Speech by Prime Minister Ehud Barak at the Memorial Ceremony
for Yitzhak Rabin
Oslo, Norway - November 2, 1999
Your Majesties, President Clinton, President Ahtisaari, Mrs. Leah
Rabin, the Rabin family, Chairman Arafat, Shimon Peres, Prime
Minister Bondevik, Prime Minister Putin, your excellencies,
distinguished guests.
I came to Oslo from Jerusalem to pay tribute to Yitzhak Rabin - a
soldier, a statesman and a peace-maker.
The pre-eminent author of Norway, Henrik Ibsen, wrote,
"Hvis alt du gav, foruden livet, Da vid, at du har intet givet."
"If you have given everything, except life, Then know, that you have
given nothing."
These words of Ibsen capture the essence of the death of Yitzhak
Rabin.
But it is Rabin's life and vision, which shine as a beacon and
inspire us to fulfill his legacy.
Rabin understood that peace, like war, starts and ends in the hearts
of human beings. Standing in this very place, five years ago, Rabin
said, "There is only one radical means of sanctifying human lives;
neither tanks nor planes: only peace."
Acting on his own vision, Rabin lived up to his duty towards the
"Young Dead Soldiers who do not Speak." The poet Archibald MacLeish
expressed their sentiments: "They say: we were young. We have died.
Remember us. They say: our deaths are not ours; they are yours; they
will mean what you make them. They say: we leave you our deaths. Give
them their meaning."
And Yitzhak was determined to give them a meaning. As he said at the
peace rally, just minutes before being assassinated, "Peace entails
difficulties and pain, but it is preferable to war. For the sake of
our children, we must not give in. Peace will triumph over all our
enemies."
And I vow to you, Yitzhak, a soldier who fell in the battle for
peace, that we at the head of the new government of Israel are
determined to give your death a meaning by following your legacy
until we achieve peace. My government is determined to strengthen
Israel and to bring prosperity to the region by putting an end to the
century-old conflict between Israel and its neighbours.
We have concluded the Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement, and are currently
implementing it. Ahead of us is the Framework Agreement for Permanent
Status. Time is short and the challenge is demanding.
Together with my partner, Chairman Arafat, we will strive to overcome
the difficulties and to reach our common goals. The road is bound to
be arduous, but our positions and demands are clear and well
known.
We will strive to ensure Israel's security interests and vital needs;
but, at the same time, we will seek to achieve a fair settlement
which reflects the needs and sensitivities of our neighbours. All
disagreements must be resolved only through negotiations. This is our
duty towards our children and future generations of the entire
region.
I recall the day Rabin was notified of the Nobel Peace Prize. On that
very day, an Israeli soldier, Nachshon Wachsman, was murdered by
terrorists. During the rescue attempt, one of our officers, Nir
Poraz, son of a fallen Israeli Air Force pilot, was also killed.
Wachsman's father and Poraz's mother are here with us today. The day
of the Nobel Award for Rabin, Peres and Arafat turned into a
horrible day. I was with Rabin during these moments, and I saw him in
his agony. There was nothing like that day to symbolize Rabin's
entire life - the battle for freedom and security and the struggle
for peace. And today, Wachsman's father meets regurlarly with beraved
Palestinian families in Gaza, illustrating that the peace we seek is
not only a diplomat's peace, but a people's peace.
There are still many who will try to sabotage the peace process. But
courageous leadership must rise to the occasion and summon the will
to overcome every obstacle.
Today, we honor Norway for helping to open the way to peace, and
particularly the late Foreign Minister Johan Jorgen Holst.
The journey started here led on to the White House lawn - where our
friend and partner President Clinton presided over that indelible
handshake of healing and hope - and then to the Nobel Peace Prize for
Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat.
Today, we pay tribute to the heroes of peace, who are no longer with
us - Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin and King Hussein, who walked a new
road of hope and taught us that peace required painful decisions.
I still mourn the death of Yitzhak, my commander and mentor. And I
tell you, Yitzhak, that you are fallen dead, but your spirit and will
are stronger than ever.
So today, I pledge to you, Yitzhak, to all our neighbors, and to the
whole world - to travel the course you charted and to finish the
journey you've led towards security and peace.
Only then, when we reach this destination, will we proclaim, in the
words of Walt Whitman,
"O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done; The ship has
weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
O Captain! My Captain! Rise up and hear the bells; Rise up - for you
the flag is flung - for you the bugle trills."
And here today I bring to all of you the prayer that we will see in
the not too distant future the fulfillment of the vision of Psalms
about Jerusalem, "May peace be within your walls, tranquility within
your palaces".
This is our hope. This is our responsibility.