[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 8, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S16803-S16804]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO YITZHAK RABIN

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, my wife and I were in California visiting 
my youngest son and his wife this past weekend. After what had been a 
very pleasant day out hiking and walking about, we came back to their 
home, and there were a series of messages for me from the White House 
and my chief of staff. I called back and heard the terrible news about 
Yitzhak Rabin. I was also asked if it would be possible to make the 
connection back to Washington in time to accompany the President and 
the others to Israel.
  Mr. President, like so many millions of people, I turned to the radio 
and the television in disbelief. I hoped, even though the first news 
was so discouraging, that somehow he had survived the assassin's 
bullet. It seemed inconceivable that an old soldier who had survived so 
much, who had risked his life so many times, could be struck down this 
way, following a rally for peace.
  Those unable to attend the ceremony in Jerusalem watched it and wept. 
For all the reasons said so eloquently by so many people--and I think 
of our own President, President Clinton, Jordan's King Hussein, the man 
who had a close personal relationship, one based on trust and respect, 
with Prime Minister Rabin, and Egypt's President Mubarak, and perhaps 
most of all Prime Minister Rabin's granddaughter Noa. We listened to 
them and know we will not forget Yitzhak Rabin.
  Prime Minister Rabin was a man of great courage, of great vision, of 
great warmth, and, above all, great love for his country. In fact, for 
me it is almost impossible to think of Israel without thinking of him. 
My heart's hopes go out, not only to his family, but to Shimon Peres, 
who now takes on the awesome duties of Prime Minister at such a 
difficult time. To him I offer my support with the deep respect he 
knows I feel for him.
  In remembering Prime Minister Rabin, it was his undying love for 
Israel, his absolute commitment to Israel's survival, that enabled him 
to change course, to choose the path of peace in his final years. It 
was a choice and a challenge for all of us, but especially the people 
of the Middle East. It was a choice that was embraced by a majority of 
Israelis and Palestinians. It was spurned only by those too blinded by 
hate to see the historic opportunity that Yitzhak Rabin had seized.
  Like so many others in the Senate, I was fortunate to know Yitzhak 
Rabin, for nearly a generation. I am going to miss him very, very much. 
I will miss that great and wonderful voice, and his strength and his 
wisdom which you could feel just standing next to him.
  I had the privilege to accompany President Clinton to Aqabah last 
October, a year ago, for the signing of the Israeli-Jordanian peace 
agreement. I remember standing there in 110 degree heat, the wind 
blowing across the desert, as I listened to those two soldiers, Yitzhak 
Rabin and King Hussein, men who had fought against each other but who 
now stood with voices filled with emotion speaking of the need for 
peace.
  I knew from my private conversations both with Prime Minister Rabin 
and with King Hussein that these were men who could rely totally and 
utterly on each other's words, on each other's commitment, on each 
other's integrity and on each other's ability for leadership. And when 
the ceremony ended and the grandchildren of those who had fallen in the 
war, Jordanians and Israelis, came and presented flowers to the 
leaders, you knew that it was the leadership of Yitzhak Rabin and those 
who joined with him made that moment possible.
  Israel and the world have suffered a terrible and irreplaceable loss. 
We all remember the immeasurable loss after the assassination of 
President John Kennedy. I was not old enough to vote for President 
Kennedy. I was a student here in Washington when he died. And like 
everybody else who was old enough to know that day, I remember 
precisely where I was, exactly what I was doing, and the emotions I had 
at the time. And like so many other Americans, I wondered how we might 
go on.
  I know that there are those same feelings in the minds of people in 
Israel today. But I do not fear for Israel because we can find hope in 
the outpouring of love and respect for Yitzhak Rabin's memory by Jews, 
by Arabs, by people of all faiths around the world, because more than 
anything, it was Yitzhak Rabin's commitment to peace that inspired that 
outpouring of love and respect. So many generations have yearned for 
it, but it was Yitzhak Rabin who defied the prejudice, hatred, and 
violence of the past to make it possible for us to believe that peace 
is possible in the Middle East. That was the message of the handshake 
on the White House lawn. It is our challenge and our 

[[Page S 16804]]
duty to complete Prime Minister Rabin's vision.

  The Congress can be a potent force for peace. Too often we have seen 
some Members of Congress make fervent speeches and sponsor amendments 
that may have won points with constituencies here or at home but 
actually serve to sow divisiveness and undermine progress toward peace 
in the Middle East.
  Just as Prime Minister Rabin pleaded so passionately at the White 
House for an end to blood and tears, let us put an end to partisan 
political maneuvering on a subject so important and fragile as peace in 
the Middle East. Let us stop conceiving of ways to legislate obstacles 
to the very policies of those who are risking their lives for peace. 
Let us remind ourselves that even though we might get some short-term 
political gain by trifling legislatively with the peace process in the 
Middle East, we do it here in the safety of this Chamber, we do it in 
the safety of our home States, but it is the lives and the aspirations 
and the hopes and the dreams of the people in the Middle East who are 
affected. Let us put an end to these political games and wholeheartedly 
support peace in the Middle East.
  Let us do that for the memory of Yitzhak Rabin. Let us be united in 
continuing his legacy. Let each of us join the millions of Israelis who 
put their faith in him to prove the enemies of peace wrong. Let us 
listen to the words of Leah Rabin, his wife of so many decades, that 
wonderful woman who calls on us to unite in support of peace.
  Mr. President, it was only a couple of weeks ago, here in this 
building, that I and Leah Gluskoter of my office last spoke with Prime 
Minister Rabin. I remember him coming over and putting his arm around 
me and we chatted as the friends I was proud we had become.
  We talked a little bit about a longer conversation we had a couple of 
weeks before. In that conversation, he had thanked me for something I 
had been able to do for him that he felt helped the peace process. He 
said I had taken some political risks. I said, ``Mr. Prime Minister, 
you are the one who takes the real political risk. You risk your 
political life every day.'' I paused and I said, ``No, you risk your 
life, your actual life every day.''
  In that deep and wonderful voice, he responded he did not worry about 
that. He really did not fear for his life. He only feared for the 
continuation of the peace process. This is a man whose own political 
life, his own future, his own actual life was secondary to what he was 
trying to accomplish.
  I told him in that conversation that I felt when the history of this 
century is written, there will be a handful of people who will stand 
out as true peacemakers of this century, and he will be among them. He 
will be one of the most noted, certainly, of my lifetime.
  Now he is gone, and it is our job to go forward. Let me say again 
that we can give the greatest respect to Yitzhak Rabin's memory by 
supporting those who believe, as he did, that Israel and its Arab 
neighbors have seen enough of hatred, of occupation, of bloodshed, and 
that there is another way. The other way is the peace process he began 
and which will now be carried on by acting Prime Minister Shimon Peres. 
Our country remains a partner with Israelis and Arabs in this effort. 
Let us go forward in the memory of a great man who gave his life for 
it.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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