Comments for Rabin Square at http://www.telavivguide.net , comment 1 to 1 out of 1 comments http://www.telavivguide.net Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:11:08 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.telavivguide.net/Attractions/Sightseeing/Tel_Aviv_Rabin_Square_20051027164/#comment-14 One of the darkest days in Israel's history was November 4, 1995, when the unthinkable happened -- an Israeli prime minister was murdered, not by an Arab terrorist but by a fellow Jew. The square is worth a stop to note this event that (sadly) changed the course of Israeli history and the peace process in a dramatic way. While subsequent events have called into question whether the Oslo process ever would have worked, Yitzhak Rabin, a warrior turned risk-taker for peace, was truly irreplaceable in Israeli political life. He was a leader with courage, willing to set out a vision ahead of his people and then lead them there, even at great costs. When is the last time we've seen THAT in the US or Western Europe. When I first visited this site in 1997, the extensive chalk graffiti left by the tens of thousands of mourning young people, dubbed "the children of the candles," was still largely intact. Much of that is gone now, but a section has been preserved, including the giant word "slicha," or "forgive us." Just a couple of weeks ago (November 2005), 200,000 Israelis gathered there to remember Yitzhak Rabin. This place still marks an open wound in Israeli life. - Douglas Duckett Sat, 19 Nov 2005 04:54:43 +0100