Yitzhak Rabin's true legacy - Dr. Haim Shine

by Dr. Haim Shine

The bottom line is this -- the Right in Israel honors the late Yitzhak Rabin's rich life legacy, which centered on defending Israel's security. The Left, on the other hand, needs to take lessons in democracy.

The late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin | Photo credit: AFP

In Jewish tradition, there is a principle of honoring a "holy death." This principle certainly applies to the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. 

Yet two decades have passed and the time has come for the Right to emerge from the bunkers it was forced into by those who appropriated Rabin's legacy. But every year on the anniversary of Rabin's death, more wood is piled on the fire of anti-Right hatred.

Look at what happened at the Knesset on Monday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a dignified address that honored the memory of Rabin. Opposition leader Isaac Herzog, on the other hand, spewed divisiveness and ire, arousing much indignation among those listening to him. 

In a normal country, Rabin's legacy would have been what he did in life, rather than how he died. But in Israel, petty politicians motivated by hatred have turned Rabin's death into his legacy.

Rabin left behind a rich life legacy -- one that mainly centered on the defending the security of Israel. As a young man, he fought in the Palmach. Later, as IDF chief of staff during the Six-Day War in 1967, Rabin liberated Jerusalem, reunifying our capital city. Rabin understood the disaster that the establishment of a Palestinian state would represent, and he criticized leftist groups for their opposition to a determined fight against terrorism. He had no patience for fools. This is Rabin's true legacy, and it is one a majority of Israelis can rally behind.

The frustrated, despondent and desperate Left, however, backed by "intellectuals" and prominent media personalities, prefers to view Rabin's death as his legacy. As the Left continues to dwindle in number, its hatred of the Right is growing even greater. Leftists are the only people in Israel who learned nothing from the murder of Rabin.

The Left constantly preaches to us about "the danger to Israeli democracy," pointing an accusatory finger at the Right, and the Left's greatest scorn is directed at religious rightists. Leftists keep harping about the need for a Palestinian state and, in their eyes, the Palestinians were the victims of the War of Independence. This, despite the fact the Left's hero Rabin played an important role in Israel's victory in that war.

The Left has no original or practical proposal for how to deal with the current wave of Palestinian terrorism, yet it keeps blaming the government for the situation. A Left-led government would behave no differently than the current Right-led one. Nevertheless, leftists are experts in political spin.

Ever since Menachem Begin won the 1977 elections, the cynical Left -- a self-proclaimed "champion of democracy" -- has been unable to accept the results of democratic elections that have not gone its way. In the wake of its most recent electoral defeat in March, the Left has tried to delegitimize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Asked if Israelis should be given a day off work to mark the 20th anniversary of the assassination of a prime minister, Noa Rothman, Rabin's granddaughter, replied, "Maybe after the murder of Netanyahu there will be one." You read that right. This was not a slip of the tongue or even a dark joke. And don't believe any apologies. This comment was representative of the injection of venom Israeli society has been subjected to every year over the past two decades on the anniversary of Rabin's death.

Shimon Peres remembers that Netanyahu stood on a balcony in Jerusalem above an anti-Rabin rally a month before the assassination. It is a shame Peres does not hold the same disdain for those who have distributed doctored images of Netanyahu in a Nazi uniform recently. No one on the Left has made much of a fuss about these images, as everything is permissible in the campaign to undermine Netanyahu.

Leftist elites are convinced that Netanyahu and the Right have stolen from them a country that was once theirs. They now feel they have no country, as well as no ideology to unify around. All leftist slogans have proven to be delusional and the Left's outlook has been destroyed by endless waves of Palestinian terrorism. This void has prompted leftists to launch a vindictive personal war against Netanyahu and his family. No other Israeli public official has ever been singled out in such a manner.

Many on the Left ask the biblical question, "Shall we forever live by the sword?" But they forget that this question was originally asked in reference to a civil war. We must have peace among ourselves before we can make peace with our enemies. I think some on the Left would find it easier to make peace with our enemies than to live in tranquil coexistence with their fellow Jews. 

Netanyahu reiterated the simple truth on Monday -- those who want to live in a crazy region like ours must be prepared to live by the sword. Weak, tired and naive people have no place under the Middle Eastern sun, which is only getting hotter.

It is true there is also a hard-core militant faction within the Right that must be kept in check. Israel does not live alone in the world and there are limits to the application of power.

During times like these, diplomatic finesse, strategic wisdom and controlled use of forces are necessities. Inevitably, there are some on the Right who are frustrated with Netanyahu, because while they are reading a street map, the prime minister is analyzing a global atlas.

The bottom line is this -- the Right in Israel honors Rabin's life legacy. The Left, on the other hand, needs to take lessons in democracy. At this point, I am not even sure the Left knows what democracy is.

Dr. Haim Shine

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=29249

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