying above the White House was lowered to half-staff.
Clinton bade his farewell to Rabin not far from where he had stood with Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat in September 1994 when the former enemies signed a historic peace agreement and sealed it with a handshake.
In words directed to the state of Israel, Clinton said, ``Just as America has stood by you, we all stand by you in this moment of grieving and loss.''
White House press secretary Mike McCurry said Clinton would depart this afternoon for Israel to attend the funeral, and had spoken to House Speaker Newt Gingrich about gathering a bipartisan congressional delegation to accompany the president.
The president also was calling former presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and George Bush, as well as Nancy Reagan, wife of the ailing Ronald Reagan, to invite them to accompany him to Israel, McCurry's office said.
Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas called Rabin ``a hero in a land of heroes.'' Democratic Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois called Rabin's death ``a tragic loss for Israel and the world.''
The House International Relations Committee chairman, Rep. Benjamin A. Gilman, R-N.Y., said the killing ``underscores the need for all extremists and dissidents to come together to work for a lasting peace.''
``Rabin's death must not be used as an excuse for more violence or for derailing the peace process,'' Gilman said.
Standing just behind Clinton in the Rose Garden was Secretary of State Warren Christopher who has made repeated trips to the Middle East in an effort to broker a comprehensive peace settlement.
In a statement issued at the State Department, Christopher called Rabin one of the ``towering figures of this century. He dedicated his life to Israel ... and the cause of peace.''
A statement from Vice President Al Gore called Rabin ``a statesman of global and historic stature'' and a ``martyr in the cause of peace.''
Clinton said that ``now it falls to us, all those in Israel, throughout the Middle East who yearn for and love peace, to make sure'' violence never returns to the region.
``Peace must be and peace will be Prime Minister Rabin's lasting legacy,'' the president said.
``The world has lost one of its greatest men - a warrior for his nation's freedom and now a martyr for his nation's peace,'' Clinton said. ``To Leah Rabin and her children, Hillary and I send our love and our prayers.''
Clinton was in the White House when he received news of Rabin's death from National Security Adviser Anthony Lake about 4 p.m. EST. Within the hour, the president telephoned Leah Rabin and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.
``The president was struck by the fact that, in both calls, both Mrs. Rabin and Acting Prime Minister Peres made the point that after tonight's rally, they'd never seen the prime minister happier,'' McCurry said. ``He was very satisfied with where the peace process was and very pleased personally with the way things were going.''
Clinton signed a proclamation ordering that all U.S. flags at public buildings, embassies and military bases around the world be lowered to half-staff until Rabin is buried Monday.
The president closed his emotional appreciation of Rabin with a farewell in Hebrew: ``Shalom haver,'' he said. ``Goodbye, friend.''
by CNB