Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 6, 1995 TAG: 9511060085
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It is sadly ironic that Rabin was gunned down while leaving a peace rally, that his killer was enraged over plans to give away land won by troops that former General Rabin himself had commanded - and that, after all the wars and terrorism, the first Israeli leader to be assassinated has been killed not by an Arab but by a Jew.
It could, however, have been an Arab. Fundamentalist fanatics among both Jews and Arabs have formed, in effect, an alliance against peace. They strive separately but in evil symmetry to sabotage, by whatever means, the process that is slowly, painfully advancing against hate and history.
It was a lone gunman who adopted particularly despicable means over the weekend, but he emerged from a climate of hateful rhetoric, violent action and, above all, pernicious moral absolutism that tears from both sides the Israeli-Arab accommodation.
Israeli speakers at right-wing rallies had taken to calling Rabin "traitor" and "murderer." When the confessed assassin said he was following God's orders, he sounded like Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani, who called Rabin's death an act of divine retribution.
Until now, most of the terror has been Arab against Jew, Jew against Arab. Until now, moderates who risked their lives were Arab. Indeed, Rabin's death recalls the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat by Islamic extremists inflamed over his peacemaking with Israel. It is a terrible irony that, as peace draws closer, the violence grows.
So the question remains what it has been: Who will, by steadfast courage and cool perseverance, quiet the peace-haters?
A good share of the burden falls now, to be sure, on Shimon Peres, Rabin's foreign minister who is assuming leadership of the Israeli government. More than anyone else, Peres pushed Rabin along the path of peace. In part because Peres has been less reluctant to deal with the Palestinians and does not enjoy Rabin's reputation as a fierce warrior, his challenge will be all the greater.
But more important than any one person will be the efforts of the Israeli people to defend their country against internal attack, and the efforts of people the world over, including Arabs and Americans, to keep the promise of peace alive.
Israel is helped considerably by being a democracy, the only one in the region. As the head of the opposition Likud Party, Benjamin Netanyahu, put it well: "In a democracy, governments are replaced through elections and not through murder."
Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, also seemed genuinely grieved by Rabin's death, as well he should be. The peace process was plenty difficult and fragile enough with Rabin alive. The hope must be that, rather than derailing it, Rabin's assassination will buttress determination to fight for life and against the fanatics.
The fallen Israeli leader will be buried today with full military honors. He will not survive to see his legacy take full form, or to assure it is a legacy of lasting peace between Israel and the Arabs. Others will have to do that in his place and in his memory.
by CNB