[Translated from Hebrew]

The horrific murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin opened a deep rift in our national existence. It is joined to the list of fateful events in the history of our people that were the result of destructive polarization, unrestrained fanaticism. We have experienced destruction and exile in our ancient history, also because of internecine fighting. And when Israeli democracy was founded, our modern country, we promised ourselves that the lessons of our past had been internalized, that the kingdom of Israel would not be destroyed for a third time. Since the murder, we pass this test every day.

Our challenge is conduct thorough, genuine and democratic public dialogue in a climate that preserves the unity of the people. The unity of the people is not just a phrase. If there is something that unites us beyond any disagreement, it is our history, our aspiration to be a free and sovereign people in our land, and this basic unity is the foundation for our strength. Through our joint efforts, we planted a renewed stake in our homeland, and through our internal unity, we defeated our enemies and safeguarded our existence.

We did so and Yitzhak Rabin did so in two fateful campaigns: in the War of Independence, when we fought for our independence; and during the Six Day War, when our capital, Jerusalem, was unified. Our unity ensured our victory. At the end of each campaign, we hoped that it would be the final war. However, to our profound sorrow, the reality of our region is even stronger than any wish.

We succeeded in making peace with two of our neighbors: Under the leadership of the late Menachem Begin, with Egypt; and under the leadership of the late Yitzhak Rabin, with Jordan. However, despite all the efforts of the six prime ministers since the Oslo Accords, peace has not been reached with the Palestinians.

There is a profound reason for this: The Palestinians are not prepared to recognize the nation-state of the Jewish people; they are not prepared to end the conflict once and for all and to genuinely relinquish the dream of returning to Acre, to Haifa, to Jaffa. They are not prepared to relinquish the dream of establishing a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, but rather in its place. They still teach their children to hate Jews, to see Israel as a colonialist, imperialist entity, the source of all evil.

Yitzhak Rabin hoped to make a real and profound change in this trend, but he too - when the peace process was at its height - faced fierce and cruel waves of terror. Even then, he recognized that Palestinian insubordination was joining the stream of radical Islam that was growing ever stronger across the Middle East, and which over time became a tremendous river washing over the entire region.

We see what has happened around us: Borders are being erased, countries are imploding, hundreds of thousands are slaughtered and millions are leaving their homes and becoming refugees. This is the result of the intra-Islamic clashes, which harms all Muslim societies - including Palestinian society.

We evacuated Gaza and what happened? Half the Palestinians, those living there, are subject to radical Muslim rule, and they rained thousands of missiles and rockets on us from there; whereas the second half refuses to confront the first half. Palestinian society is divided internally, but unfortunately it is not divided when it comes to the fundamental question of recognizing the Jewish state, and therefore it is not a true mirror of our society, which wants peace but disagrees on the path to achieve it.

I think that Yitzhak Rabin understood this deep in his soul, but also intellectually. He was a wise man. I recently read something written by Professor Shlomo Avineri. Of course, he did not spare me from criticism, clearly, as it is a ritual that if someone writes the truth about the Palestinians, he must balance it with several criticisms of the prime minister of Israel. However, Avineri wrote something simple: If the Palestinians want peace, and I quote, "they must change their narrative, which denies the existence of the Jewish state." We are not asking the Palestinians for more than we ourselves have done. And he writes, "The Palestinians fight against the Jewish state, and if they truly want to achieve peace, it must be made with the Jewish state, explicitly and without hesitation."

Well, it has not happened yet. The wild incitement against Israel intensifies and the terrorists are trying to raise their heads. We stand strongly against them, as Yitzhak Rabin stood. He fought terror unhesitatingly, with great decisiveness, and like then, the incitement will not weaken our faith in the justness of the path of Zionism. Terror will not uproot us from our land. We fight against incitement and terror with all our strength.

Most of us know a simple truth: Peace must be anchored in security because security is the foundation for peace. The Palestinians' hope, and that of all our enemies - that one day they will defeat us through the power of the sword - must be denounced. Must the sword devour forever? If we lower our sword, their sword will consume us. Only when they understand that they will not succeed can we return our sword to its scabbard.

Rabin understood this very well. He was a pragmatic leader. He did not blame himself for the terror. He was free from self-recrimination. He knew that terror must be fought without compromise, and when it was, there was a chance our neighbors would be convinced that the State of Israel will be here forever - and has the right to do so. Then there would be an opening for genuine peace, but even then, only under the condition that we could defend ourselves. Until such time, we will take steps even when there is no partner for a genuine arrangement: steps to reduce friction, to hasten reconciliation, to advance economic development; while at the same time uncompromisingly fighting against terrorist entities. I believe this is what any pragmatic leader would do - and we are doing so in all kinds of ways that are known and those that are unknown, hand in hand with an attempt to gain the assistance of the countries in the region. There is a change now because of radical Islam. Not all the change is bad; some of it is good and may benefit us.

My friends, members of Knesset, at the beginning of the War of Independence, Yitzhak Rabin was the commander of the Palmach Harel Brigade. The soldiers in the brigade had the task of breaking through the siege on Jerusalem. Many fell in the battles, and tired and wounded fighters asked, "Why isn't there any ammunition? Why must we be exposed to bullets and travel in open trucks?" Rabin's answer is worth listening to. He replied to them, "Whoever does not want to will not accompany another convoy." However, he said later on that no one gave up the privilege to fight in safeguarding the road to Jerusalem. The enemy eventually withdrew because the winning side is always the one that has more spirit and more breath.

Our people has an ancient spirit that is being renewed in the sovereign State of Israel. We have endurance and we are not afraid of the long journey. In the thousands of years of our existence, we have dealt with many challenges - and we successfully overcame them. There is no other example of a people who experienced what we did for thousands of years that did not disappear from history and instead renewed its sovereign existence. There is no other example. In 140 years of Zionism, we built the country and made it bloom, and in the 67 years of our independence, we accomplished many great achievements. Yitzhak Rabin can take great credit in the success of the rebirth and renewal of the country. We are greatly appreciative and we will cherish his memory with respect and honor.

May his memory be blessed.