(Haaretz).Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday remembered the late Yitzhak Rabin as a patriot, as Israel marked 14 years since the assassination of the former prime minister.Netanyahu called Rabin a man who "made declarations he believed in and that he thought were important for the welfare of the state of Israel.
Netanyahu made his remarks at a special session of the Knesset on Thursday to honor the slain prime minister.
"The secret to Rabin's charm, for me, was the fact that he was first and foremost a patriot," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as he took the podium. "That fateful night saw a heinous killer point a gun at Rabin's bare back and a patriot taken down by a murderer who fired a bullet at the heart of the nation.
"In every one of the positions he held in life, from the young warrior fighting for the country, to the premiership, he made decisions he thought would be in the public's interest."
"We did not always see eye to eye, but even when we profoundly disagreed I always had the greatest respect for him because I knew that his decisions stemmed from what he believed was best for the country… still, even today, there are some who refuse to accept democratic choices and the preeminence of the law,They are a small minority on the margins of society, but we have already seen the power and damage caused by an individual murderer."
"We must repeatedly denounce all violence and apply all the weight of the law and law enforcement authorities against any attempt to use violence," said Netanyahu.
Netanyahu concluded his address by saying, "We will continue to follow Rabin's path – to do what is best for the people. I pray that when the time comes to make the bigger decisions that lay ahead, we will know to respect each other and the law."
Netanyahu made his remarks at a special session of the Knesset on Thursday to honor the slain prime minister.
"The secret to Rabin's charm, for me, was the fact that he was first and foremost a patriot," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as he took the podium. "That fateful night saw a heinous killer point a gun at Rabin's bare back and a patriot taken down by a murderer who fired a bullet at the heart of the nation.
"In every one of the positions he held in life, from the young warrior fighting for the country, to the premiership, he made decisions he thought would be in the public's interest."
"We did not always see eye to eye, but even when we profoundly disagreed I always had the greatest respect for him because I knew that his decisions stemmed from what he believed was best for the country… still, even today, there are some who refuse to accept democratic choices and the preeminence of the law,They are a small minority on the margins of society, but we have already seen the power and damage caused by an individual murderer."
"We must repeatedly denounce all violence and apply all the weight of the law and law enforcement authorities against any attempt to use violence," said Netanyahu.
Netanyahu concluded his address by saying, "We will continue to follow Rabin's path – to do what is best for the people. I pray that when the time comes to make the bigger decisions that lay ahead, we will know to respect each other and the law."