MIDEAST PEACE STILL POSSIBLE, JEWS IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI SAY

Members of the Jewish community in Southeast Missouri agree that the death of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is a great tragedy but are confident that peace can be achieved.

Area Jews say that peace efforts likely will continue despite the suffering and mourning that has rocked Israel since Saturday. Rabin was assassinated Saturday after speaking at a peace rally. He was 73. About 4,000 Israelis and world leaders attended his funeral service Tuesday.

"My assumption is that it's a tragic loss for Jews all over the world," said Louie Hirschowitz of Oran.

Bob Steinberg of Cape Girardeau agreed: "It's a horrible, terrible thing to have happened but we have to move beyond that."

And he believes that the Israelis will do just that because the people are tired of living with the threat of war.

But moving forward with the peace initiative might be difficult for a nation already so divided internally.

"I hope it doesn't change very much and they can get the whole situation resolved," Steinberg said. "It's difficult but they can probably do it."

Rabin won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994. He shared it with Shimon Peres, who has succeeded him as prime minister, and PLO leader Yasser Arafat.

"He believed in what he was doing," Hirschowitz said. "A dreamer just hopes it will materialize. He had a face of promise. He was willing to compromise at a cost to them. He was giving the land back."

A 25-year-old law student confessed to shooting Rabin, saying it was because the leader was giving land to the Arabs.

Hirschowitz and Steinberg were both surprised that another Jew committed the murder of an Israeli leader.

"If an outsider had done this it would probably have meant war," said Steinberg, adding that now Israel can focus on punishment

The history of fighting in Israel goes back to when God gave land to Abraham's son Issac and not to Ishmael, Hirschowitz said.

"It's been war ever since then. You can't go back 2,000 years, and Rabin said we'll take a new turn."

Hirschowitz watched the funeral on television. Jewish custom requires that burial take place soon after a death, typically within 24 hours.

Rabin became prime minister in 1974 after the resignation of Golda Meir. He was re-elected in 1992.