The late Yitzchak Rabin
The late Yitzchak RabinIsrael news photo

The Foreign Ministry has released, in honor of the anniversary or the murder of former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, copies of several speeches delivered by Rabin. However, his last speech in the Knesset was notably not among them. In that speech, he emphasized his opposition to a Palestinian state, stated that Israel would not return to the pre-1967 borders, and said that “united Jerusalem, which will include both Maaleh Adumim and Givat Ze'ev, [will be] the capital of Israel, under Israeli sovereignty.”

Controversy of Cheshvan

Once again, the week of the 12th of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan has become a time of public controversy, as the country commemorates the assassination of Yitzchak Rabin. The memory of the 14-year-old murder, of which Herzliya resident Yigal Amir was convicted, has opened old wounds and bad blood between the Israeli left and right. Left-wing spokesmen continue to refer to the widespread nationalist-camp protests against Rabin's policies prior to the murder as "incitement to violence." 

In Rabin's last speech in the Knesset, he emphasized his opposition to a Palestinian state, stated that Israel would not return to the pre-1967 borders, and more.

This, despite two important facts. One is that religious-nationalist leaders condemned use of violence to fight the Oslo process.

More significant, however, is that several incidents of anti-Oslo incitement before Rabin's death were actually instigated by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) itself, with the purpose of discrediting and shaming the right-wing camp.  The Shamgar Commission, which investigated the Rabin assassination, found that nationalistic and religious elements were "specifically harmed by Shin Bet agent-provocateur Avishai Raviv's provocations." In what some saw as a major understatement, the commission concluded that "his Shin Bet handlers could not have been able to ignore this."

Specifically, Avishai Raviv admitted, shortly after the murder, that he had staged a swearing-in ceremony for young Jewish members of the "Eyal" militant movement so that it could be shown on television. The ceremony was screened twice on national TV, and brought great criticism upon the nationalist camp. 

In addition, TV broadcaster Nitzan Chen testified to the police that it was Raviv who provided him with a copy of the infamous "Rabin in SS Nazi uniform" poster at a Jerusalem anti-Oslo protest, and who later verified that the poster would be shown on the evening news. Protestors denied seeing the poster on display at the rally. Other incidents followed this pattern as well.