CNN WORLD News

Rabin's widow tells Israelis: Vote for Peres

May 29, 1996
Web posted at: 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT)

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Leah Rabin, the widow of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, urged voters to elect Prime Minister and Labor Party leader Shimon Peres so her husband's death would not be "in vain."


Leah Rabin Amanpour

"If the Labor Party doesn't win today, then his loss was in vain and then his loss would be a triumph for his murderer and those who sent him," she said in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

Rabin added that assassin Yigal Amir, 26, was not acting alone in the murder, that he was "incited" by many people within Israel. (221K AIFF or WAV sound)

She then lashed out at the Israeli government for allowing Amir to vote Wednesday. (238K AIFF or WAV sound)

In Israel, convicted felons retain their right to vote. Earlier this month, Israel's Supreme Court rejected an appeal to strip Amir of his citizenship and thus his voting rights.

Leah votes

"It's appalling," she said. "He shouldn't be treated like anyone else."

Amir was sentenced last month to life in prison for killing Rabin last November. The assassination, Amir said, was to stop Rabin's policy of trading land for peace with Palestinians.

When Rabin was asked if she could support Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu, she found the mere suggestion insulting. Such an idea is "impossible," she said. (145K AIFF or WAV sound)

Rabin especially criticized Netanyahu for using fear as a campaign tactic.

"We have lived with terror," she said. "To say that this is a dangerous place to live is, I think, a very vicious way of putting the blame on the peace process."

Related site:

Back to the top

Feedback

Send us your comments.
Selected responses are posted daily.


[Imagemap]
| CONTENTS | SEARCH | CNN HOME PAGE | MAIN WORLD NEWS PAGE |

Copyright © 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.