Rabin's murder hits home for Penn students studying in Israel

Now that the seven-day Jewish period of mourning for slain Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin is over, Penn students studying abroad in that country have begun to sort out their feelings. College juniors Julie Simons and Stephanie Dubitsky, who are spending the semester at Tel Aviv University in Ramat Aviv, said they "were so stunned that [they] didn't know what to do" when they heard about Rabin's murder on the radio. Their Israeli roommate had to translate much of the news broadcast for them, they said, and they were unable to reach their families because all of the telephone lines to the United States were busy. After Rabin's death was confirmed Saturday night, both students participated in an impromptu candlelight vigil at Rabin's apartment, located several blocks from their campus. "We lit memorial candles and stood amidst hundreds of other shocked Israelis," Simons said. "It seemed as if Israelis temporarily put aside their political differences and united to honor and show their final respects to Rabin." Dubitsky traveled to Jerusalem the next day to stand in front of the Knesset and view Rabin's coffin as it lay in state. Rabbis led the mourners who had gathered on the street in prayers. "It was such a powerful sight," she said. "Israelis were grieving as if they had lost a family member of their own." Along with 250,000 Israelis, Simons said she attended last weekend's peace rally in the newly renamed Rabin Square, where Rabin's widow Leah spoke. "Although I did not understand everything that was said in Hebrew, I was still moved by the quiet, somber atmosphere of the evening," she said. The assassination has not faded from the Israeli national consciousness, Simons and Dubitsky said. Discussion about it continues on busses, in newspapers and in classrooms. Still, the students said, they do not feel unsafe in Israel. "It is amazing to be able to witness a historical event and its repercussions firsthand," Dubitsky said. "We have been having the time of our lives in Israel, and will always remember this semester as one of our best experiences." And despite the sadness and fear the assassination has caused in the United States, Penn students who were considering taking a semester in Israel this spring have not been arriving in droves to change their plans, said Office of International Programs Overseas Programs Manager Annabel Belgaumi. But last Monday, one student came in to explore other options because her parents had decided they would not let her go to Israel, Belgaumi said. Still, no Penn parents have called International Programs to express concern for their children's safety. Belgaumi attributed this to the fact that Hebrew University did not release an advisory statement in the wake of the assassination. The school did issue an advisory last spring when a Brandeis University junior was killed in a terrorist bus bombing. The assassination, Belgaumi said, "is a different kind of situation than Arab on Israel violence. It will provoke a lot of introspection, but will not affect the overall security situation."

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