"May the Memory of the Man Stand as a Sign and Example": The Israeli Reform Movement's Liturgical Commemoration of Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Day

ABSTRACT: In recent years, the Reform movement in Israel has emerged as a prominent religious denomination, one that promotes pluralistic Judaism based on humanistic values and advocacy for civil rights. To serve its congregants and strengthen its institutional recognition, it develops rituals and texts that embed this worldview. This study focuses on the movement's liturgical response to Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Day as part of this effort. Through qualitative analysis, based on participant observation of ritual performance, interviews with community rabbis, and textual analysis of prayers and proposed memorial ceremonies, this study attempts to illuminate—for the first time—the non-Orthodox Jewish response to Rabin's assassination and the challenge of preserving his memory and legacy. We argue that this response reflects the Reform movement's effort to provide a religious-liberal framework for memorialization and commemoration, and to establish a democratic civic discourse based on Jewish values, thereby positioning itself as a socio-political movement integral to public discourse in Israel. In the absence of anthropological research on religious and liturgical responses to Rabin's assassination, the study provides insights into the role of democratic values in Israeli society and their relationship to Jewish tradition.