President Reuven Rivlin said on Tuesday that while he disagreed with assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s policies, he was fond of the former Prime Minister.

Rivlin spoke at a memorial ceremony at the President’s Residence, to mark 19 years since Rabin’s murder. The event was attended by members of the Rabin family, ministers, members of Knesset, and pupils from the Rabin School in Netivot.

“For me Rabin’s legacy is one of leadership, transformative leadership, leadership, of standing bravely in the face of difficult decisions. ‘I will decide, and I will navigate,’ he declared and indeed he did navigate, according to his conscience, and unapologetically,” said Rivlin. 

“He was an unapologetic leader, when as a commander, as a fighter, as a member of Knesset, as a minister, and as a Prime Minister. He knew how to carry responsibility, as Prime Minister, during the success of the operation in Entebbe, and during the failed attempt to free kidnapped soldier Nachshon Wachsman.  With Rabin, neither the failures nor the successes were fatherless,” continued Rivlin.

“On the side of his commitment to peace, Rabin, did not wait idly for the Israel ‘after peace’. He did not wait for a ‘peace’ that would solve all problems once and for all.  Instead, he was brave enough to tackle Israel’s problems in the here and now.  He did not neglect to reflect inwards, to Israeli society,” he said. 

“For me Rabin, yes, specifically him, he is the father of the call that went up three years ago, also from Rabin Square, to change the agenda of the State of Israel, and to turn the attention inwards.  Alongside peace and security, and even ahead of them, he insisted on education, health and welfare, and upon all the changes he instituted in his second government, under the title, ‘Changing Priorities,’” said Rivlin.