So whenever I am on a private tour of Tel Aviv I talk about Yitzhak Rabin Memorial. In fact, the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin took place in November 1995 at 21:30. Undoubtedly it was a pivoting moment in Israeli history. Furthermore, the assassin, an Israeli, religious Jew ultranationalist named Yigal Amir, radically opposed Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s peace initiative; particularly the signing of the Oslo Accords. Next to where Rabin was shot in Tel Aviv today stands a memorial honoring his memory. Just between city hall and Gan Ha’ir Shopping Mall.

The monument is composed of uneven basalt slabs of stone; which represent the undercurrents of the Israeli society that were bubbling under the surface that seemed solid but beneath were about to erupt; like it happened in November 1995. On my Tel Aviv private tours, I tend to mention Rabin that his assassination was like the assassination of John F. Kennedy for Americans. This was, to this day, the only political assassination of a Prime Minister in Israel. I hope this low point in Israeli society won’t happen again. 

The Historical Context Of Yitzhak Rabin Memorial

So Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated after a peace rally. In addition, in the days following the event, thousands of Israelis gathered at the square to commemorate Rabin. The young people who came to mourn Rabin were dubbed the “Candles Youth” A segment of the graffiti they drew upon the nearby walls has been preserved.

A memorial stands where Rabin was assassinated (at the square’s northeast corner, below City Hall). Part of the memorial is a small, open legacy wall for Rabin. Near the square’s south end is a memorial sculpture designed by Israeli artist Yigal Tumarkin commemorating the Holocaust. Below is an Israeli TV report that shows his last moments before he was shot, including the assassination itself.

So the monument in memory of Yitzhak Rabin was erected at the site of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin near the staircase of the Tel Aviv City Hall, north of Kings of Israel Square, which after his assassination was named after Rabin Square. So the monument consists of sixteen basalt stones from the Golan Heights, intended to symbolize the connection that Rabin felt to the land.

Yitzhak Rabin Center

Furthermore, the stones were hewn by the sculptor Yael Artzi. And the entire compound, adjacent to the city garden, was designed by David Tartakover. Next to the monument, under the staircase, is a statue of Yitzhak Rabin, made of metal and set on stone. The unveiling ceremony of the memorial took place on November 1, 1996, about a year after the murder.