Members of the Harvard community reacted in stunned disbelief this weekend to the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin, who was shot and killed by a right-wing law student at a peace rally in Tel Aviv Saturday.

Rabin was scheduled to speak at the Kennedy School of Government on November 15.

Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel is organizing a memorial service today at 2 p.m. on the steps of Widener Library.

Rabin, 73, was shot while leaving a large gathering of peace supporters in Kings of Israel Square. After singing a peace song with his supporters, Rabin was shot while entering his car three times at close range. He died about an hour later at a Tel Aviv hospital.

Since sharing the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Palestinian Liberation Organization Leader Yasser Arafat and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Rabin has been the target of criticism from the Israeli radical right for negotiating an agreement to yield the old West Bank, which contains a sizable Jewish population, to the Palestinians.

When Joel B. Pollak '99 heard news of the assassination, his first reaction was disbelief. His second was to share the news with classmates.

Pollak asked fellow diners at the Freshman Union Saturday night to observe a moment of silence in honor of the fallen Israeli leader.

"I had sat down and written down my feelings and then thought. 'We should let people know about how much the Jewish community at Harvard is concerned about this,'" Pollak said. "I decided before I got to the dining hall that I would [make an announcement]."

"If there is any example that Rabin set, it was that if something is right, you should do it regardless of the consequences and opinions of others," Pollak added.

Across the University students joined faculty and administrators in expressing their grief.

"I want to express my shock and great sadness at hearing the terrible news of Prime Minister Rabin's assassination," President Neil L. Rudenstine wrote in a statement Saturday. "The loss to the cause of peace is profound. The loss of a courageous and unswerving leader is beyond our calculation."

"This is a moment, not only to share our grief, but to commit our thoughts and actions--in whatever ways we can, however large or small--to the goal of peace for all peoples in the Middle East," the statement read.

Some students said yesterday that Rabin's abilities as a leader and a diplomat transcended the political debate over the peace settlement.

"Despite what anybody may think, whether they agree with him or not...one can't forget what [Rabin] did for the Jewish State and for the Jewish nation," said Shalom E. Holtz '99.

"The person that carried it out, might have thought he would bring about a new government," said Michael M. Rosen '99. "All that he's done is created a backlash against the right-wing and de-legitimized its causes."

When Arafat spoke at the Institute of Politics [IOP] last month he called for the rapid implementation of the agreement reached between Israel and Palestine.

Rabin's speech would have been the second of a two-part IOP series on peace in the Middle East.

"It's a tragedy, definitely for the sake of the students who wanted to have contact [with Rabin]," said Bert I. Huang '96, chair of the IOP's Student Advisory Committee.

"But this is beyond the IOP," Huang added. "This is much bigger than the IOP. This is a very hard time for some people right now."

The weekly Sunday night Current Events Table in Leverett House devoted its discussion last night to the effects of the assassination on the future of Middle East peace.

"I did not expect [the assassination]," said Azer Bestavros '92, who participated in the discussion group. "It revived some fear that one person is capable of holding the world captive."

Rachel B. Tiven '96-'97 says the assassination caused her to reconsider her thoughts about immigrating to Israel after graduation.

"It was really painful and saddening that Israeli society has reached the point where a Jew would kill another Jew because of a clash in ideology," Tiven said.

"I'm shocked and I'm stunned. It's unprecedented in contemporary Jewish History," said Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel Director Bernard Steinberg.

Hillel Chair Ethan M. Tucker '97 said the assassination was "a deep blow to the Jewish people and to the world. A great leader has been murdered."

Rudenstine, Steinberg and Wolfson Professor of Jewish Studies Jay M. Harris will join several students in delivering speeches at today's Hillel-sponsored service on the Widener steps.

Brendam H. Gibbon contributed to this report.