Yeshiva University’s Center for Israel Studies will host an academic conference for all audiences to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s death, on Sunday, November 1, at YU’s Wilf Campus, 500 West 185th Street, New York, NY.

Titled “Yitzhak Rabin: Twenty Years After,” the program will run from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and will include discussions and presentations on the life, legacy, politics and assassination of Israel’s fifth prime minister.

“It is essential that Yeshiva University takes the lead to celebrate the life of Yitzhak Rabin and discuss the issues surrounding his tragic death in order to drive home the importance of national unity at all times despite differing opinions,” said Dr. Steven Fine, Pinkhos Churgin Professor of Jewish History at YU and the director of the University’s Center for Israel Studies.

“As a ‘light unto the nations,’ we must promote the notion of civil culture, focusing on what we have in common in an effort to promote safe, peaceful and effective dialogue. It is truly the only way forward.”

The conference will open with greetings from Yeshiva University President Richard M. Joel, Ido Aharoni, Consul General of the State of Israel in New York, and Dalia Rabin, Chair of the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv. Thereafter, a session titled “From the Yeshiva” will feature a panel discussion between Rabbi Yosef Blau (Senior Mashgiach Ruchani, RIETS), Rabbi Shalom Carmy (Assistant Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Bible), and Rabbi Ozer Glickman (Rosh Yeshiva, RIETS) about the impact of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination on world Jewry.

Following the lunch break, a second session “From the University” will feature presentations by Dr. Selma Botman (Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, YU), Dr. Robert O. Freedman (Johns Hopkins University), Dr. Akiba Covitz (Executive Director, YU Global), and Dr. Margaret Olin (Yale University) about the political and social ramifications of Rabin’s death on the world at large, from 1995 until today.

The conference will conclude with the recitation of a Kel Maleh Rachamim, the quintessential Jewish prayer of remembrance, by Rabbi Ozer Glickman.

“Yitzhak Rabin: Twenty Years After” is co-sponsored by the Consulate General of the State of Israel in New York and the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv.