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A Legacy Of Honor

"We who have fought against you, the Palestini-
ans, we say to you today in a loud and a clear
voice: Enough of blood and tears. Enough!"
— Yitzhak Rabin, Sept. 13, 1993, on the lawn
of the White House after signing the agreement
with Yasser Arafat to work for peace.

0

n the eve of the fifth anniversary of
Yitzhak Rabin's assassination on
Nov. 4, we remember the general
who became a Nobel
laureate for seeking peace.
Doubters assert the former prime
minister left a legacy of misguided
idealism that has served Israel badly.
The real Rabin was as brave and
smart a leader as Israel has had.
We begin with the fact that he
was a terrific general who led
Israel's defense forces with brilliant
success in some of that nation's
most difficult campaigns against
both massed Arab armies and sus-
tained terrorist guerilla actions.
The man who started out hoping
to be a water engineer repeatedly
CC
proved his courage on the field.
Rabin proved it again, as prime
minister of Israel. First, in seeing
that the only hope for a sustainable
peace was the creation of a Palestinian state on
much of the West Bank and Gaza lands that his
soldiers had conquered, and second, in acting
on that conclusion by opening talks with the
Palestine Liberation Organization.
Rabin had no illusions that the Palestinians
were about to love Jews or the state of Israel;
shortly after the White House ceremony, he
termed the PLO a "murderous organization."
But, ever the realist, he noted that "peace
you do with enemies — sometimes bitter ene-

Dry Bones

mies, enemies that you despise."
His bravery cost him his life. But his exam-
ple was so strong that, even in death, Rabin
gave the nation something it could stand more
of today — hope and pride.
Those, not the current violence against
Israel nor the abandonment of the Oslo
accords, is Rabin's real legacy. As a warrior, he
built a nation able to defend its borders against
more populous nations on every side. As a
statesman, he crafted a vision for the future

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Rabin had no illusions that
the Palestinians were about
to love Jews or the state of
Israel; shortly after the
White House ceremony, he
termed the PLO a
murderous organization.

Related cover story: page 6

"

that still stirs hearts.
We should remember him Nov. 4 in his
own words, the ones he spoke to Palestinian
Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, ironically
his co-winner of the Nobel peace prize, on the
White House lawn:
"We have no desire for revenge; we harbor
no hatred toward you. We, like you, are people
— people who want to build a home, to plant
a tree, to love, live side by side with you in dig-
nity, in affinity, as human beings, as free men.
We are today giving peace a chance and saying
to you, saying again to you, 'Enough."' ❑

`Yes' To Gore, Stabenow; 'No' To Vouchers

othing in the presidential campaign
has happened to dissuade us from
our conviction that Vice President
Al Gore is the best-equipped leader,
in many ways, to be the next president of the
United States. He and his running mate, Sen.
Joseph Lieberman, would be diligent leaders
on behalf of the nation as a whole and to Jews
in particular.
We also renew our endorsement of Rep.
Debbie Stabenow for the U.S. Senate seat held
by Spencer Abraham. She would be a valued

Commentary favors vouchers: page 40

new member of the Senate and would help a
Gore Administration enact sound laws and
build a strong judiciary.
Finally, we urge a vote against the voucher
proposal (Proposal 1) on the Michigan bal-
lot. Perhaps some limited, carefully crafted
voucher experiments should be tried to help
our school children, but the present proposal
would only weaken public schools already in
trouble and reward non-public schools with
taxpayer dollars. Furthermore, parochial
schools accepting vouchers would be subject
to state regulation, raising the issue of sepa-
rating church and state. ❑

LETTERS

Abraham Merits
Our Support

The article by Alan Hitsky
("For The Record," Oct. 27,
page 14) and your endorse-
ment ("Stabenow For Presi-
dent," Oct. 27, page 43)
demand a reply.
Since he was a candidate
six years ago and certainly
since he became a U.S. sena-
tor, Spence Abraham has both
reached out to the Jewish
community on national issues
and has acted always in the
best interest of our country.
These policies have led him
to be highly supportive on a
range of critical issues: aid to
Israel, which he not only sup-
ported, but vigorously advo-
cated through his member-
ship on the Budget Commit-
tee; sanctions against Iraq,
which he refused to retreat
from despite intense pressure
from anti-sanction advocates;

sanctions against countries
and institutions that supply
missile technology to Iran, of
which he was an early co-
sponsor; opposition to any
unilateral declaration of inde-
pendence by the Palestinians;
and others.
The pro-Israel community
is very proud that even though
most Jews did not support
Sen. Abraham in 1994, our
efforts with him and his read-
ing of America's interests have
led him to be so supportive.
All this from the grandson of
Lebanese immigrants.
"For The Record" is a slop-
py smear job. There has never
been a finer man devoted to
the issues we believe in. We
hope you will vote for Sen.
Abraham.

Edward C. Levy Jr.
Max M. Fisher
Detroit

LETTERS

on page 42

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2000

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