More than 10,000 people on Saturday night filled Tel Aviv's Rabin Square, where Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was murdered by a right-wing extremist 16 years ago, to commemorate the late leader's life and legacy. Supporters waved flags and held pictures of Rabin and signs reading, "We will neither forget nor forgive," and "Peace Now." A lineup of musicians, political activists, and politicians addressed the audience from the podium. Yossi Sarid, who served as education minister under Rabin, addressed the audience. "Since his murder, many have stood over Rabin's grave and have vowed to continue his path. These are false heirs who carry his name in vain. Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated and so was his path," he said. Rabin was shot by Yigal Amir, a right-wing extremist, at a pro-peace rally at the now-renamed Rabin Square on Nov. 4, 1995. He had been making his way down the stairs, a detail Sarid alluded to in his comments. "History has not repeated itself. It never left to begin with and it continues to strike terror. Is the next murderer already lurking by the stairs-" Referring to the growing number of religious extremists within Israeli society, he then said, "This is not one piece of rotten fruit, it is the entire tree ... Rabin's legacy sees 'price-tag' attacks as crimes against Zionism. The number of those who deny Rabin's assassination is growing, because the memory of his murder reminds them of their sins." "Price tag" is the term generally used to refer to acts of violence and vandalism committed by right-wing extremists against Palestinian targets in the West Bank. In recent weeks, however, "price-tag" incidents have moved inside the Green Line, with inflammatory messages spray-painted on Muslim sites such as mosques and cemeteries, and on Yitzhak Rabin's memorial at Rabin Square. Hagit Ofran, the head of Peace Now's Settlement Watch project, also addressed the crowd. Last week, Ofran made headlines after the inner stairwell of her apartment building was sprayed with hostile graffiti including "Rabin is waiting for you" in a suspected "price-tag" attack. "I did not come here to speak about Yitzhak Rabin. Today I am here because of people who sprayed messages on the walls of my staircase. While everyone talks about two states for two peoples, facts are being established on the ground that could risk the chances of this happening. The settlements policy will determine Israel's fate as much as the Iranian nuclear program," Ofran said to a cheering audience. Eldad Yaniv, an attorney and journalist who co-authored the National Left Manifesto, said in a speech directed at the country's political leaders, "You cannot tell us, Jews and Arabs here alike, what to think and what to write, what to remember and what to forget, where to appear and where not to appear, who to praise and who to criticize, and from who we can receive financial contributions." During the rally, several musicians sang in memory of the late prime minister. The artists included Danny Sanderson, Ishay Levi, Avraham Tal, and Aviv Geffen, who performed his famous song "Cry For You," the same song he sang at the peace rally where Rabin was assassinated. Miri Aloni, whose hit song from the late 1960s, Shir LaShalom, became a reminder of Rabin's death after she performed it on the night of his death, concluded the rally by singing the famous song again. This year's rally was organized by the "November 4" movement. The Rabin Center, established in memory of the late prime minister and headed by his daughter Dalia Rabin, backed out of planning it this year after claiming that the annual rally has exhausted itself and participation has waned. The annual memorial ceremony was initially postponed last week due to bad weather.
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