Tens of thousands of Israelis filled Rabin Square in central Tel Aviv Saturday night to mark 30 years since the assassination of Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Far right extremist Yigal Amir murdered the Labor party leader on Nov. 4, 1995 at the end of a rally in support of the Oslo Accords at the square, which was then named Kings of Israel Square.
It was the first official commemoration held in five years due to construction and wartime logistical challenges.
Organizers said that 150,000 people attended the event, which included footage of Rabin’s final speech before a moment of silence at 9:42 p.m., the exact time of his assassination. Speakers included opposition leader Yair Lapid and released hostage Gadi Mozes. Major Israeli artists performed and the event concluded with the “Song for Peace,” the anthem Rabin sang minutes before his death.
Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, The Democrats Party chair Yair Golan and Israeli politician Tzipi Livni also spoke.
“Rabin taught us that we must not stand by. When you see something dangerous—stand up to it; when you see something broken—fix it,” said Lapid.
Rabin was born in Jerusalem on March 1, 1922 and served as an army general and as Israel’s prime minister from 1974 to 1977 and again from 1992 until his assassination in 1995.
