Yithaz
Rabin was born in Jerusalem in 1922. He studied at Kandoorie Agricultural
High School and joined the army on the outbreak of the Second
World War. This included taking part in sabotage operations in
Lebanon and Syria.
The
Jewish state of Israel was established
on 14th May 1948 when the British mandate over Palestine came
to an end. The neighbouring Arab states refused to recognize Israel
and invaded the country on the 15th May. Rabin fought in the war and
represented the Israeli Defence Forces when the armistice was signed
in March 1949.
Rabin
studied at Camberley Staff College in England and in 1964 became Chief
of Staff and led the Israeli armed forces in the Six-Day
War.
The
Israeli army reached the Suez Canal and
the west bank of the Jordan river on 7th June. Over the next three
days the Israelis captured the Golan Heights and territory in Syria.
The Israelis also gained control over the West Bank of Jordan and
the 600,000 Arabs living in that area.
Rabin served
as ambassador to the United States (1968-73)
before replacing Golda
Meir as
leader of the Labour Party in 1974.
Menachem
Begin
appointed Rabin as his Defence Minister in his coalition government
in 1984. The following year he withdrew Israeli troops from occupied
Lebanon.
In 1992
Rabin became prime minister. He favoured Palestinian self-government.
In 1993 Rabin and
Shimon Peres negotiated a peace agreement
with Yasir Arafat and the Palestine
Liberation Organization.
This involved Israelis withdrawing from Jericho and the Gaza Strip.
As a result the three men shared the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1994.
Rabin's
policies were unpopular with some sections of the population and on
4th November 1995 he was assassinated by a Israeli extremist while
attending a peace rally in Tel Aviv.
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