Rabin's death: peace at any cost?

The death of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin Saturday brought a great many questions to the peace process that Israel and its Middle Eastern neighbors have labored to complete over the past two years. One thing is certain: Israel must not only deal with its hardened counterparts in moving toward peace, it must now come to terms with mounting opposition to peace from its own citizens.

Rabin, who was assassinated by 27-year-old law student Yigal Amir, had just attended a peace rally in Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv when fatal shots rang out. Amir, who was quickly arrested by Israeli police, admitted to the killing and said, "I did this to stop the peace process."

As world leaders, including President Clinton, Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Hussein, gathered in Jerusalem to pay their final respects, students and faculty at SF State pondered the question of peace. There is a feeling that Rabin's death may present the stark reality that peace will exact a heavy price -- peace on any terms.

Michael Atlan, Israeli coordinator for Hillel, a center which serves Jewish students here on campus, saw Rabin's death as a loss for the entire world, not just the Jewish people.

"The first reaction is not political, but of shock, indignation and sadness," Atlan said. "The peace process has seen troubled times and will continue to see troubled times. But nevertheless, I share (acting Prime Minister Shimon) Peres' hope that this is an irreversible process -- history seems to be stronger than all the forces against violence."

"The world should be sad -- not only the Jews, when a Nobel peace prize winner dies, just as (former Egyptian President Anwar) Sadat's death was sad for the entire world, not only the Arabs," Atlan said. Hillel sponsored a candlelight memorial in honor of Rabin, where Atlan circulated a statement of condolence to be signed by students and faculty, which will be sent to the Rabin family.

Marshall Windmiller, professor emeritus of international relations at SF State, sees the fragile peace in great danger.

"The peace process is gravely damaged. The poisonous rhetoric that dominated Israeli politics prior to the assassination indicated that there were deep divisions about the peace process. Many Israelis believe that concessions made to the Palestinians violate their religious right to Judea and Samaria, strategic points along the West Bank," Windmiller said.

Windmiller added that the Palestinians and the Israelis have yet to solve three major crises within the peace process -- the fate of Jerusalem, the mounting shortage of water that settlers are fighting over, and the return of Palestinian refugees, anxious to return to land handed over by the Israeli government. Jewish settlers fear that this safety has been jeopardized -- a safety that could lead to civil war if the Israeli government does not defend the rights of its people.

[ Golden Gater Online November 7, 1995 ]

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