President Reuven Rivlin visited the Israeli Arab town of Kafr Qasim on Sunday to attend a memorial ceremony marking the 58th anniversary of the 1956 massacre of 49 Arab civilians by Israeli border policemen.
Rivlin, who replaced Shimon Peres as president in July, became the first Israeli president to visit the massacre site, as part of an outreach campaign to Israel's minority Arab population. Rivlin has made improving relations between Jews and Arabs a top focus of his administration.
On Sunday, Rivlin, accompanied by his wife Nechama, placed a wreath on the memorial for Kafr Qasim massacre victims.
Rivlin said the massacre was a "sorrowful chapter" in Israeli history, calling it a crime for which Israel has rightfully apologized.
"The State of Israel has recognized the crime committed here," Rivlin said. "I too, am here today to say a terrible crime was done here. An illegal command, over which hangs a dark cloud, was given here. The same terrible dark cloud which was ignored by those who carried out the murder of innocents."
Rivlin, a staunch nationalist, has been a strong proponent of Jewish-Arab coexistence throughout his long political career.
"The State of Israel is the national home of the Jewish people, who returned to their land after two millennia of exile," he said. "However, the State of Israel will also always be the homeland of the Arab population. ... Even if none of us sought it, we were destined to live side by side, together, with a shared fate."
The massacre in Kafr Qasim took place on Oct. 29, 1956, the first day of the Sinai Campaign. Due to the outbreak of the war, Israel imposed a nighttime curfew on its Arab citizens. A group of laborers unaware of the curfew returned to Kafr Qasim after a day's work and were shot to death. A public outcry ensued and 11 Border Police officers and soldiers were charged with murder. They were put on trial and eight were found guilty. The guilty received prison sentences ranging from seven to 17 years. All, however, were released early before serving out their full prison terms.
On Sunday, an 80-year-old Kafr Qasim resident who lost a relative in the massacre and was wounded himself said, "We, the bereaved families, want the president to recognize the massacre and apologize on behalf of the State of Israel and recognize us the same as victims of terrorism. But years have passed, and still no one recognizes us."
Meretz MK Issawi Frej, who is from Kafr Qasim, said on Sunday, "The arrival here of President Rivlin, the first president to come here to mark the massacre, is important and welcome, but the state has still been unable to recognize and commemorate this criminal event as an official event to be taught about and learned from. Recognition and a request for forgiveness are necessary steps toward a future of cooperation and coexistence."
Rivlin will travel to Poland on Monday, in his first official state trip abroad as president. The focus of Rivlin's meetings with Polish officials will be regional issues and the growing economic cooperation between Israel and Poland. An official welcome ceremony will be held for him on Tuesday at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, after which Rivlin will meet with Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski. Rivlin will also lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw and will speak at the opening of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
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