The blood-stained copy of the "Song of Peace" that Yitzhak Rabin sang and stuffed into his breast pocket moments before he was shot was displayed at his funeral Monday by a sobbing aide who recited it as a eulogy.
Eitan Haber, who wrote many of the prime minister's speeches, said in his eulogy: "Yitzhak, this is the last speech. There will be no others. For more than 35 years you were a parent to me, a mentor, a guide. You were my father."Holding up the bloodstained piece of paper, Haber said, "The blood that ran out of your body in the last moments of your life, is between the lines, between the words. (They) ring as if they were written yesterday." Then quoting in Hebrew, Haber read:
"Let the sun rise, let the morning shine
The purest of prayers will not bring us back.
He whose light has been extinguished
And has been tucked into the earth
Bitter tears will not wake him up
Will not bring him back here.
Nobody will bring us back
From the deep pit of darkness
Nor can the joy of victory
Nor songs of glory.
So sing a song of peace
Don't whisper a prayer
It is better to sing a song of peace
With a great shout."
Songwriter Yaacov Rotblitt wrote the lyrics after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. But the song, viewed as damaging to the willingness of young people to fight, was banned from Israeli radio stations for years until it became the rallying cry of the Israeli peace movement.