At a Tel Aviv rally commemorating the 13th anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination, Defense Minister Ehud Barak implied that Jewish extremists are responsible for the violence permeating Israeli society.
"We used to call them wild weeds, but now they are tumors with secondary growths," said Barak.
Shas's Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Eli Yisahi demanded an apology for Barak's comments which he called an incitement against Israel's political right, a sector that consitutes the majority in Israel.
Rabin's assassination, long embraced by the Left as their tragedy alone, has been so politicized that those on Israel's Right have felt not only excluded but accused to the point that they have not visited Rabin memorial sites or attended memorial rallies. Comments such as Barak's only serve to support this alienation and encourage divisiveness.
Ehud Olmert capitalized on his large audience in his speech commemorated the assassination by revealing that he believes in giving up every inch of Yesha, much of Jerusalem, The Golan Heights and anything else in Israel in order to win Arab favor. His words came as no surprise to many of us but were, nevertheless, shocking in their disregard for Israel's security, The Jewish People's historical roots and the reality of continuing Arab violence.
