Oslo Accords not root of terrorism, says Rabin son at memorial commemoration

18th annual Ner Yitzhak (“Yitzhak’s Candle”) memorial ceremony held at Beit Hanassi.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
yuval rabin 370 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
yuval rabin 370
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Yuval Rabin, the son of slain prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, is angry with those who call the architects and signatories of the Oslo accords murderers and criminals.
Speaking at the 18th annual Ner Yitzhak (“Yitzhak’s Candle”) memorial ceremony at Beit Hanassi on Tuesday, Rabin said that whenever he is called upon to represent his family on such an occasion, he is faced with the dilemma of deciding between what suits the consensus or whether to deal with the heavy issues that confront the nation.
This year, he decided on the latter because so many people attribute the outbreaks of terrorism to the Oslo accords, as if the people living here had not been battling terrorism for a hundred years, he said. Terrorism was here before Oslo and after, and is not just an Israeli phenomenon, but a world problem, Rabin noted.
He did not deny that increased waves of terror might be an outcome of Oslo, but suggested that they could also be related to the 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, when American-born Israeli Barch Goldstein opened fire on unarmed Muslims praying in Hebron and left 29 dead and 115 wounded.
Stressing several times throughout his address that terror was here before 1993, he said that anyone who is interested can find it well documented on various internet sites.
“Does anyone seriously believe that without Oslo there would be no terrorism?” he asked.
Quoting his late father, Rabin said: “We have to fight terror as if there were no peace talks, and we have to pursue peace as if there were no terror.”
In reference to those who have called for the cancelation of the Oslo agreements, Rabin wondered allowed if anyone would seriously consider abrogating them, given that over the past 20 years a series of left and right wing governments have all realized that compromises have to be made for peace.
President Shimon Peres, who has the authority to pardon criminals or reduce their sentences, said that Yitzhak Rabin’s killer would never be forgiven or pardoned. He did not mention Yigal Amir’s name.
Speaking of his own relationship with Yitzhak Rabin, Peres said that he had never had a more determined political rival or a more trustworthy and reliable partner.
“We marched together to pave the path to hope and towards the end target which was peace.”
Peres painfully recalled the opposition which they faced, the slurs and the incitement.
“Yitzhak knew that the road to peace was difficult, but he would not bow to any compromise of his morality.”
Even though 18 years have passed, said Peres, it seems as if Rabin had been assassinated only yesterday.
“The eyes are still wet with tears. I feel his absence every day. We all feel his absence.”