Rabin was assassinated at the square on Nov. 4, 1995.
Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, had warned Barak against attending the ceremony for fear of his safety.
The area had been cordoned off starting at 8 a.m., 12 hours before the event.
“Yitzhak, your way has won out. And we came here to say to whoever believes it possible to move us from the path of Yitzhak, we are not afraid, we are not afraid,” Barak said.
The crowd picked up the chant, “We are not afraid. We are not afraid.”
An hour before the ceremony, the square began to fill with people, many of them youngsters who carried banners saying: “Following his path” and “Israel is marching on Rabin’s path.”
“Let us all remember the slogan of the rally in this place four years ago: No to violence, yes to peace,” Barak said. “Let this be our commitment to Rabin — never to accept violence, never to surrender to it.”
Barak concluded on a conciliatory note, calling for the nation “to unite around Rabin’s path and heal its wounds.”
Leah Rabin, his widow, also spoke. She emphasized the difficult moments in Rabin’s life, including the “bitter political fights” within his Labor Party and the incitement he had to face.
“We do not forgive and we do not forget,” she said, “and we’re marching in his light to the promised land, faithful to his way and his heritage.”
Addressing the myriads of youngsters, many of whom were holding flickering candles, she concluded: “Today we have returned to the square, all those who want to preserve the light, the torch which led you, the children of the candles. May the small light of your thousands of candles be the torch you continue to carry.”