Yitzak Rabin Commemoration

Today is the 13th anniversary and commemoration of the assassination of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin. Rabin was killed by a rightwing extremist opposed to the peace process with the Palestinians following a speech Rabin gave at a peace rally in Tel Aviv. Catherine and I were on our way to the port for dinner when we saw a cordon of police and had to go through a checkpoint on our bikes to get near Rabin Square; we decided to return later when the ceremony was set to begin.

The square was mostly packed when we arrived just after 1930. I was a little surprised how much of a political event it appeared to be. I saw signs for the Labor and Meretz parties, which each are on the left of the Israeli political spectrum. My lack of Hebrew language skills kept me from understanding the speeches (I heard parts of two), but it still seemed more of a political/advocacy event than a somber commemoration.

Check out what we saw: