With Observance of Rabin Assassination, Beryl Dov Lerner, Western Galilee College, Reflects on Rabin Remarks on Jerusalem

This week Israel remembers the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. It is an appropriate time to recall Rabin’s own mature views regarding the final settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict as expressed in his October 5th 1995 address to the Knesset upon the ratification of the Israel-Palestinian Interim (“Oslo”) Agreement. Interestingly, any Israeli politician subscribing to some of his views today (“We would like this [Palestinian entity] to be an entity which is less than a state”; “First and foremost, united Jerusalem, which will include both Ma’ale Adumim and Givat Ze’ev”; “The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif [!!!]”) would be identified as a member of the Israeli right. Read his address at:

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/1990_1999/1995/10/PM%20Rabin%20in%20Knesset-%20Ratification%20of%20Interim%20Agree

Berel Dov Lerner
Lecturer in Philosophy
Western Galilee College

AUTHOR

SPME

Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) is not-for-profit [501 (C) (3)], grass-roots community of scholars who have united to promote honest, fact-based, and civil discourse, especially in regard to Middle East issues. We believe that ethnic, national, and religious hatreds, including anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism, have no place in our institutions, disciplines, and communities. We employ academic means to address these issues.