A Short Biography of Yitzhak Rabin

Short Biography of Yitzhak Rabin

Early life and the Independence War

Yitzhak Rabin was born in Jerusalem in 1922 to Nehemiah and Rosa, two pioneers of the Third Aliyah. Rabin grew up in Tel Aviv, where the family relocated when he was one year old. In 1940, he graduated with distinction from the Kadoori Agricultural High School and hoped to be an irrigation engineer. However, apart from several courses in military strategy in the United Kingdom later on, he never pursued a degree.

Political tensions were rising in the region, and in 1941, during his practical training at kibbutz Ramat Yohanan, Rabin joined the Palmach, a Jewish militia that was eventually transformed into the Israeli Defense Force. The first operation he participated in was assisting the allied invasion of Lebanon, then held by Vichy French in June-July 1941. By 1947, he had risen to the position of Chief Operations Officer of the Palmach. During the 1948 War of Independence, Rabin directed Israeli operations in Jerusalem and fought the Egyptian army in the Negev.

Rabin's Reflections on his childhood:  

“My way in life was determined by the inspiration from the image of my parents and the school I learned in. Throughout my childhood I saw myself headed towards a life of agriculture, a life of kibbutz and if I'd been told that I would be a military man, I would probably chuckle. In those years, the Thirties, anybody, that wanted to do "something" for his people and his country saw his duty in agriculture and kibbutz life. Like many of my friends, that's what I prepared myself for. First I learned in the "Beit Chinuch LeYaldei Ovdim" in Tel Aviv, then I moved to the regional school in Givat HaShlosha, then to "Kaduri". Abd so I approached the Forties as I'm advancing in a clear line towards agriculture and kibbutz.

At an age when most youngsters are struggling to unravel the secrets of mathematics and the mysteries of the Bible; at an age when first love blooms; at the tender age of sixteen, I was handed a rifle so that I could defend myself.

That was not my dream. I wanted to be a water engineer. I studied in an agricultural school and I thought being a water engineer was an important profession in the parched Middle East. I still think so today. However, I was compelled to resort to the gun.”  

Military leadership and Yom Kippur War

In 1964, Rabin was appointed Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Under his command, the IDF achieved 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 delivered a famous speech on Mount Scopus, at the Hebrew University. In the days leading up to the war, it was reported that Rabin suffered a nervous breakdown and was unable to function. After this short hiatus, he resumed full command over the IDF. Following his retirement from the IDF he became ambassador to the United States beginning in 1968, serving for five years. In this period the US became the major weapon supplier of Israel. During the 1973 Yom Kippur war he served in no official capacity and in the elections held at the end of 1973 he was elected to the Knesset. He was appointed Israeli Minister of Labor in March 1974 in Golda Meir's government.

Military leadership and the Yom Kippur War

“The nation was exalted and many wept when they heard of the capture of the Old City. Our Sabra youth, and certainly our soldiers, have no taste for sentimentality and shrink from any public show of emotion. In this instance, however, the strain of battle and the anxiety which proceeded it joined with the sense of deliverance, the sense of standing at the very heart of Jewish history, to break the shell of hardness and diffidence, stirring up springs of feelings and spiritual discovery. The paratroopers who conquered the Wall leaned on its stones and wept. It was an act which in its symbolic meaning can have few parallels in the history of nations. We in the army are not in the habit of speaking in high-flown language, but the revelation at that hour at the Temple Mount, a profound truth manifesting itself as if by lightning, overpowered customary constraints.”

The Struggle for Peace: Oslo and Jordan

In 1992 Rabin was elected as chairman of the Labor Party, winning against Shimon Peres. In the elections that year his party, strongly focusing on the popularity of its leader, managed to win a clear victory over the Likud of incumbent Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. Rabin formed the first Labor-led government in fifteen years, supported by a coalition with Meretz, a left wing party, and Shas, a Mizrahi ultra-orthodox religious party.

Rabin played a leading role in the signing of the Oslo Accords, which created the Palestinian National 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, 9 September 1993, Rabin sent Arafat a letter officially recognizing the PLO. During this term of office, Rabin also oversaw the signing of the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace in 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 divided Israeli society, with some seeing Rabin as a hero for advancing the cause of peace and some seeing him as a traitor for giving away land rightfully belonging to Israel. Many Israelis on the right wing often blame him for Jewish deaths in terror attacks, attributing them to the Oslo agreements.

At The Signing Of The Declaration of Principles – September 1993

“ We say to you today in a loud and a clear voice: Enough of blood and tears. Enough. We have no desire for revenge. We harbor no hatred towards you. We, like you, are people people who want to build a home, to plant a tree, to love, to live side by side with you in dignity, in empathy, as human beings, as free men. We are today giving peace a chance, and saying again to you: Enough. Let us pray that a day will come when we all will say: Farewell to the arms.”

Speech To Congress - Toward Peace With Jordan -   July 1994

“The debate goes on: Who shapes the face of history? - leaders or circumstances? My answer to you is: We all shape the face of history. We, the people. We, the farmers behind our plows, the teachers in our classrooms, the doctors saving lives, the scientists at our computers, the workers on the assembly lines, the builders on our scaffolds.  We, the mothers blinking back tears as our sons are drafted into the army; we, the fathers who stay awake at night worried and anxious for our children's safety. We, Jews and Arabs. We, Israelis and Jordanians. We, the people, we shape the face of history.”

Assassination (1995) 

On 4 November 1995, Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir, a radical right-wing Orthodox Jew who opposed the signing of the Oslo Accords and believed he was saving the country from a dire fate. The shooting took place in the evening as Rabin was leaving a mass rally in Tel Aviv in support of the Oslo process. Rabin was rushed to the nearby Ichilov Hospital, where he died on the operating table of blood loss and a punctured lung within 40 minutes. Amir was immediately seized by Rabin's bodyguards. He was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The assassination of Rabin came as a great shock to the Israeli public and much of the rest of the world. Hundreds of thousands of grieving Israelis thronged the square where Rabin was assassinated to mourn his death. Young people, in particular, turned out in large numbers, lighting memorial candles and singing peace songs. 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. Bill Clinton delivered a eulogy whose memorable final words were in Hebrew — "Shalom, Chaver."

Before leaving the stage on the night of the assassination, Rabin had been singing Shir LaShalom (literally Song for Peace), along with Israeli singer Miri Aloni. After he died, a sheet of paper with the lyrics was found in his pocket, stained with blood. The square in which he was assassinated has since been named Kikar Rabin in his honor.

Rabin's Final Speech – November 1995  

"I have always believed that the majority of the people want peace and are ready to take risks for peace. In coming here today, you demonstrate, together with many others who did not come, that the people truly desire peace and oppose violence. Violence erodes the basis of Israeli democracy. It must be condemned and isolated. This is not the way of the State of Israel. In a democracy there can be differences, but the final decision will be taken in democratic elections, as the 1992 elections which gave us the mandate to do what we are doing, and to continue on this course."

After the Assassination:

Following Rabin's assassination in 1995, many of the groundbreaking steps he had taken towards peace were undone by violence. Without his leadership the peace process stalled. In 2000 the Second Intifada erupted. Thousands of Palestinians fought Israeli soldiers in the Streets of Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Additionally suicide bombers targeted Israelis in buses and restaurants. In an attempt to stop the suicide bombings the Israeli military invaded Palestinian cities resulting in destruction and death. After roughly three years of on-again, off-again violence thousands of Israelis and Palestinians had died.

Right now, the peace process is probably in worse shape than when Rabin was assassinated. The violence of the Second Intifada, the construction of a security wall around the West Bank and political fighting amongst Palestinians has made the construction of a peace deal more and more difficult. Israeli, Palestinian and American leaders are still trying to find solutions to the problems that Rabin committed to addressing before his death.

For millions of people who still believe that peace is possible, Yitzhak Rabin's legacy has become an important inspiration. Every year hundreds of thousands of Israeli's gather at the place of Rabin's assassination to remember the man and also to show their support for

Eulogy for the Late Prime Minister and Defense Yitzhak Rabin by His Majesty King Hussein of Jordan

Jerusalem November 6, 1995

"My sister, Mrs. Leah Rabin, my friends, I had never thought that the moment would come like this when I would grieve the loss of a brother, a colleague and a friend - a man, a soldier who met us on the opposite side of a divide whom we respected as he respected us. A man I came to know because I realized, as he did, that we have to cross over the divide, establish a dialogue, get to know each other and strive to leave for those who follow us a legacy that is worthy of them. And so we did. And so we became brethren and friends.

I've never been used to standing, except with you next to me, speaking of peace, speaking about dreams and hopes for generations to come that must live in peace, enjoy human dignity, come together, work together, to build a better future which is their right. Never in all my thoughts would it have occurred to me that my first visit to Jerusalem and response to your invitation, the invitation of the Speaker of the Knesset, the invitation of the president of Israel, would be on such an occasion.

You lived as a soldier, you died as a soldier for peace."