Volume 29 Issue 34 06 Nov 2020 19 Heshvan 5781

Rabin commemoration

Ezra Hersch – Year 11

Ari Merten – Year 11

Rabin commemoration

“There is only one radical means of sanctifying human lives. Not armored plating, or tanks, or planes, or concrete fortifications. The one radical solution is peace.”

“Violence is undermining the very foundations of Israeli democracy. It must be condemned, denounced, and isolated.”

These excerpts from Yitzhak Rabin’s final speech echo his values and his lasting legacy for Israel, the Jewish people and the world. As the House Captains for Rabin, we have pledged not just to uphold the School’s values, but also for that which Yitzhak Rabin stood. Peace, democracy and harmony were some of the values for which Rabin fought and through his negotiations with various Arab leaders at the Camp David and Oslo Accords, the journey to peace came ever closer. Even now, the peace treaties being created in the past months had their way paved by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and his initial peace deals. 

Rabin was a decorated soldier and dedicated politician who helped co-ordinate many efforts in the War of Independence and the Six Day War and held numerous political positions including Chief of Staff for the IDF and Prime Minister of Israel twice. 

On 29 October 2020, Emanuel School honoured and commemorated the life of Yitzhak Rabin through a carefully constructed program written in conjunction with the Jewish Life Department and the Rabin House Captains. Students participated in various activities and discussions which prompted students to think about the role of peace and democracy. The program ended with a focus on Yitzhak Rabin before we moved into a vigil and candle lighting with prayers. Through engaging in discussions on peace and democracy, Rabin’s legacy of striving for a better future lives on in the Emanuel community. 

Yitzhak Rabin’s yahrzeit commemoration is on the 4 November 2020 and as the leaders of Rabin House we wanted to inform not just the students in our House, but the entire School on the important impact that Rabin has had on Israel. We implore you, sometime this week, to honour the great man Rabin was, to take some time for introspection and think of how important peace is to you and how you can create a more peaceful and harmonious community.