MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) has announced that he will not be able to attend the official memorial Knesset session for Yitzchak Rabin. This is apparently the first time a Knesset Member is boycotting the Rabin memorial. Ben-Ari provided two reasons for his controversial decision. One is that the annual ceremony has become “the flagship” of those who “want to implant the Oslo catastrophe into our public agenda – the catastrophe that has brought upon us thousands of widows and orphans.” In addition, Ben-Ari explained, “I have no doubt that just like every year, this ceremony will be a stage for incitement against the religious-Zionist public.” The convicted assassin of Rabin, Yigal Amir, was a student at the religious-Zionist Bar Ilan University and belonged to the religious-nationalist camp. Many in the “peace” camp over the years have used this fact to besmirch the religious camp. Dr. Ben-Ari emphasized that he does not belittle the severity of the murder itself: “My teacher and mentor, the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, always objected to anything that looked like civil war. The murder was forbidden and it must never be emulated. True, Rabin brought about many catastrophes, and it is true that his legacy must be erased – but his murder was a catastrophe for the People of Israel as well.” “They say that Rabin’s way is the way of peace,” Ben-Ari said, “but they forget other things in Rabin’s history, such as his expulsion of enemies from Lod, and other things.” The ceremony will be held in the Knesset plenum on Thursday afternoon, the 11th of Cheshvan, the day before the 14th anniversary of Rabin’s death. MK Yaakov Katz, head of the National Union party, predicted last week the beginning of the “annual open season of incitement and tongue-lashing against the national-religious community.” He charged that the Jewish left-wing “self-hatred” thrives on the “annual official festival of poisonous incitement against the religious community…”
