At Rabin memorial, Lapid says ‘extremists’ in government ‘distorting Judaism into a politics of hatred and violence’

Speaking before some 80,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square to mark 30 years since the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid delivers a sharp rebuke of what he calls the growing distortion of Judaism by Israel’s far-right leaders.

“There are people who distort Judaism and turn it into a politics of hatred and violence,” Lapid says. “Those people today sit in the government.”

“Judaism does not belong to the extremists, the corrupt, or the shirkers [of mandatory military service.] It is not theirs to own,” he adds.

Lapid says Rabin’s assassin, Yigal Amir, “murdered Rabin and tried to murder an idea as well — our duty is to ensure that the idea lives on: a Jewish, democratic, and peace-seeking state.”

He closes his speech by citing Rabin’s legacy: “On this day, in this place, we are not here only to mourn Rabin — but to draw strength from him. He taught us: when you see something dangerous, stand against it.”