Assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was remembered Sunday as a man of reason who sought peace with the Palestinians, officials said.

Thousands of Israelis attended a rally in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on the 14th anniversary of Rabin's death.

The rally occurred at the site where Rabin was fatally shot during a peace demonstration in 1995. He was killed by an Orthodox Jew who opposed Rabin's policy of trading land for peace with the Palestinians.

In a video message to the crowd Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama called Rabin a brave soldier who believed the "only battle that is a pleasure to wage is the battle for peace."

Israeli President Shimon Peres, who was with Rabin the night he died, told the crowd Rabin's quest for peace must live on, Voice of America reported.

Peres urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to reconsider his decision not to seek re-election in January. Abbas has said he would step down because of Israel's failure to advance the peace process.