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Israeli left shuns Rabin's legacy

Two ceremonies in November will commemorate the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, neither of which will focus on the reason he lost his life: his efforts to achieve peace with the Palestinians.
Israelis take part in a mass rally marking the 17th anniversary of the assassination of former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, in Tel Aviv October 27, 2012. Israel on Saturday marked the 17th anniversary of Rabin's assassination by an ultra-nationalist Jew. The words in Hebrew near Rabin's photo read "Remembering the murder, fighting for democracy". REUTERS/ Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTR39NVH
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Two commemorative events will be held in early November to mark the 19th anniversary of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination. The first, on Nov. 1, will focus on the issue of peace and the regional peace initiative. The keynote speaker at the rally will be former President Shimon Peres, a Mapai Party (mother party of today's Labor Party) alumnus and Nobel Peace Prize laureate for his contribution to formulating the 1993 Oslo Accord. The main speaker at the second rally, on Nov. 8, which will call for the preservation of democratic values in Israeli society, will be President Reuven (Rubi) Rivlin — a right-winger, a sworn advocate of the revisionist Zionist leader Ze'ev Jabotinsky doctrine and one of the leading opponents of the Oslo Accord.

Although Rabin paid with his life for choosing the route of peace with the Palestinians, the organizers of the two rallies opted to suppress — to the point of completely concealing — the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Both events will be ''stately,'' devoid of criticism for the policies of a government that is pulling Israel in a different, if not opposite, direction to that which Rabin espoused.

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