Many government supporters, and even many centrists, in Israel will immediately blame the political right, the religious community, the residents of Judea and Samaria, and anyone else they can possibly connect with the assassination. These blamers, as they come out of the woodwork, will all fail to grasp the point that must be made to hit home if we, as Jews, are ever to get over this tragedy.
For it is neither the political right wing, nor the religious, nor the residents of Judea and Samaria, that are to blame. If blame must be placed, then surely it must be placed on the vast chasm that continues to divide the people of Israel, and the Jewish nation, as never before. This chasm is not the result of a flawed "peace" process, nor is it the fault of its opponents. The chasm is the result of an Establishment that is concerned first and foremost with self-preservation, as it becomes increasingly superfluous. It is the fault of an outmoded social ideal that has permeated Israeli politics since the inception of the Zionist programme. It is the fault of people who bow to omnipotent government and socialist machinery. Above all, it is the fault of all those who grow militant when the established practices are threatened by creative alternatives.
Divisiveness is the root cause of the tragic and horrific events which unfolded this weekend. This divisiveness is not the fault of the pro-security and pro-Israel Israeli right, or the religious. It is the fault of the secular Israeli left, and of its supporters in the Diaspora.
The government that was elected in 1992 was easily the most anti-religious government in Israel's history. Under its supervision, and at its direction, Israelis wearing kippot of a certain type or size were routinely arrested and assaulted by police officers for no more reason than their mode of headcovering. This was most blatant at the recent celebrations marking the transformation of Kibbutz Nesher into a city. Anyone wearing a knitted kippah, whether religious or not, was automatically arrested, and barred entry into the grounds.
The government of 1992 was easily the most repressive government in Israel's history. The almost daily occurrence of police brutality against peaceful demonstrators passed without a whisper in the Israeli Knesset, even as government opposition on the streets grew stronger and more plaintive. Indeed, a movement developed this summer to launch lawsuits for malicious false arrest in some cases of police brutality.
The government of 1992 was easily the most racist government in Israel's history. Not infrequently was the opinion voiced by its leaders that American immigrants were not wanted, that religious immigrants were not welcome. Many were the Knesset decisions that were based on the votes of Arabs, giving no consideration to the wishes of the Jewish majority. Arabs were allowed to break laws of Israel with impunity, while Jews were arrested for nothing. This tendency became so marked that on more than one occasion, the Supreme Court of Israel threw out cases against Jewish opposition leaders with the warning to the police that any future such cases would result in the reprimand of the officers making the arrests.
The government of 1992 was easily the most undemocratic in Israel's history. Never before has any Israeli government rested its entire balance on the votes of Arabs, nor has any government passed legislation that would so alter the fabric of Israel on one vote.
Not all of this is the fault of Yitzchak Rabin. But he, as Prime Minister, certainly had the ability to stop any and all of the above, to preserve democracy, and to foster unity among a divided people. President Weizman realized the problems engendered by the divided nation, and has done his utmost to curtail the potential effects of this divisiveness. Unfortunately, it seems as if he has failed. But Rabin failed even more miserably, in that he did not even attempt to foster unity among his people. Instead, he often incited much of the discord himself, denigrating the residents of Judea and Samaria, many of which he himself put there.
I found it interesting, watching CNN in the wake of the awful events, that most Israeli commentators referred to the name-calling and strident rhetoric of the opposition demonstrators in calling Rabin a murderer and a traitor. Not one commentator, however, admitted that Rabin himself took full part in this rhetoric and name-calling. Not one commentator mentioned that Rabin himself took the lead in this department when Menachem Begin ob'm was the Prime Minister during the Lebanon War.
The murder of Yitzchak Rabin was a despicable act. The perpetrator should be subject to the full force of the law. Indeed, I hope that he is not treated with the kid gloves with which Rabin treated other, Arab, murderers of Jews. Rabin's assassin deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison, if not worse.
But it is incumbent upon all Israelis, and all Jews, now more than ever, to strive for national unity. It was disunity that resulted in Rabin's assassination. In remembering this important factor, and in remembering exactly which people are responsible for such dramatic disunity, we can put the entire horrible incident in the proper perspective, and hopefully prevent it from ever happening again.
The Israeli government, and its loyal opposition, should subordinate their political differences to the very necessary healing process for the next few weeks. Once the healing has begun to take effect, these differences should be submitted to the people of Israel for adjudication. President Weizman has been calling for early elections for the past six months for precisely this reason. Shimon Peres should now accede to the requests of the President and work toward the reunification of the people.
Copyright 1995. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission only.
