A recent Saturday night saw a gathering in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, commemorating the 30th anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination by a right-wing extremist. While the turnout wasn’t overwhelming, the sentiment expressed was strikingly significant.
Roughly 50,000 individuals, many from an older demographic, filled the square. More noteworthy than the crowd size itself was the repeated mention of a word rarely spoken in Israel’s public political discourse of late: ‘peace’.
Chants of ‘Yes to peace, no to violence!’ resonated through the square.
Yair Lapid, the opposition leader and head of the centrist Yesh Atid party, emphasized that ‘Pursuing peace is a Jewish act.’
Former General Yair Golan, who leads the left-wing Democrats party, echoed this sentiment, stating that Rabin understood ‘peace is not weakness, but strength and power.’
Rabin’s assassination on November 4, 1995, brutally interrupted the Oslo peace process, effectively turning ‘peace’ into a contentious term within Israel’s increasingly right-leaning political landscape, often associated with naiveté or even perceived as ‘leftist’ ideology.
Yet, a new, distinct peace process is now gaining momentum. A determined Trump administration, alongside its allies in the Muslim world, is actively working to transform the fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas into a more comprehensive and lasting agreement.
This ambitious new initiative aims for the demilitarization and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, starting with its eastern territories currently under Israeli control. Furthermore, there’s a strong desire to expand the groundbreaking Abraham Accords, which established normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations, to include new partners like Saudi Arabia, Syria, or Lebanon. Proponents even suggest that this renewed focus could, perhaps, rekindle prospects for Palestinian statehood in the distant future.
However, the realization of these grand ambitions hinges on a critical prerequisite: Hamas must repatriate all remaining bodies of former Israeli captives. Israel confirmed early Monday that the remains of three individuals—Col. Assaf Hamami, Sgt. Oz Daniel, and Capt. Omer Neutra, an Israeli-American citizen—were received overnight. Eight other bodies reportedly remain in Gaza.
This period is marked by both immense opportunity and significant risk.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu only reluctantly agreed to the cease-fire with Hamas under considerable pressure. A substantial faction within his coalition still advocates for abandoning the truce and resuming full-scale conflict, aiming for ‘total victory’ rather than allowing Hamas the chance to survive, regroup, rearm, and re-establish its military threat to Israel.
Among average Israelis, there’s a tangible feeling that the nation stands at a critical juncture, extending beyond just the Gaza situation. Over the past year, emigration has significantly outpaced immigration. Many Israelis, regardless of political affiliation, believe the upcoming election will be a pivotal moment, shaping the country’s future identity and influencing whether more citizens choose to remain or depart.
At stake is a deeply strained aspect of Israel’s social contract: the fragile relationship between the ultra-Orthodox community, hundreds of thousands of whom recently protested in Jerusalem to retain their long-standing exemption from military service, and the exhausted reservists who have endured multiple tours of duty in Gaza.
The coming months will largely depend on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decisions: what concessions he is compelled to make, what he deems his ultimate priorities, and how, at 76, he envisions his lasting legacy.
Equally crucial will be how his political opponents position themselves to an Israeli populace weary of conflict but profoundly skeptical of any viable path to peace.
The speeches on Saturday night frequently highlighted Rabin’s earlier role as a formidable warrior for Israel, prior to his pursuit of peace with the Palestinians.
Speakers also acknowledged the striking parallels between today’s charged political climate in Israel and the deeply polarized environment that tragically preceded Rabin’s assassination.
General Golan, whose military career stalled after a controversial 2016 speech comparing modern Israel to pre-Holocaust Germany, asserted on Saturday that the echoes of the shots that killed Rabin persist: ‘every time the government incites against its citizens, every time patriots are called traitors, every time protesters exercising their civic responsibility are beaten.’
Lapid, the centrist opposition leader, contended that the ruling coalition’s right-wing and religious parties were, much like Rabin’s critics, distorting the essence of Jewish identity, twisting it into a justification for violence.
He explicitly stated, ‘The violent racism of Itamar Ben-Gvir is not Judaism,’ referencing Netanyahu’s national security minister. Lapid further condemned any ultranationalist minister’s suggestion of using an atomic bomb on Gaza, declaring, ‘Anyone who suggests dropping an atomic bomb on Gaza does not represent Judaism.’
Lapid concluded by asserting, ‘Settler violence is not Judaism. Judaism does not belong to the extremists, nor to the corrupt, nor to the draft dodgers.’