Thank You, Izhak Rabin
On November 4, 1995, the Prime Minister of Israel was assassinated at a peace demonstration in Tel Aviv.
When the Teachers' and Leaders' Class I teach met a few days after the assassination, we divided time, and each person had the opportunity to discharge. Here are some of the thoughts I shared at the beginning of the class:
- lzhak Rabin's assassination gave an entire nation an opportunity to genuinely appreciate a leader.
- It has given us a whole week (the traditional Jewish week of mourning) to stop criticizing each other.
- It has given an entire nation and its leaders an opportunity to grieve openly, deeply-on TV, at home, and in public squares.
- It has given those closest to us the chance to grieve old hurts.
- Discharge not only heals old hurts, it is an opportunity to re-evaluate the past. It is not by chance that such mass discharge manifests itself in the most dramatic changes in public support of the peace process.
- Rabin's assassination gave Arafat the opportunity to come openly to Tel Aviv, and for Hussein and other Arab leaders to come openly to Jerusalem.
- It has given all of us the chance to appreciate these nations' young people and their leading role in support of peace.
- It has given all of us the opportunity to be more completely human.
Lisa Blum
Tel Aviv, Israel
Last modified: 2022-12-25 10:17:04+00