American Embassy Tel Aviv – Press Section

U.S. President Barack Obama’s Message
To the Yitzhak Rabin Rally

(Conveyed by Video Tape)

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Erev Tov (Good Evening):  To Dalia, to Yuval, and the Rabin family, to the Yitzhak Rabin Center, and to all who loved him:  Thank you for bringing us together again in this sacred square in his name, to carry on the work of our brother Yitzhak Rabin, of blessed memory.

Once more you have turned this place of tragedy into a place of hope.  Once more the light of your candles pierce the darkness, and once more we resolve, amid the pain and loss that endures not to be consumed by the moment of his death, but rather to be inspired by the meaning of his life.

Yitzhak was the brave soldier who devoted his life to defending Israel but who said that the only battle which is a pleasure to wage is the battle for peace.  He was the loving husband and father who imagined a different future for his children and grandchildren, declaring on that stage that night:  “Yes to peace – no to violence.”  He was the statesman who saw the world as it was but also as it might yet be.  And in so doing he challenged us all – Israeli and Palestinian, the Arab world and the whole world – to reach within our hearts and ask the questions upon which lasting peace depends.

Do we have the empathy to see conflicts from more than our own side?  To recognize ourselves in others, to see that their aspirations are also our own, justice and progress, the dignity of all human beings, the simple desire to live in peace and security.  Do we have the wisdom to see that our destinies are shared?  To say publicly what we say privately:  That Israelis will not find true security so long as Palestinians are gripped by hopelessness or despair; that Palestinian dreams of statehood will be deferred unless Israelis are assured of their own safety and security.  Do we have the courage to break the old patterns of mistrust and suspicion and reach out to those who are willing to work for the progress that improves the daily lives of ordinary people, and do we have the resolve to be like Yitzhak, a soldier for peace; to walk the hard but necessary path, to keep going when those who know only violence and destruction try to knock us off-course, to always keep our eyes fixed on that brighter horizon.  The answer must be “yes.”  Yes, we will move forward; yes, we will persevere in the face of long odds and inevitable difficulties. 

And to all who seek peace, I say tonight:  You will always have a partner in the United States of America and in my Administration.  That is why we have been working aggressively for our clear goal:  Two states living side by side in peace and security.

America’s bonds with our Israeli ally are unbreakable.  We will never waver in defense of Israeli security and we will never lose sight of our shared purpose:  A just and lasting peace between Israel, Palestine and the Arab world, one that respects the dignity and security of every human being.

Tonight, Yitzhak Rabin rests among the heroes of Mount Herzl.   Tonight he speaks to us once again as we recall the poem he once invoked, a fallen soldier’s plea to those who survive.  “We leave you our deaths – give them their meaning.”

On that terrible November night Yitzhak left us with his death.  Now it is up to us, the living, to carry on its meaning.  The cause of his life – the cause of peace.  Let that be the work of our nations, let that be the work of our lives and let us all fulfill his legacy.  For here in the square that bears his name, there can be no higher tribute – no more noble a calling. 

God bless you and God bless all who seek peace.

Shalom.