FAREWELL TO A PEACEMAKER : Hussein Calls Rabin Friend, Says He Died as ‘Soldier for Peace’

Here are excerpts from the eulogy for Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin that Jordan’s King Hussein delivered Monday:

I never thought that the moment would come like this, when I would grieve the loss of a brother, a colleague and a friend, a man, a soldier who met us on the opposite side of a divide, who we respected as he respected us. A man I came to know because I realize, as he did, that we had to cross over the divide, establish the dialogue and strive to leave also . . . a legacy that is worthy of him.

. . . And so we became brethren and friends. . . .

You lived as a soldier. You died as a soldier for peace, and I believe it is time for all of us to come out openly and to speak of peace. Not here today, but for all the times to come. We belong to the camp of peace. . . . We believe that our one God wishes us to live in peace and wishes peace upon us. For these are his teachings to all the followers of the three great monotheistic religions. . . .

Let our voices rise high to speak of our commitment to peace for all times to come and let us tell those who live in darkness, who are the enemies of light and true faith and religion and the teachings of our one God.

Maybe God will bless you with the realization that you must join it, and we pray that you will. But otherwise, we are not ashamed, nor are we afraid, nor are we anything but determined to conclude the legacy for which my friend fell, as did my grandfather, in this very city when I was with him as but a young boy.

He was a man of courage, a man of vision, and he was endowed with one of the greatest virtues that any man can have. He was endowed with humility.

He had courage. He had vision, and he had a commitment to peace.

And, standing here, I commit before you, before my people in Jordan and before the world, myself to continue to do the utmost to ensure that we shall leave a similar legacy.

So many live, and so many inevitably die. . . . But those who are fortunate and lucky in life are those who leave something behind. And you are such a man, my friend.

. . . People who once were your enemies are somber today. . . .

As long as I live, I will be proud to have known him, to have worked with him as a brother, as a friend and as man.