Yuval Rabin, son of the late Israeli prime minister, is worried about his country’s future.
In an interview Saturday in Palo Alto, Rabin criticized the current administration but expressed hope that a new one would move Israel not just toward a renewed peace process, but toward addressing fundamental questions about the nature of the Jewish state.
“The issue is not just the peace process,” said the 47-year old computer entrepreneur, whose father, Yitzhak, was assassinated on Nov. 4, 1995. “It is not just the death of my father or the issue of political assassination. The issue on the table, from seven years’ perspective, is: ‘What is Israel all about?’
“My father was the only Israeli prime minister to seriously address this question.”
The challenge now is to answer that question in a conclusive way, he said. Israel must be a democratic and Jewish state, at peace with its neighbors, and only a renewed peace process with the Palestinians can lead to this goal.
“Without a resolution of this issue, we’ll either cease to be democratic, or cease to be Jewish,” said Rabin, who spoke in Hebrew Saturday evening at a memorial event in honor of his father. The event, organized by the Israeli Consulate General in San Francisco, was held at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills.
While Yuval Rabin didn’t fault former Prime Minister Shimon Peres and the Labor Party for entering into a national unity government with Likud, he maintained that Labor stayed far too long. “It’s been obvious for quite some time that this government has been incapable of making progress,” he said.
Rabin believes his father was the only Israeli leader to pursue both peace and security in a comprehensive way. He doesn’t withhold his disdain at the peace efforts of succeeding Israeli leaders, including those of former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Rabin called the 2000 Camp David summit “an attempt to mend things, only after allowing them to deteriorate. It was badly prepared, terrible timing.”
While acknowledging that the Labor Party is pursuing peace and security, he feels party officials aren’t pursuing these goals “as decisively as they should.” Asked about the prospects for renewed peace efforts under the Likud, Rabin answered, “I don’t care to guess.”
He isn’t happy that Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently dismissed the Bush administration’s peace plan for a timeline leading to a Palestinian state by 2005. And he’s even less pleased by the fact that such plans are coming from a source outside Israel. Under the Oslo peace process, “Israel took the lead.” Rabin would rather see Israel taking leadership and initiative, working toward a solution, than having suggestions come from outside.
After his father’s assassination, Rabin briefly entered political life, heading the Dor Shalom peace movement for three years. Two projects created by the nonprofit organization are still thriving: Acharai (“After Me”), an army prep course for teenagers in less affluent towns, and a network of kindergartens.
Rabin has been living in Washington, D.C., for the last four years. As for a possible return to Israeli political life, he remains coy. “There’s no right answer to this question,” he says, with just the hint of a smile.
In the heated months immediately following his father’s murder, Rabin denounced the atmosphere of incitement that he believes enabled the political assassination to take place. The issue of incitement to violence in Israel’s political discourse is an area in which he has seen little progress.
“There are reasons to be concerned,” he said. “Only weeks ago, there were statements calling soldiers to disobey orders for evacuation of illegal settlements. If discussions around giving up land would become real again, we could return to this state [of incitement].”
Despite a degree of unity in the face of conflict with the Palestinians, Rabin also sees a rise in political extremism in Israel.
“There are polls that show growing support for the assassin” of his father, he said. “People are willing to consider similar actions. There are worrying signs.”
Rabin also bemoaned the instability of Israeli politics in the last few years.
“I hope that some leadership will emerge and take decisive moves. I think it’s unfortunate that we’re unable to achieve the minimum stability for any government to pursue its intended agenda.”