A shocked, grieving nation and an assembly of world leaders yesterday paid their final respects to slain leader Yitzhak Rabin, who was laid to rest at Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem.
Heads of state and senior officials from about 85 countries were among the 5,000 allowed to attend. The leaders eulogized Rabin as a soldier, statesman, and peacemaker, but his 17-year-old granddaughter Noa Ben-Artzi Filosof, sobbing, spoke of him as her "private hero."
The nation watched as the eulogies were delivered as a final tribute to the martyred prime minister. After the eulogies, the flag-draped coffin was carried to the grave on the shoulders of six major-generals and two senior police officers and, after the flag was removed, lowered into its final resting place.
After the service and throughout last night, people of all walks of life streamed to the grave. Young people continued to light candles and offer prayers at Tel Aviv’s Kikar Malchei Yisrael, as they had since Rabin was felled by an assassin’s bullet on Saturday night. They have done the same in front of his Ramat Aviv apartment.
An estimated one million people paid respect to Rabin as his coffin lay in state at the Knesset over the 24 hours preceding thefuneral.
Last night, Leah Rabin told Channel 2 that she blamed right-wing inciters for her husband’s death, comparing the atmosphere to that which led to the murder of Haim Arlosoroff in 1933.
"There definitely was incitement which was strongly absorbed and found itself a murderer, who did this because he felt he had the support of a broad public with an extremist approach," she said.
She included Knesset members among the inciters, saying it was hard to shake the hands of some of the opposition MKs during the vigil at her husband’s coffin on Sunday.
"There was one MK who, when he passed, I told him, ’It’s too late,’"Leah Rabin said."We all know who I’m talking about."She refused to elaborate.
She voiced the hope that her husband’s death will inject fresh public support for the peace process. "If the man who made such a huge contribution to the peace process was murdered in cold blood,‘ she said, ’it will shock many good people, and perhaps … it will cause a turnaround in public opinion and provoke thought."
In their eulogies, US President Bill Clinton, Jordan’s King Hussein, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, representing the European Union, all emphasized the importance of maintaining Rabin’s legacy of fighting for peace.
Longtime Rabin aides Shimon Sheves and Eitan Haber also delivered eulogies.
Thefuneral marked the first visits to Israel’s capital by Hussein and Mubarak. Top officials from Oman, Qatar, Mauretania, and Morroco also attended.
Mubarak said he did not consider his condolence visit to be an official one with political significance.
Top officials of the Palestinian Authority also attended , but Israel advised PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat not to for security reasons.
At one of the most moving points of thefuneral, Hussein — wearing the red-checkered keffiyeh of the Arab Legion Rabin fought in the War of Independence — looked at the casket and emotionally eulogized Rabin by saying: "He had courage. He had vision, and he had a commitment to peace. And standing here, I commit — before you, before my people in Jordan, and before the world — myself to continue to do the utmost to ensure that we shall leave a similar legacy."
In keeping with this theme, Acting Prime Minister Shimon Peres said in his eulogy: "I see our people with tears in their eyes, but we know that the … bullet that killed you cannot kill the idea you started. You did not leave a last will and testament, but you left a road upon which we will march with faith and determination."
Clinton also spoke of Rabin’s legacy, and of his deep personal friendship and affection for Rabin. At the same time, he warned Israelis to avoid the hatred that led to the bullet that felled Rabin, and moreover, implored them to raise the level of political discourse which has sunk to new depths over the last couple of years.
"So let me say to the people of Israel: Even in your hour of darkness, his spirit lives on and so you must not lose your spirit … Your prime minister was a martyr for peace, but he was a victim of hate. Surely, we must learn from his martyrdom that if people cannot let go of the hatred of their enemies, they risk sowing seeds of hatred among themselves.
"I ask you, the people of Israel, on behalf of my nation that knows its own long litany of loss from Abraham Lincoln to President Kennedy to Martin Luther King, do not let that happen to you. In the Knesset, in your homes, in your places of worship, stay the righteous course."
Clinton led a US delegation which included former presidents George Bush and Jimmy Carter, Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole, House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, and many other senators and congressmen, including Sen. Edward Kennedy, whose two brothers were assassinated.
American Jewish leaders were also among those who arrived in Israel on the four planes that brought the US delegation.
There were reports that, during a meeting after thefuneral, Clinton asked President Ezer Weizman whether Peres could broaden his coalition to include other parties, but this could not be confirmed.
Peres held separate talks with Clinton, Hussein, and Mubarak at the King David Hotel. Afterwards, he met with Omani Foreign Minister Youssef Bin Alawi at the Prime Minister’s Office.
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