In Yitzhak Rabin's memory we present a collection of documents and photographs about the man and the IDF
Yitzhak Rabin was born in Jerusalem in 1922. As a boy studied in Tel-Aviv and Givat Ha'Shlosha, and in 1940 he graduated from the Kadoorie Agricultural High School.
In 1941 Rabin was among the first to join the Palmach, serving in company B in Kibbutz Hanita. Later he graduated from squad and platoon commanders' course and served as deputy commander of the Palmach's first battalion. He participated in many operations, including, in 1945, the break into the British detention camp in Atlit were illegal immigrants were held. In June, 1946, the Black Sabbath when the British arrested the Jewish leadership in Palestine, Rabin was arrested and held in Rafah. He was released in November 1946, thereafter being appointed commander of the Palmach second battalion protecting the water pipe to the Negev.
In October 1947, Rabin was appointed operations officer of the Palmach, responsible, in the War's initial months, to the supply convoys from the Coastal Plain to Jerusalem. In April 1948, he was made commander of the new Palmach brigade, "Harel." The brigade took part in the heavy fighting on the road to Jerusalem and in the city, including the attempted break into the Old City.
In July 1948, with the renewal of warfare following the first truce, Rabin was appointed operations officer in Operation Danny, capturing the cities of Lydda and Ramle, and in September 1948 operations officer in operations "Yoav," "Horev'" and "Uvda," liberating the Negev and reaching the Red Sea in Eilat. At the end of the War of Independence Rabin represented the Southern Command in the armistice negotiation in Rhodes, which culminated in February 24, 1949 with the signing of the armistice agreement with Egypt.
Rabin's following roles in the IDF were:
June 10, 1949 – Brigadier General (Harel);
November 1949 – November 1950 – Battalion Commanders Schools, Commander, Training Base 2 – commander.
1950 – 1952 – Operation division commander at the Operation Directorate
1953 – 1956 – Major General, instruction division;
1956 – 1959 – Northern Command, chief. In this role Rabin faced grave problems along the Syrian border;
1959 – 1961 – Head of the Operation Directorate
1961 – 1963 - Head of the Operation Directorate and deputy Chief of Staff
On January 1, 1964 Rabin was appointed by Prime Minister Levi Eshkol as seventh IDF Chief of Staff. The period was characterized by the "War on the Water" (the construction of the National Water Conduit, and thwarting the Syrian plan to divert the Jordan River's sources). Rabin prepared the IDF for war and commanded the army in the Six Day War (June 6 – June 10, 1967), during which the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Height, the West Bank and Jerusalem were conquered.
In January 1968 Rabin retired from the IDF, becoming a statesman. He was appointed Israel's ambassador in Washington, where he much improved Israel's relation with the USA. During the Yom Kippur War he assisted Chief of Staff David Elazar.
Following the December 1973 general elections Rabin was appointed Minister of Labor in Golda Meir's government. After her resignation, following the publication of the Agranat Report, Rabin was elected by the Labor Party as Prime Minister Candidate, and in June 2, 1974 he became Prime Minister (1974 – 1977). During his tenure the second Interim Agreement with Egypt (September 1975) and the Memorandum of Understanding with the USA, ensuring the American assistance to Israel, were signed. Also, Operation Entebbe, the release of Jewish hostages in Uganda, took place.
In April 1977 Rabin resigned from his post as Prime Minister. Following the 1977 general election Rabin served as an opposition MK from the Labor Party. In the National Unity Governments (1984 – 1990) Rabin served as Minister of Defense. In this role he pushed for the evacuation of the IDF from Lebanon and the establishment of the Security Zone in Southern Lebanon, canceled the "Lavi" project, and decreased the defense budget in order to stabilize the economy. In December 1987 the First Intifada broke out in the occupied territories, leading Rabin to take harsh measures for its suppression.
With Shimon Peres Rabin took part in the peace process, and was a party to the formulation of the London Agreement with King Hussein of Jordan. In 1989 a peace plan was formulated with a view to reach an agreement with the Palestinians, and was adopted by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. In 1990 the National Unity Government fell apart, and Rabin served in the opposition until 1992.
Following the Labor Party victory in the 1992 elections Rabin became Prime Minister. Negotiation with Palestinian representative began immediately in Oslo, leading to the signing of the Oslo Accords on August 20, 1993. On September 13, 1993 The Oslo I Accord signed in Washington, DC, granting limited autonomy to Palestine and laying the foundation for future peace talks. In May 4, 1995 The Gaza–Jericho Agreement providing for limited Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip within five years. On September 28, 1995 the Oslo II Accord was signed in Washington providing for a wider Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank.
On July 25, 1994 Yitzhak Rabin, King Hussein of Jordan and Bill Clinton, US President, signed the Washington Declaration by which Israel and Jordan ended the official state of enmity and started negotiations in order to achieve an "end to bloodshed and sorrow" and a just and lasting peace. On October 26, 1994 a Peace Agreement was signed between Israel and Jordan.
In 1994, The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Yasir Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin, for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East.
On November 11, 1995, at the end of a huge peace rally in Tel-Aviv, Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish assassin who objected to Rabin's policy of rapprochement with the Palestinians. Rabin was buried on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, with the attendance of 80 heads of states and governments from all over the world.