'Turned into a political event': Netanyahu will boycott state memorial for Yitzhak Rabin again - voila! news

Michaeli: "Rabin was murdered politically with the collaboration of Benjamin Netanyahu"/Israel Hayom

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend the state memorial ceremony in memory of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, it was announced Monday evening. Sources close to him said the decision was made because the memorial service "became a political event."

This is the third consecutive year in which Netanyahu will boycott the ceremony, a decision that was first reported by Channel 12 News, but unlike the previous two years, this year he will take the step as prime minister. Last year he served as prime minister-designate, and the year before that, as leader of the opposition.

"The memorial has become a political event. The prime minister will attend an event in memory of Rabin in the Knesset, but will not attend the memorial service on Mount Herzl," sources close to Netanyahu said.

For the 3rd time in a row, he will not attend Rabin's memorial service. Netanyahu/Flash 90, Jonathan Zindel

In 2021, Netanyahu decided for the first time not to attend the ceremony, after years in which his appearances at the recurring events sparked quarrels and controversy with members of the Rabin family and his successors. This revolves, among other things, on the historical and charged debate over the role and responsibility of Netanyahu, who served as opposition leader before the assassination, for right-wing incitement that preceded him.

Those close to Netanyahu explained at the time that Rabin's memorial service had become "a regular excuse for unbridled attacks on Netanyahu, who is treated with disrespectful contempt on Mount Herzl. When he arrives - they attack him, when he doesn't - they attack him. You decide."

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