Israel Commemorates Yitzhak Rabin's Assassination: Preventing History from Repeating Itself
October 23, 2007
The shots which rang out over Tel Aviv's Kings of Israel Square on that fateful night 12 years ago still reverberate today. A survey by the Israeli newspaper Maariv last week found that 46 percent of Orthodox Israelis believe Yigal Amir was not guilty of murdering Yitzhak Rabin, and only 32 percent of Orthodox Israelis think that Amir should never be released from prison.
These figures do not surprise Dr. Gadi Gvaryahu, Executive Director of NIF grantee Yudbet Heshvan: Promoting Tolerance in an Orthodox Context, which will be holding a special memorial service in the Yitzhak Rabin "Ohel Yitzhak" Synagogue in Rehovot on the 12th of Heshvan. A congregation of more than 200 people is expected for the event. Memorial prayers will be recited and relevant Torah and Midrash portions discussed.
"For every lie which is told about the murder of Yitzhak Rabin," explains Dr. Gvarayahu, "our response is to recruit another Orthodox Jewish teenager to our nationwide Religious Scouts movement, or set up another educational framework."
It has been ten years since Gvarayahu, 50, and a group of Orthodox friends in Rehovot became frustrated by the growing radicalization of Israel's National Religious movement, characterized by the denial that Amir murdered Prime Minister Rabin. They set up their own synagogue and youth movement in Rehovot, adapting a more liberal outlook on such subjects as the status of women and democracy.
Dr. Gadi Gvaryahu recites memorial prayers at last year's Rabin commemoration. |
"At first, we were held with contempt," recalls Gvarayahu. "People scoffed that we would not get a minyan for our prayers. Today we have a membership of 120 families. Some people tore down our announcements around the city. But today we are an accepted part of Israel's Orthodox Jewish landscape."
Moreover, the more liberal message spread. The Religious Scouts movement founded in Rehovot has opened branches in religious communities in Ra'anana, Modiin and Jerusalem. And, a liberal religious high school for girls was opened in Kiryat Ekron near Rehovot.
Last year, with start-up support from the New Israel Fund, Dr. Gvaryahu established Yudbet Heshvan. The organization is designed to serve as an umbrella for a Liberal Orthodox boys high school in Rehovot and a Midrash for graduates of the girls high school in Kiryat Ekron, and to better coordinate activities nationwide to promote Liberal Orthodox Judaism.
"The murder of Prime Minister Rabin by a religious fanatic," observes Gvarayahu, "was the most extreme act of intolerance, contempt for the law and hatred. Our movement seeks to strengthen freedom of opinion, listening to each other and respecting the institutions of the state among the Orthodox community."
Meanwhile, to mark the anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination, many organizations in the NIF family have been holding special study sessions of Jewish and Israeli texts which emphasize individual social responsibility. The organizations include Elul Center, Midreshet Iyun and Oranim – Hamidrasha Center for Study Fellowship. Entitled "Israeli Tikkun," these study sessions are designed to provoke soul-searching among Israelis.
