from Hadar Susskind, APN President and CEO:

In recent days, there has been a great deal of discussion about our decision to honor the late Yitzhak Rabin and his legacy of peace.

There’s a lot to discuss about Rabin’s legacy. But let me be clear, we at APN continue to hold the prospect of peace as the ultimate goal for Israelis and Palestinians, and we honor the legacy of Yitzhak Rabin and his courageous steps towards peace.

We know that you do too. Your support of APN has been a beacon for the movement for nearly 40 years. That is why we need you to help us commemorate Rabin’s life and continue our work as his legacy.

Rabin was a model for the transformation from enmity and conflict to peace and reconciliation that our Israeli sister organization, Shalom Achshav, is fighting to achieve in Israel, and that we at APN support here in the United States.

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s personal and political transformation inspired hope for peace as no other Israeli leader has. It was Rabin’s power to inspire, as a general-turned-statesman, that led his assassin, Jewish zealot Yigal Amir, to murder him at the end of a peace rally 25 years ago. Amir’s three bullets reversed the process of reconciliation and compromise that Rabin had championed and led us down the path toward 25 years of additional conflict.

For Israel’s peace movement and its supporters in the United States, it is natural to honor a man who shifted from hawk to dove, from fighting Palestinians and denying their national identify and collective rights, to formally recognizing them and their national aspirations. Rabin’s personal transformation inspired millions of Israelis and Palestinians, and supporters of peace between the two peoples worldwide, to believe that a peace agreement based on a historical compromise was attainable.

By commemorating this courageous leader and his political transformation, even as we acknowledge the complexity of his legacy, we are reaffirming our belief that a return to his path of reconciliation is the only viable way forward. A peace based on mutual respect and the acknowledgement of national aspirations is not just a dream – it is the only realistic alternative to endless conflict. It is necessary, and, yes, it is within reach. It depends on leadership, the leadership modeled by Yitzhak Rabin..

You have been a part of this quest for many years. With your help, we will keep Rabin’s spirit alive. We will continue to expand our urgent work to educate Israelis and Americans, including elected officials, on the imperative of achieving lasting peace through negotiations and compromise.

Please help us light the path towards peace with a gift to APN today.

And we hope that you will join us for our October 20th commemoration of the life and legacy of Yitzhak Rabin. Register HERE and participate in the largest memorial service outside of Israel, marking 25 years since his death.