Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s 5^th Prime Minister was born in Jerusalem in 1922 and died from an assassin’s bullet in 1995. The first Prime Minister to be born in Israel, Rabin’s life is an interesting study in contrasts leading to compromises that Israel, its citizens and its government, have made throughout its short life in order to survive. I believe history will judge Yitzhak Rabin as a great man who accomplished great things for Israel by helping bring independence, security, and peace for the Jewish state, but his idealism later in life also brought about the failed Oslo Agreement that unfortunately brought much tragedy.

In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin was born in Jerusalem in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine. Though considered a “dove” by many who remember his peace efforts, like almost all Israeli government officials he made his mark in wars. His father Nehemiah emigrated from the United States and served in the Jewish Legion during World War I. His mother Rosa joined the Hagana, the secret army for Jewish defense. After completing high school, Rabin joined the Palmach, an elite Jewish commando group of the Hagana, and served in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) for 27 years, rising to IDF Chief of Staff. Rabin fought with the British during World War II, then against the British for Israeli independence, eventually imprisoned by them in 1946. During the Israeli War for Independence, Rabin commanded the Harei Brigade that defended his beloved Jerusalem. In 1967, Rabin became a national hero for commanding Israeli forces during the Six Day War.

In 1968, Rabin retired from the IDF to become ambassador to the U.S. where he cultivated the Israel-American relationship. In 1973 he returned to Israel and was elected to the Knesset as a member of the Labor Party. The next year Golda Meir appointed him to the position of Minister of Labor and when she resigned shortly thereafter, the Knesset voted Rabin to the position of Prime Minister.

One of the most remarkable events during Rabin’s first term was the famous “Operation Entebbe” where civilian hostages in Entebbe, Uganda were successfully rescued from the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).

In 1977, the Likud Party was elected to power with Manachem Begin at its head. Rabin returned to the Knesset as a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. In 1984 Rabin was appointed as Minister of Defense and presided over the withdrawal of IDF forces from Lebanon and the establishment of a security zone to guarantee peace to the settlements along Israel's northern border. In addition, Rabin oversaw the strong military crackdown on terrorists in the West Bank during the first Palestinian Intifada.

In 1992 Rabin steered his Labor Party to another victory and again took the position of Prime Minister. It was at this time that Rabin held secret talks with the Yasser Arafat and the PLO, eventually leading to the Oslo Agreement. Ironically, Rabin also presided over a period of rapid expansion of Jewish settlements in Gaza and the West Bank. Rabin negotiated the peace agreement with Jordan and later shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat for the Oslo Agreements. Rabin’s negotiations with the PLO made him well-loved and much-hated within Israeli society. On November 4, 1995, Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir after attending a peace rally in Tel Aviv's Kings Square. He died soon after on the operating table at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

So what is Rabin’s legacy? He was a man of war and a man of peace. As a man of war, Rabin was successful in leading the armed forces to defend Israel in times of great crisis. As a man of peace, Rabin brought about a long, important peace with neighboring Jordan. Unfortunately, his overreaching optimism about Yasser Arafat and the PLO resulted in bringing a deadly enemy within Israel’s borders and giving it the means for terrible destruction. My own opinion of Rabin is that of a great man and a great leader, whose desperate hopes for peace at one time blinded him to the reality that evil men can never be trusted to do the right thing under any circumstances. History will tell how this one mistake balances the great deeds of his life.