THE ARAB WORLD : FAREWELL TO A PEACEMAKER : Ex-Enemies Risk Wrath at Home to Say Goodby

Of all the tributes Monday to Yitzhak Rabin’s achievements, the most profound came not from the rhetoric at the podium but from the simple presence of Jordan’s King Hussein and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in this disputed holy city.

The two leaders and officials from four other Arab countries, risking displeasure at home and throughout the Arab world, ignored their long boycott of Israeli-controlled Jerusalem to join mourners here. And for many Israelis, it was living proof that the embattled peace process championed by their slain prime minister had, if only briefly, broken their long isolation in the Middle East.

“The agenda of these Arab leaders is not the future of Jerusalem. That will be decided on another day,” said Mahdi Abdul Hadi, a professor at the Jerusalem-based Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs. “But their message was that this assassination will not stop the peace process. It is a message for the Israeli people, really.”

The moment was particularly poignant for Hussein. Monday marked his first visit to Jerusalem, which lies just a few hours’ drive from his palace in Jordan, since the Rabin-led Israeli army captured the eastern half of the city in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

“I’m not ashamed. I’m not afraid,” Hussein told the mourners. “I’m determined to fulfill the legacy for which my friend fell, as did my grandfather in this very city.”

Hussein’s grandfather was assassinated in 1951 on the Temple Mount by a lone Palestinian gunman as his grandson looked on. Some say Hussein, then just a teen-ager, also was struck by a bullet that ricocheted off a medal on his chest.

Advisers to both Hussein and Mubarak took pains to point out that the journey to Jerusalem did not constitute political recognition for Israeli control of the city, which is also claimed by Arabs. “It signifies the interest of both Amman [the Jordanian capital] and Cairo in the peace process,” one Arab analyst in Jerusalem said.

“On a subject like this, one ceases to look at the political issues,” said Marwan Mouasher, Jordan’s ambassador to Israel. “The king was Rabin’s partner in peace and . . . he really wanted to come, regardless of the political repercussions. This does not change our position on Jerusalem.”

Nevertheless, the leaders risked the wrath of their neighbors, and radical elements in their own countries, by coming.

“Working for peace is always a case of taking risks,” said George Hawatmeh, editor of the Jordan Times in Amman. “The Arab extremists are not shedding tears over Rabin’s death. But this is the time for King Hussein to tell those guys, and the Israelis, that Arab leaders will not give up on what has been started.”

In all, representatives from six Arab countries--including Oman, Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania--attended the funeral. Although Yigal Palmor, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, said it was “a pity that it had to take a tragedy for such a visit to take place,” other Israelis were moved by the gesture by so many Arab dignitaries.

Also among the mourners at the Jewish cemetery, where leaders of five wars against Arab states are buried, were top officials of the Palestinian Authority, which governs former occupied lands. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat did not make an appearance, although he had expressed dismay at the killing and had wanted to attend.

While the presence of Arab leaders seemed to mark a breakthrough for Israel with its neighbors, government officials pointedly did not invite Arafat. They said they could not guarantee his safety as a leader hated by right-wing Israelis and a leader who has made no secret of his designs on at least part of Jerusalem.

Palestinian officials tried to put the best face on the rebuke. Nabil Shaath, a minister in the Palestinian Authority who attended the ceremony, told Israel Radio, “It was not easily possible for the Israeli government to arrange for what they consider a major security threat.”

Mubarak had never been to Jerusalem and had not visited Israel during his 14 years as president, despite repeated invitations. Asked if there was any political significance to his decision to attend, Mubarak said: “I don’t look at this as a political mission. I’m just here to convey my condolences. The Egyptian people know I am coming here to do a duty. The Egyptian people do not like blood and murder.”

Mubarak, who was wearing a business suit, put on a blue baseball cap provided by Israeli officials to abide by Jewish tradition, which requires men to cover their heads at religious ceremonies. Other Arab leaders wore traditional Arab kaffiyehs on their heads.

The decision by so many Arab leaders to attend reflected a growing split in the Arab world over Israel and the peace process. While many Arab countries support the process, they are reluctant to be seen cozying up to their former enemies, especially with powerful Syria watching.

“There is a feeling that countries such as Qatar and Oman have been going out on a limb to accommodate the Israelis before the time is right,” Hawatmeh said as he watched the funeral on Israeli television in his office in Amman. “Everyone has an eye on the Syrians, and they don’t want to be accused by the Syrians of getting ahead of everyone else.”

Peace talks between Syria and Israel, considered key to a lasting peace in the Middle East, are deadlocked. Syria is still, officially at least, at war with Israel.

Syria did not send a representative to the funeral, but President Hafez Assad has told the United States that he condemned the killing, a U.S. official said. On Monday, the Syrian government newspaper Tishrin urged Rabin’s successor to work for progress in talks with Syria, saying Israel “should not waste time if it really has a desire for peace.”

At issue in the Syrian-Israeli dispute is the future of the Golan Heights, which troops under Rabin’s command captured in 1967. Israel has said it is willing to make a partial withdrawal in exchange for full diplomatic ties and concessions to guarantee Israel’s security.

Times staff writer Mary Curtius contributed to this story.