The following are excerpts from the eulogies given at Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s funeral Monday, according to a transcript from the Federal News Service, a private firm.
PRESIDENT CLINTON: … the American people mourn with you in the loss of your leader and I mourn with you for he was my partner and friend. Every moment we shared was a joy, because he was a good man and an inspiration, because he was also a great man.
Leah, I know that too many times in the life of this country you were called upon to comfort and console the mothers and the fathers, the husbands and the wives, the sons and the daughters who lost their loved ones to violence and vengeance. You gave them strength. Now we here and millions of people all around the world in all humility and honor offer you our strength. May God comfort you among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
Yitzhak Rabin lived a history of Israel, through every trial and triumph, the struggle for independence, the wars for survival, the pursuit of peace and all he served on the front lines. …
Look at the leaders from all over the Middle East and around the world who have journeyed here today for Yitzhak Rabin and for peace. Though we no longer hear his deep and booming voice, it is he who has brought us together again here in word and deed for peace.
Now it falls to all of us who love peace and all of us who loved him to carry on the struggle to which he gave life and for which he gave his life. ….
To all the people of Israel, as you stay the course of peace, I make this pledge: Neither will America forsake you.
Legend has it that in every generation of Jews from time immemorial a just leader emerged to protect his people and show them the way to safety. Prime Minister Rabin was such a leader. …
ACTING PRIME MINISTER SHIMON PERES (through a translator): You were a fighter and a winner of victories for your people, a big dreamer who forged a reality. Last Saturday night, we joined hands. We sang together the song of peace. I suspected and I felt warmth in your heart.
We did not know what would happen. We didn’t imagine that the collision would be so great, but we knew that we should not be afraid of death and that we should not hesitate in the peace. …
You were not like anybody else, and you did not want to imitate any other men. You were not afraid of anything. …
And we sensed the great winds of peace. With our neighbors the Palestinians, I saw great excitement, and among the leaders, many of them here. Both of these agreements that we reached will allow them to reach democratic elections and will allow us to distance ourselves from ruling another country.
And with Jordan, who was not excited? There was a great desert between us, and we made it with potential to be green. …
With instinct and faith, the nation cries. Tears of unity, though, and crying but of peace, peace with our neighbors.
I see our Arab neighbors, and I want to tell them peace is attainable, both here and with you. We are not allowed to postpone or hesitate in reference to peace. …
And from here, Yitzhak, Jerusalem that we came and that the three faiths were born in, we will say, in the words of Rachel, our mother, “My voice cries, and your eyes are filled with tears, but there is a price for your deeds, and there is hope in the name of God.”
Goodbye, my oldest brother, the bringer of peace. We will add and continue to carry this peace for near and far that you wanted and expected in your life and death.
KING HUSSEIN: …I had never thought that the moment would come like this when I would grieve the loss of a brother, a colleague and a friend, a man, a soldier, who met us on the opposite side of a divide, whom we respected, as he respected us, a man I came to know because I realized, as he did, that we have to cross over the divide, establish a dialogue, get to know each other and strive to leave for those who follow us a legacy that is worthy of them. …
Let’s not keep silent. Let our voices rise high to speak of our commitment to peace for all times to come. And let us tell those who live in darkness, who are the enemies of life and true faith and religion and the teachings of our one God, this is where we stand. …
On behalf of the people of Jordan, my larger Jordanian family, my Hashemite family, all those who belong to the camp for peace, to all those who belong to the camp of peace, our deepest sympathies, our deepest condolences, as we share together this moment of remembrance and commitment, to continue our struggle for the future of generations to come, as did Yitzhak Rabin, and to fulfill his legacy.
NOA BEN-ARTZI, GRANDDAUGHTER OF YITZHAK RABIN (through a translator): Excuse me, but I will not discuss peace today. I will talk about my grandfather. …
Grandpa, you were the pillar of fire before the camp, and now we’re just a camp left alone in the dark, and we’re so cold. …
Grandpa, you were our hero. I want you to know that everything that I did, I always saw you before me.
Your appreciation and you love escorted us through every way and road. You never, ever abandoned us, and here you are, my eternal hero, cold and alone, and there’s nothing I can do to save you.
People greater than me have already eulogized you, but no one knows the caress that you placed on my shoulder and the warm hug that you have saved only for us and your smile that always told me so much – the same smile that is no longer there. …
I don’t want to separate for you – from you, but now I must. I hope that you rest in peace and remember and miss us, because we down here love you. …
We love you always, Grandpa.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
