This past Wednesday, a memorial took place marking 25 years since the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. For the first time since the assassination, a memorial was jointly organized by the Orthodox, traditional, secular, and mixed mechinot, under the slogan “We’re brothers—even when we argue!” Now more than ever, with Israeli society going through a pandemic and high tensions, the mechinot considered it especially important to hold a joint memorial emphasizing the importance of unity and respectful discourse.
Israelis everywhere were invited to tune in, and the students of the mechinot watched from across the country. The ceremony, which was broadcast on the Facebook page of the Joint Council of Mechinot, was watched by an estimated 25,000 viewers. Speakers included President Reuven Rivlin, Dalia Rabin, and Rachelle Fraenkel. Participating as interviewees were former MK Dr. Ruth Calderon, Tikun Movement founder Professor Meir Buzaglo, and Rabbi Hananel Etrog, head of Yeshivat Shavei Hevron. The secular mechinot were represented by Daya Badash, and the Orthodox mechinot by Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim.
The event was widely covered in radio broadcasts, print newspapers, and other media. Yair Tiktin, Yaron Isaac, and Dani Zamir, who were among the architects and organizers of the joint memorial, each published a personal column recalling the assassination and calling for a change in public discourse: “We’re brothers—even when we argue!”
