[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 8, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S16812-S16813]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page S 16812]]


                        TRIBUTE TO YITZHAK RABIN

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, before the events of the last few days 
fade from memory, and the recollection of the assassination of Prime 
Minister Yitzhak Rabin gets obscured by other events in the world, I 
want to take this opportunity to reflect somewhat on my visit there 
during the funeral and just to discuss, for a moment, my view of this 
man, this great man, someone I knew very well for a period of more than 
25 years.
  Mr. President, the world now knows so well that the Israeli people 
have lost a courageous, visionary leader, and the world has lost a 
peacemaker. As Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was laid to rest on Monday 
in the holy city of his birth, Jerusalem, millions witnessed the 
funeral and grieved at the loss. His brutal assassination represents 
the worst of so many tragedies in Israel's recent history. It 
demonstrated too vividly the depths to which intolerance can drag the 
human spirit. The people of Israel are in shock, stunned and saddened 
by the senseless, cold-blooded murder of their unique leader, soldier 
turned peacemaker.
  Many felt the pain of the bullet that took away their Prime Minister, 
and that the assassin tore asunder at the same moment the spirit and 
the soul of Israel. The residents of the community, and those that know 
the Jewish people, cannot comprehend how one Jew could kill another in 
the name of God, when all, at times, have been victims.
  I, along with millions of Americans, share their grief and sense of 
loss. At this delicate time in Israel's history, the United States 
Government must remain unequivocal in showing its strong support for 
the Government of Israel and in its leader, acting Prime Minister 
Peres, as the head of the Government. He has the credentials to ably 
lead the people of Israel in the tumultuous days ahead. The United 
States commitment to Israel will remain strong. It cannot be shattered 
by an assassin's bullet.
  Mr. President, during the decades in which Yitzhak Rabin faithfully 
served his government, the American people observed, with great 
admiration, his evolution from soldier to statesman to politician to 
peacemaker. Always, he had our respect as an outstanding leader.
  Yitzhak Rabin was a man of great courage and determination. His 
concern, to his last moments, was for the security of the people of 
Israel and the attainment of peace. Though his life was cut short by 
the bullet of an intolerant, self-righteous assassin, his legacy of 
peace will live on with his countrymen in future generations of Israeli 
citizens. In his memory, I believe that the peace process will continue 
to move forward at, perhaps, an even faster pace. Because the Jewish 
extremists took up arms against the peace process, Israel must not be 
dissuaded from pursuing and strengthening regional peace. To abandon 
the process now would give succor to the extremists and terrorists of 
all religious persuasion.
  Because Rabin was a man of such character and courage and so deeply 
committed to peace, dignitaries and government officials from 80 
different nations came to his funeral in Israel to pay him their last 
respects. Five thousand guests were invited from all around the world. 
President Clinton and former Presidents Bush and Carter attended the 
funeral, along with Secretary of State Christopher and former 
Secretaries Vance and Shultz. Thirty-five Members of Congress attended.
  Heads of State, Cabinet Ministers, and government officials from the 
international community traveled to Jerusalem to mourn the loss of this 
great leader, many of whom did not really know him but knew about him, 
read about him, heard about him, and saw his commitment--unyielding 
commitment--to his people to show support for continuation of the peace 
process.
  The global gathering at his funeral was testament to the fact that 
under Rabin's leadership Israel had been welcomed into the 
international family of nations as never before. Nowhere was his 
accomplishment in ushering in a new era of acceptance for his country 
more evident than in the reputation from Middle Eastern countries.
  Never in their wildest dreams could people imagine that Jordan's King 
Hussein would stand in Jerusalem, the city where his grandfather was 
assassinated--which he mentioned in his comments--in 1951 by Islamic 
militants, people in his own religion, his own communities, the city 
that was reunified by Israel in 1967. He came to say farewell to his 
former foe, Yitzhak Rabin calling him a brother--a brother, a 
colleague, and a friend. I saw him wiping tears from his eyes.
  Never did I imagine that the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, who 
had traveled to Jerusalem to pay Prime Minister Rabin his last 
respects--even dignitaries from countries like Oman and Qatar, which 
have no diplomatic relations with Israel, came, beyond their 
formalities, to cross the border to say farewell to this visionary 
leader.
  I, too, Mr. President, was at the funeral on Mt. Herzl where so many 
of Israel's military and spiritual leaders are buried. As the siren 
sounded throughout the country announcing a 2-minute period of silence 
and mourning for his death, I recalled many of the heroic moments of 
Yitzhak Rabin's life.
  I saw the flag of Israel draped over his coffin and envisioned 
Soldier Rabin leading the fight to keep the supply link between 
Jerusalem and the sea in the war of independence. We traveled that road 
from the airport to Jerusalem where along the roadbed still were the 
hulk of trucks and tanks and weapons that are left there as a reminder 
of what the price was that was paid to keep that road open and to 
create the independent State of Israel.
  I remembered reading about his exploits and how heroic this very 
young man at the time was. He was a brigade commander still in his 
early twenties.
  I envisioned Army Chief of Staff Rabin strategizing to recapture the 
city of Jerusalem and claim victory in the 6-day war of 1967. I recall 
the Ambassador to the United States Yitzhak Rabin arguing for a strong 
United States-Israel relationship from his Embassy office in 
Washington. I could almost sense Minister of Defense, twice Prime 
Minister, Rabin's steely determination in defending the security of the 
people that he loved so dearly, the people of Israel.
  Mostly, however, I recalled the day that Prime Minister Rabin did the 
inconceivable and made peace with enemies. I recalled sitting on the 
lawn of the White House and how still the world was as he shook hands 
with Chairman Arafat after signing the Declaration of Principles, then 
the day that he and King Hussein of Jordan did the same, in the same 
location, after making peace.
  Those are handshakes of courage and of bravery, of hope for 
attaining, at long last, safety and security through peace as opposed 
to security with weapons.
  History will say that Yitzhak Rabin, who fought in so many of 
Israel's wars, gave his life for peace, a task to which he devoted 
himself completely. It is appropriate, therefore, that his last words 
were of peace.

       I was a military man for 27 years. I waged war as long as 
     there was no chance for peace. I believe there is now a 
     chance for peace, a great chance, and we must take advantage 
     of it for those who are standing here, and for those who are 
     not here--and they are many. I have always believed that the 
     majority of the people want peace and are ready to take a 
     chance for peace. Violence erodes the basis of Israeli 
     democracy. It should be condemned and wisely expunged and 
     isolated. It is not the way of the State of Israel. There is 
     democracy. There can be disputes but the outcome will be 
     settled by democratic elections.

  He said in his remarks, ``Peace is not only in prayers * * * but it 
is in the desire of the Jewish people. This rally,'' as he addressed 
the group, ``must broadcast to the Israeli public, to the world Jewish 
public and many in the Western and outside world, that the people of 
Israel want peace, support peace.''
  It is my profound hope that the people of Israel will strive to heal 
the wound and the national spirit that Yitzhak Rabin's assassination 
has caused and that they will be able to move forward as a unified 
nation, continuing in the quest for peace.
  That would be Prime Minister Rabin's greatest legacy and most fitting 
tribute. It is something that the United States and all the nations of 
the world must strongly support.
  As I said, I was there to say goodbye to this man who was an old 
friend, someone who commanded the respect 

[[Page S 16813]]
and affection of millions who did not know him but respected his 
commitment, respected the fact that he was willing to take the risks 
that he took, risking his own life.
  The most disappointing moments of his days, he told me 2\1/2\ weeks 
ago in New York City, was when people from his own faith, some of them 
religious leaders, reportedly religious leaders, said he should be a 
target for assassination because he was giving away too much of his 
country. This man who fought to create the state, this man who gave his 
life unflinchingly to the well-being of his people, criticized, called 
traitor, depicted in Nazi uniforms, outrageously berated in his quest 
to secure the safety and well-being of the State of Israel and its 
people.
  The messages that came from people who spoke at the funeral, from our 
President, President Clinton, who said that he was a man chosen by God. 
King Hussein, who I mentioned, saluted him, his memory as a pro, and 
compared the assassination of his grandfather to the assassination of 
Yitzhak Rabin. He was standing there, wearing traditional dress, a 
headdress common to the Arab world, proud of his heritage, but willing 
to recognize that this leader of the Jewish people was someone whom had 
respected and wanted to acknowledge as a friend.
  President Mubarak, President of the first Arab nation to make peace 
with Israel, he was there in his first visit ever to the country. And 
other leaders who spoke--the President of the European Union, the Prime 
Minister of Russia, and then, finally, his family.
  I think the world listened very attentively as his 17-year-old 
granddaughter spoke about her grandfather and declared him as a light 
unto nations. It is almost a Biblical intonation. She said her 
grandfather's life would continue to light the way for peace, but the 
light that he gave her was extinguished, that she would no longer see 
the light nor bask in his glow of love and affection. Elegant, elegant 
words for a 17-year-old, but expressing what so many failed to see 
because they did not have the personal contact. But they were reminded 
that included in the greatness of this individual was a very 
significant human side.
  One of his senior, most dedicated staff members stood, a man named 
Eitan Haber, who wrote some of Prime Minister Rabin's speeches. I kind 
of joked with him at a few meetings, because I said I wished that I 
could find such a speech writer. And he reminded me that the speech 
writing was the least significant part of a great speech. It took a 
great speech deliverer to make a memorable talk.
  Through his tears, through Mr. Haber's tears as he stood in front of 
the thousands gathered there and the millions watching across the 
world, he took out a piece of paper that the prime minister had in his 
pocket. As Shimon Peres, now the Acting Prime Minister, said, it was 
the first time in all the years of public service that Yitzhak Rabin 
had ever, ever agreed to sing in public, and he joined in a chorus in 
this rally of more than 100,000 people, singing a song of peace that 
was written to be sung by those gathered there and throughout the 
country. And he sang the song.
  This was a man who was not comfortable making speeches or in large 
public gatherings. Even though the greatness that he had internally 
shown through, you could see, when he was with the President or on 
public platforms, he was always ill-at-ease, always moving around, his 
body language indicating some insecurity.
  He sang the song, the first time and last time that he ever sang a 
song in public. And Mr. Haber, the speech writer, read from that song 
at the funeral ceremony when he took out this blood-spattered song. 
Because the bullet hit close to where the song was stored in Prime 
Minister Rabin's breast pocket.
  What an anomaly, this man singing for the first time in public, for 
peace, putting the song, the music for the song in his pocket, and then 
struck down by a bullet. There is something in the coincidence of those 
movements that perhaps none of us will ever quite understand, but it 
certainly is a symbol that will always be remembered.
  This was quite a week in the history of Israel, the history of 
democracy, the history of man. Lessons were taught in a short burst of 
gunfire that must caution us that extremes in language, in gesture, in 
tone, can turn into much more menacing things. Civility has to come 
back to our people, to people across the world, to democratic nations.
  Mr. President, we see it in the Congress of the United States, where 
anger and rage takes over discussion. It has an effect that pervades 
our society. We should not let it happen and this tragic incident 
should remind us all that we have to control our speech, our 
relationships, our view, if our mission is to make peace. One does not 
have to be in a formal war to want to make peace.
  So, we say goodbye with heavy hearts to this great man who proved by 
his own existence, his own experience, that making war could not save 
lives, it could not have people living in peace together, but a serious 
effort at shaking hands across a sea of differences could make the 
difference.
  When I saw Chairman Arafat in his traditional dress that I had come 
to despise over the years--he wore a gun on his hip when he went to the 
United Nations--I could not forgive him for their terrorist activities. 
But I forgave him when he came here and shook hands. That was the 
moment that he earned my respect.
  So, from that place where it all began in the Middle East, in those 
holy sites, perhaps the time has come when we will be, once again, able 
to make peace with one another. That is the proper place. This is the 
proper time.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Inhofe). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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