Yitzhak Rabin

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[Yitzhak Rabin] ([Media helphelp]·[info]) (Hebrew: יִצְחָק רָבִּין), (March 1, 1922 – November 4, 1995) was an Israeli politician and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel from 1974 until 1977 and again from 1992 until his assassination in 1995 by Yigal Amir, a right-wing activist who had strenuously opposed Rabin's signing of the Oslo Accords. He was the first local-born Prime Minister of Israel, the only Prime Minister to be assassinated and the second to die in office (following Levi Eshkol).

Contents

1 Youth and service in the Palmach
2 IDF service
3 Ambassador and Minister of Labor
4 First term as Prime Minister
5 Opposition MP and Minister of Defense
6 Second term as Prime Minister
7 Assassination and aftermath
8 See also
9 Further reading
10 References
11 External links

Youth and service in the Palmach

Rabin was born in Jerusalem in what was then Palestine (formal: British Mandate of Palestine). He grew up in Tel Aviv, where his family moved when he was one year old, and in 1940 he graduated with distinction from the Kadoori Agricultural High School. His matriculation was his last formal education, with the exception of some military strategy courses which he later took in the United Kingdom. He aspired to become an irrigation engineer.

In 1941, during his practical training at Kibbutz Ramat Yochanan, Rabin joined the Palmach section of the Haganah, and rose to the position of Chief Operations Officer in October 1947.

In 1948, the year of Israel's independence, Rabin married his wife, Leah.

IDF service

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, he directed Israeli operations in Jerusalem and fought the Egyptian army in the Negev.

In the late 1970s, when Rabin wrote his memoirs in Hebrew, Pinkas Sherut, he described an episode of the 1948 war that had troubled him ever since, the forced expulsion by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of 50,000 Arab civilians from the towns of Lod-Ramle. A cabinet committee which checks ministerial memoirs for security leaks ordered that the section be removed and indeed, against Rabin's wishes, it was. The story was revealed by the English translator of the book and published in "The New York Times" (see Yitzhak Rabin, Soldier of Peace - p.26).

In 1964 he rose to the position of Chief of Staff in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Under his command, the IDF achieved an overwhelming victory over Egypt, Syria and Jordan in the Six-Day War in 1967. After the Old City of Jerusalem was captured by the IDF, Rabin was among the first to visit the old city, and then delivered a famous speech on the top of Mount Scopus at the Hebrew University. During the buildup to the war Rabin suffered a nervous breakdown, caused by mounting pressure over his inability to prevent it, and was incapacitated for 48 hours. His incapacitation was not disclosed to the public, and he resumed full command over the IDF.

Defense Minister Moshe Dayan (center), flanked by Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Yitzhak Rabin (right) and Major General Uzi Narkiss (left), enter Old Jerusalem in 1967

Ambassador and Minister of Labor

Following his retirement from the IDF, he became a diplomat, serving as ambassador to the United States beginning in 1968. In 1973, he was elected to the Knesset as a member of the Labor Party, and was appointed Minister of Labor.

First term as Prime Minister

On June 2 1974, he was elected Party leader and succeeded Golda Meir as Prime Minister of Israel.

This term in office was most famous for Operation Entebbe, in which, on his orders, the IDF rescued passengers of a plane hijacked by Palestinian terrorists. Rabin resigned from office after two crises hit him: the arrival of four F-15 jets on Shabbat led to the breaking up of his coalition; and the exposure of a US Dollar bank account held by his wife Leah Rabin, an act forbidden at that time by Israeli currency regulators. Rabin took responsibility for his wife's account and resigned from office. Rabin was later hailed by many commentators for his resignation, who said that his resignation was a sign of integrity and responsibility.

Opposition MP and Minister of Defense

Following his resignation, Likud's Menachem Begin was elected in 1977. Until 1984 Rabin was a member of Knesset and a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. These were difficult years for Yitzhak Rabin.

During the years 1984 to 1990 Rabin was a Minister of Defense in several unity governments under prime ministers Yitzhak Shamir and Shimon Peres. During these years the image of Rabin as "Mister Security" (Mar Bitachon) was strengthened on and beyond the Six Day War and Entebbe Operation.

When he came into office Israeli troops were still stationed deep in Lebanon since the Lebanon War. Rabin had the Israeli troops withdraw to a "Security Zone" on the Lebanese side of the Israeli border. In this area (and little beyond) the South Lebanon Army was active along with the Israeli forces. The withdrawal and "Security Zone" proved initially successful.

When the first Intifada broke out he first enacted harsh measures to break the riots. He was quoted as saying 'We should break their arms and legs', probably referring to Palestinian rioters. While the intifada continued Rabin's attitude softened and he became more convinced that the solution to the violence should be found around the negotiation table.

From 1990 to 1992 he was an MP and member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee again. This time he used the opposition years to battle for the leadership of his party that Shimon Peres held since 1977.

Second term as Prime Minister

Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton, and Yasser Arafat during the Oslo Accords on September 13, 1993

In 1992 Rabin was elected as chairman of the Israeli Labor Party. In the elections that same year his party, strongly focusing on the popularity of its leader, managed to win a slight victory over the Likud of incumbent Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. While the right wing actually received more votes, the disqualification of small nationalist parties that did not manage to pass the electoral threshold created a parliamentary majority for the left.

Rabin played a leading role in the signing of the Oslo Accords, which created the Palestinian Authority and granted it partial control over parts of the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Prior to the signing of the accords, Rabin received a letter from PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat renouncing violence and officially recognizing Israel, and on the same day Rabin sent Arafat a letter officially recognizing the PLO on September 9, 1993. (See: Israel-Palestine Liberation Organization letters of recognition.) During this term of office, Rabin also oversaw the signing of the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace (1994).

For his role in the creation of the Oslo Accords, Rabin was awarded the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres. The Accords greatly polarized his image in Israeli society, some seeing him as a hero for advancing the cause of peace and some seeing him as a traitor for giving away land they saw as rightfully belonging to Israel. Also, Rabin's government was kept in office with the tacit support of Arab-Israeli parties in the Knesset.

Assassination and aftermath

The monument at the site of the assassination: Ibn Gevirol Street between the Tel Aviv City Hall and Gan Ha'ir (in the back)

On November 4, 1995, Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir, a right-wing radical who had strenuously opposed Rabin's signing of the Oslo Accords, after attending a rally promoting the Oslo process at Tel Aviv's Kings of Israel Square (which was renamed Yitzhak Rabin Square after his death). Rabin died of massive blood loss and a punctured lung on the operating table at the nearby Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin was a shock for most of the Israeli public, which held rallies and memorials near the place of the assassination, his home, the Knesset and the home of the assassin. Rabin's funeral was attended by many world leaders, among them U.S. president Bill Clinton, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and King Hussein of Jordan.

A national memorial day for Rabin is set on his death date, and the square in which he was assassinated was named after him, as well as many streets and public institutions.

Today, Rabin is remembered by most as Israel's great man of peace, despite his military career. After his untimely death, Rabin was turned into a national symbol, especially for the Israeli left. There is some disagreement on the relation between his untimely death and the ensuing halt to the peace process and rise of the Israeli Right.

References

Dromi, Uri (Nov. 5, 2005). "Still craving peace 10 years after Rabin". New Straits Times, p. 20.
["Israel marks Rabin assassination"]. (Nov. 5, 2005). BBC.

External links

[Memorial biography]
[Official government biography]
[The Yitzhak Rabin Center for Israel Studies]
[Yitzhak Rabin Web Page]
[Yitzhak Rabin profile, ynet news lexicon]
[One of the last recorded interviews with Yitzhak Rabin] - 6 minutes recorded interview with David Esing, One month before the assassination.

Nobel Peace Prize: Laureates (1976–2000)

[Complete List] | [Laureates (1901–1925)] | [Laureates (1926–1950)] | [Laureates (1951–1975)] | [Laureates (2001—)]

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