Mr. Speaker, last night I attended a memorial service in Toronto to honour the life of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. It was an emotional evening. Over 6,000 members of our community joined together to recognize the gifts Mr. Rabin had bestowed upon the people of Israel and upon all of us through his endless pursuit of peace.
Mr. Rabin dedicated his life to his country. As a soldier he fought for Israel's survival. As a prime minister he fought for peace.
Saturday, November 3, perhaps marked the pinnacle ofMr. Rabin's quest when he spoke and sung of peace in front of more than 100,000 people in Tel Aviv. How tragic for this to be the end. How tragic for him not to be able to see the results of his life's work. How tragic for the murderer to have been in the crowd, to have heard Rabin's words of peace and not to have heeded them.
As members of the global community we must all join together to ensure that Mr. Rabin's dream of lasting peace will never die.