To remember the eighth anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, a student-organized memorial consisting of speeches and music was held on Tuesday, Nov. 4 in Rapaporte Treasure Hall. Rabin - known as the "soldier of peace" - was assassinated on Nov. 5, 1995 at a Tel Aviv peace rally by a young Jewish student, sending a shock through the Israeli nation.

"Since Rabin's death, a lot of people have lost hope," said President of Brit Tzedek V'shalom (BTvS), Ezra Brooks '06. He added, " I think Rabin's dream is more important now than ever before."

BTvS - formerly known as Students for Peace in Israel and Palestine - organized the hour-long memorial that approximately 40 students attended. The ceremony opened with Pesha Black '07 reading the words of Rabin, followed by a quote from a poem by the late poet Yehuda Amichai.

"I don't want to fulfill my parents' prophecy that life is war," Amichai wrote in her poem.

The goal of the memorial was both to remember Rabin and also to continue Rabin's legacy to foster discussion on campus according to Judah Ariel '04, Program Coordinator for BTvS.

Ariel recently returned from a memorial for Rabin in Israel and asked questions of the audience such as, "If Rabin was still alive, would things be better today?"

He also emphasized the importance of working for peace in the Middle East and of "defining Israel as a land where peace must come."

Students read more speeches during the ceremony, including both excerpts from speeches given by Rabin during his time as Prime Minister as well as the speech given by Rabin's granddaughter, Yitzhak Noa Ben-Artzi, at his funeral.

One quote read at the memorial Rabin had said in an address after a terrorist attack: "... In this difficult hour, there is no right or left, secular or religious; we are all the People of Israel. And in the name of this People of Israel, which has known difficult days, and great moments, we share the pain and the tears."

A short biography of Rabin was also incorporated into the ceremony, which described his dedication to achieve peace in the Middle East, and his involvement in signing two historical documents: the Oslo Agreements in Washington DC and the Treaty of Peace with Jordan.

Rabin began his military career in 1940 and served in the Israeli Defense Forces until 1968. Rabin then took a post as Ambassador to the United States and later was elected Prime Minister in 1974. After finishing his term, Rabin remained strongly involved in Israeli politics. In 1992, he regained control of the Labor Party and was elected for his second tenure as Israeli Prime Minister.

Rabin, along with Shimon Peres and Yassir Arafat, received the 1994 Nobel Prize for their work on the Middle East Peace process. Despite this, terrorist attacks in Israel escalated from groups seeking to undermine the peace process, causing division and disillusionment in certain sectors of Israeli society.

"No matter what you feel about politics, it's a memorial of a human being," Brooks said, adding that the ceremony was more than a memorial of Rabin as a politician.

Music was another integral aspect of the memorial, with Israeli music sung and played throughout different portions of the ceremony. Liana Levine '06 performed the famous Israeli song "Shir L'shalom" ("Song of Peace") on her guitar at the conclusion of the ceremony.

"Singing 'Shir L'Shalom' was very important because I sang it at the first memorial service with my mother right after (Rabin) died," Levine said.

Rabbi Allan Lehman, Jewish Chaplain and Hillel Executive Director, was also present at this memorial.

"It was very moving and very touching," Lehman said. "I was very pleased with the combination of words, music, and memories. Rabin's assassination was one of those moments that people remember exactly where they were."

Ariel felt that many students were thankful for the memorial even if they had not been involved with BTvS before. "(Rabin) had represented hope for a better future," Ariel said.

"This ceremony was an important way to unite the Brandeis Jewish community," Jessica Freiman '07 said. "People of different religious and political backgrounds come out to pay their respects."

"It allowed us to get together and weep, but also reminded us that there's much to be done," Lehman said.