"We, in the last year, have been through the most unbelievable events," she added, referring to the landmark Oslo Accords. "There is no alternative to the peace process. The train of peace will go on and arrive at its destiny."
Speaking of her meeting with Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat, Rabin said that in the wake of the assassination he treated her and her family with "great charm and great warmth."
She added that Arafat's condolence visit was a pleasant surprise for her, saying "I felt that if I told Yitzhak, he probably would not believe it."
Rabin said that she hopes to establish to keep alive the mission of peace that her husband advocated through the Rabin Center in Israel.
"This is my agenda," Rabin said. "To speak for him and to carry on his legacy."
She went to speak of her desire to establish a Yitzhak Rabin Center in Israel which would contain a library, a museum and a center for study.
"I very much hope to carry the ideal of my husband the same way that the Kennedy School and the John F. Kennedy Library keep alive the ideals and hopes of President Kennedy," Rabin said.
Rabin spent much of her day in Boston visiting both of those places, as well as meeting with students, faculty and members of the community. She met with the students on the IOP's student advisory committee and the leadership of Hillel.
Student Reaction
Students at the speech said they were impressed by Rabin's presentation and her passionate defense of the peace process.
"I thought she really spoke from the heart," said Julia W. Andelman '97-'98. "She has a lot of idealism for the peace process and that is really inspiring."
"I think she is a really extraordinary woman with very strong moral convictions," added David J. Andorsky '97, Hillel chair. "She really carries the torch of her husband's legacy very well."
Andorsky said that in the wake of the recent terrorist actions in Israel, he hopes Hillel will develop initiatives to "provide a feeling of solidarity among American Jews here and Israelis."
"We are trying to put together a statement by a large number of campus religious and ethnical organizations decrying terrorism and responding specifically to the latest wave of terrorism in Israel," Andorsky said. "It's not a part of the civilized world and can't be allowed under any circumstances.