Rabin's assassination was not the first in Israel. But the high profile of a prime minister, the public brash hullabaloo and the personal exterior of the supposedly religious murderer create a distinct political and ethical statement. It highlights the fact that perhaps something was lost along the way to warrant newer, more specific messages and ethics. The very reality of the hand of man striking his fellow, even more, that of Jew against Jew, in murder, starkly demonstrates that "simply because there is no fear of G-d in this place and they shall kill me."
"This expression of the times," says Rav Gafni, "expresses this pointedly. The fact that one who externally appears as religious, but who leans more dominantly on his secular side, and performs acts that any religious man would absolutely affirm that murder is forbidden, accentuates the firm knowledge that 'Though shalt not kill' means exactly that. There is absolutely no condoning a Jew who shoots another Jew. Such a deed can easily happen again when matters become more acute and each side is convinced of its truth.
"Such a situation can backfire on a large segment and can lead to other murders from those convinced of the truth of such incitement. A tragic situation. For a lack of G-d-fear in a place can surely lead to the loss of lives. By people for whom the boundaries of Halacha are their guiding light and determines their path in life, such a thing cannot and could not happen and I hope will never happen, but the danger nevertheless exists.
Regarding the issue which served as the background for the assassination: Man, blood and earth point to the ladder of preference of the Torah outlook, as Maran HaRav Shach determined for us. Man and the prohibition of bloodshed are more important than land, with the objective of shedding the least amount of blood. Where do we stand in a position approaches that of the Left, rather than our traditional place leans closer to that of the Right?
"There is no Left or Right by us. We are neither one or the other; we only follow what the voice of Torah leadership dictates. According to this, the issue of life preservation is critical and central. This is why we shy away from topic that sound nice and conventional like the land of Israel. Clashes on such subjects can readily lead to blows to lives and Jewish existence. Such a reality does not exist by us.
"In the end, we do join with the Right because the Left is against the world of Torah. The Left shuns Torah values with regard to various public issues, which distances us from them, but in general matters such as relate to daily lives, we are very tolerant, as our Torah leaders have directed throughout the past and today as well."
If we reach such a state where we cannot live a life of Torah in the Holy Land, a feeling which we actually harbor today, will we be able to say that our place is no longer together with the Right?
"I cannot determine that. We operate according to what our Torah leaders determine. I am not a Chief of Staff. I receive directions and the question is whether their can be such a situation of abandoning the Right. I don't know the answer to this question since I didn't ask it and therefore, never received an answer to it. Nonetheless, there certainly does exist such a reality where we see in the Right certain things which are in direct opposition to our world view in various issues. As soon as such a reality exists where we will be forced to make a decision, while on the other side we are faced with people who categorically despise all of our Torah values, we will present this question on the table of our Torah leadership and proceed as their tell us. Up till now, they have told us to join with the Right."
