Sculptor objects to Rabin memorial

Tartakover said he objected to the move and would decide what steps to take in response. In addition to violating freedom of expression, he said, removing the words is an act of denial, and "we as Jews can't deny our history."

Tartakover explained that when he was designing the memorial he decided to use a description of Yigal Amir instead of referring to him by name because "I don't think that a memorial for Rabin should bear his [Amir's] name. He is a murderer.

"I put kippah-wearing instead of his name because the murder was motivated by religious reasons and encouraged by rabbis from the extreme right wing. It is an accurate description" of Amir, he said.

"Religious people have contacted me and said that they don't mind the wording. They understand if the murder wasn't connected to religion it wouldn't have been important to include it in the description," he said. "Those who don't feel comfortable with this perhaps suffer from guilt."

He emphasized that "a young, kippah-wearing Jew" is a description of this specific murderer, and is in no way a condemnation of all Jews who wear kippot.