Yitzhak Rabin
by Martin Mok

"No longer are we necessarily 'A people that dwell alone,' and no longer
is it true that 'The whole world is against us.' "
-- Yitzhak Rabin

Israeli-Arab conflict has plagued the twentieth century . However, things quieted down when Yitzhak Rabin was Prime Minister from 1974-77, and again during 1992-95. During this time, Israel signed peace agreements with several Arab countries. Rabin worked most of his life to achieve peace.

Born in 1922 in Jerusalem, he was born to a labor-Zionist family. He finished school at the Kadoorie Agricultural High School with distinction, and later joined the Palmach-elite strike force of the Haganah underground defense organization. He distinguished himself as a military leader during his seven years in service in Palmach. After the disbandment of the force with the establishment of the State of Israel, Rabin went to join the IDF, the military of Israel. He rose to the rank of Major-General at the age of thirty-two. He established an IDF training doctrine and leadership style based on movements and surprises. The command was called "Follow Me." In 1962, he was appointed Chief of General Staff. Then he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General. He was employed during the 1967 ‘Six-Day War.’ The achievement of air and land victories during the 1967 Six Day War were a milestone. In January 1968, after twenty-six years in the IDF, he retired.

Rabin was appointed Ambassador to the US in 1968 and he tried to get help from them to fight for Israel’s rights. During the five years in Washington, he strove to bring the two sides together. He played a major role in promoting ‘strategic cooperation’ with the US. Rabin also led a massive effort to get American military aid for Israel. In 1973, he returned to Israel before the Yom Kippur War. He then became an active member of the Labor Party. Rabin was elected Member of the Knesset in the general elections of December 1973. After a year, he was appointed Minister of Labor in a government formed by Golda Meir. This government was short-lived. On June 2, 1974, Rabin formed a new government, and he became the first native-born Prime Minister.

Rabin’s term as a Prime Minister changed the country. He rehabilitated the IDF, solved social problems, improved the country’s economy, and rebuilt the public’s confidence by providing strong military and civilian leadership.

In 1975, he concluded the Interim Agreement with Egypt. Part of this was about free shipping passage though the Suez Canal. A no-confidence vote toppled Rabin’s government in 1975. New elections were held and Rabin was nominated to lead Labor in the elections. However, the disclosure of his wife’s bank account in the US, an infringement on foreign currency regulations, made him resign during the 1977 election. The opposition leader, Menachem Begin, began the new government and Rabin went back to being a Member of the Knesset.

From 1984 to 1990, he was the Minister of Defense in two national unity governments. He ordered the engineering security arrangements on the Israeli-Lebanese border. This allowed the Israeli troops to withdraw to a narrow security zone. From March 1990 to June 1992, he was an opposition Member of the Knesset. In February 1992, during the Labor Party’s first primaries, Rabin was selected Chairman of the Labor Party. After the election in June 1992, Rabin began his second term as Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

During his second term as Prime Minister, Rabin signed two agreements, the Oslo Agreement with the Palestinians, and the Treaty of Peace with Jordan. He worked with Shimon Peres, the Foreign Minister. They signed the Declaration of Principles with the PLO at the White House in September 1993. That won Rabin, Peres, and Arafat the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize. He opened negotiations with the Palestinians for the establishment of a Palestinian Authority. In October 1994, Rabin signed the Treaty of Peace with the Kingdom of Jordan. He encouraged people to develop ties with other Arab countries in North Africa and the Persian Gulf.

On November 4, 1995, after leaving a mass rally for peace held under the slogan ‘Yes to Peace, No to Violence,’ he was assassinated by a Jewish right-wing extremist. Rabin was seventy-three years old at the time of his death. He was laid to rest without finishing his job which was to bring peace to Israel. The funeral was held on Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem, and was attended by leaders from around the world.

Like many peacemakers, Rabin tried to help his people, and his country, to fight for their freedom. It will be hard to find someone to follow Yitzhak Rabin, someone who gave his life to his people.

Martin Mok is a student at the Jessie Wowk Elementary School in Richmond, BC, Canada. He was a winner in the 1999 Peace Hero Biography Essay Contest sponsored by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.