From the Liveblog of
Monday, November 4, 2024
Anniversary memorial for slain politicians Rabin, Ze’evi won’t be held this year at families’ request
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
The families of slain former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and former tourism minister Rehavam Ze’evi have appealed to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana not to hold special memorial meetings in the parliament today to mark the anniversaries of their loved ones’ assassinations.
In a statement, Ohana says that he has acceded to the families’ requests and no events will be held this year.
Rabin, a Labor prime minister, was assassinated on November 4, 1995, by right-wing extremist Yigal Amir following a mass peace rally in Tel Aviv that was called to highlight opposition to violence and to showcase public support for the prime minister’s efforts to negotiate with the Palestinians.
Last year’s annual state ceremony in memory of Rabin was canceled due to the ongoing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
On the other side of the political spectrum, Ze’evi, popularly known by the nickname “Gandhi,” was an IDF general turned politician for the far-right Moledet party who had advocated the voluntary transfer of millions of Palestinians out of the West Bank and Gaza to neighboring Arab states.
On October 17, 2001, he was shot dead by Palestinian gunmen from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group at Jerusalem’s Hyatt Hotel.
