Facts about Rechavam 'Gandhi' Zeevi
1926 - 2001
1926 Rechavam Zeevi was born in Jerusalem. He was a fifth generation sabra.
He served as a career officer in the Israeli Defense Forces, having accomplished the rank of Major-General.
After the Six-Day War, he fought Arab terror in the West Bank & Gaza Strip.
He was a soldier's friend, and often visited Beduin families whose sons served in the IDF.
1974 – 1977 Gandhi, to his friends, served as Advisor to Prime Minister Rabin on Anti-Terror Matters & Intelligence.
1981 - 1991 He was Chairman of the Board of the Eretz-Israel Museum in Tel Aviv.
1988 He was elected to the Knesset as Chairman of the Moledet faction, advocating the voluntary transfer of the Palestinian population in the territories. He served as a member of the Knesset House, Foreign Affairs & Defense, Education & Culture, & Stte Control Committees.
1991 – 1992 He served as Minister without Portfolio.
1999 Gandhi was elected to the Knesset as Chairman of the National Union – Yisrael Beiteinu Party.
2001 He was appointed Minister of Tourism.
2001 October 15 He submitted his resignation.
2001 October 17 His resignation was to be effective. "That same morning, Rechavam Zeevi was assassinated with two shots to the head outside his room at the Jerusalem Hyatt Hotel. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack."
Gandhi lay in state at the Knesset building before a state funeral with full military honors at Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem.
I remembered standing on the rooftop of a building as Gandhi made his last journey down Herzl Boulevard to the cemetery, and I later wrote the following poem in his memory (The poem is copyright and not to be used or published without prior permission of the author.)
A TRIBUTE TO THE MIGHTY FALLEN!
A little boy dropped his flag today—
he struggled to hold onto it against shifting winds,
until, at last, he lost the struggle;
it was wrestled from his hand, and fell to the ground.
Flags were dropped at half-mast,
signaling to a mourning nation
an honorable leader lay in state;
by an assassin's bullet, he too, fell to the ground.
Oh! How the mighty are fallen on the battlefield of life!
A single flag was draped, where rested the soldier;
guns were raised and fired in a final salute to the statesman,
he who offered no intoxicating drink to his adversaries,
but held the Torah in his hand,
and embraced its words as truth:
"Israel, forever my home, my land!"
Oh! How the mighty are fallen on the battlefield of life!
"Kri-ah!" A father, a husband, a son—his garment is rent!
"Kri-ah!" A mother, a wife, a daughter—her heart is torn!
Men and women of valor are the fallen, an invaluable price,
How costly this national sacrifice!
--those who pledged to protect liberty and justice,
defend our borders and our sovereignty as a nation,
in spite of the rhetoric of diplomatic peace
which continually ignites and stokes fires of conflict.
Oh! How the mighty are fallen on the battlefield of life!
But the statesman had heard a sound few could hear;
the noise of an army prepared in readiness for war,
the young, his life's investment, now soldiers prepared to defend,
are an army advancing over a new horizon, Israel's next generation!
Yes, we buried our friend today as his enemies danced in the streets.
But the voice they sought to silence still resounds within our souls.
Thousands walked past to bid farewell and questioned—
Who will take up the challenge and continue in his steps?
The answer:
The little boy picked up the fallen flag
and took up his place in the march for freedom—
a tribute of victory for the mighty fallen!
