Yitzhak Rabin: Soldier, Leader, Statesman

by Itamar Rabinovich

Overview

An insider’s perspective on the life and influence of Israel’s first native-born prime minister, his bold peace initiatives, and his tragic assassination

More than two decades have passed since prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination in 1995, yet he remains an unusually intriguing and admired modern leader. A native-born Israeli, Rabin became an inextricable part of his nation’s pre-state history and subsequent evolution. This revealing account of his life, character, and contributions draws not only on original research but also on the author’s recollections as one of Rabin’s closest aides.
 
An awkward politician who became a statesman, a soldier who became a peacemaker, Rabin is best remembered for his valiant efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for the Oslo Accords. Itamar Rabinovich provides extraordinary new insights into Rabin’s relationships with powerful leaders including Bill Clinton, Jordan’s King Hussein, and Henry Kissinger, his desire for an Israeli-Syrian peace plan, and the political developments that shaped his tenure. The author also assesses the repercussions of Rabin’s murder: Netanyahu’s ensuing election and the rise of Israel’s radical right wing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300234633
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	03/06/2018
Series:	Jewish Lives
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Itamar Rabinovich is president of The Israel Institute (Washington, DC, and Tel Aviv); Global Distinguished Professor, New York University; and Non-Resident Distinguished Fellow, Brookings Institution. He is a former president of Tel Aviv University and was Rabin’s ambassador in Washington and chief negotiator with Syria.

Table of Contents

Prologue, Yitzhak Rabin's Death, Yitzhak Rabin's Life 1

1 The Making of a Soldier, 1922-1948 5

2 From Independence to the Six-Day War, 1949-1967 33

3 Ambassador to Washington, 1968-1973 67

4 First Tenure, 1974-1977 97

5 Fall and Rise, 1977-1992 141

6 Rabin's Peace Policy, 1992-1995 172

7 Politics, Policy, Incitement, and Assassination, 1992-1995 215

Epilogue 236

Notes 245

Acknowledgments 251

Index 253

Editorial Reviews

"Mr. Rabinovich, the distinguished Israeli scholar and diplomat . . . easily establishes that the prime minister was a man of great complexity. . . . Even the warm esteem in which he holds Rabin does not prevent Mr. Rabinovich—a scholar with an abiding commitment to historical accuracy—from presenting a portrait of his friend in full."—Elliott Abrams, Wall Street Journal

"Rabinovich’s language—lean, precise, devoid of embellishment—reminds me of the way Rabin himself used to talk: dugri, as we say in Hebrew, straightforward, to the point. . . . In an era when language is being abused for political purposes and agendas, Rabinovich’s book is a breath of fresh air."—Uri Dromi, Times Literary Supplement

"Puts the complexities of [Rabin's] career and achievement in fresh perspective."—Kirkus Reviews

"This well-written, easily digestible biography also provides useful insights into the inner workings of Israeli politics."—Booklist

"Rabinovich’s biography of Rabin is clear and objective. It is the work of a man who has substantial scholarly credentials—he currently heads the Israel Institute think tank—and who worked with Rabin in his efforts to make peace with Syria. The author describes Rabin’s meticulous attention to detail and his insistence on careful planning, which were both the late prime minister’s greatest assets and greatest faults. In the end, as this book makes clear, Rabin was not a dreamer but a realist, not a bold thinker but a careful planner, not a charismatic leader but an often intemperate and undiplomatic head of state."—Rabbi Jack Reimer, Jewish News Service

"Rabinovich is a distinguished historian of the Middle East. . . . His book tells a very revealing story that ties the arc of Rabin’s life to the course of Israel’s history from the pre-State period to the 1990s."—Dennis Ross, Jewish Review of Books

"Rabinovich’s book transports readers back to a time when a much different Middle East seemed possible, an all-too-brief window when regional tranquility wasn’t a far-off notion or a dark punchline. But Rabinovich’s book also makes the important case that nothing was ever as simple or straightforward as it now may seem to have been—starting with Rabin himself."—Armin Rosen, Tablet

"Rabinovich has produced an immensely engaging study of Yitzhak Rabin. The subtitle, 'Soldier, Leader, Statesman,' captures the focus of Rabinovich’s insightful narrative . . . . It is certainly required reading for anyone interested in Israel and the Middle East today."—America Magazine

"[This] compelling tome adds new layers to the story of one of Israel’s most well-known and admired leaders, thanks to original research and unique personal recollections. . . . The author offers new insights into Rabin’s relationships with leaders such as Bill Clinton, Henry Kissinger and King Hussein of Jordan, as well as a sophisticated analysis on the repercussions of his murder that echo to this day."—St. Louis Jewish Light

“[Yitzhak Rabin] is an excellent starting point for studying Rabin, particularly for readers who are unfamiliar with him or with Israeli political history.”—Ziv Rubinovitz, Middle East Journal

"A very readable rendering of Rabin's life."—Efraim Inbar, Middle East Quarterly

"Rabinovich’s creditable and workmanlike narrative moves efficiently and often concisely. The context he offers is especially illuminating on the run-up to the 1967 war . . . ; the intricacies of Israeli politics . . . ; and Rabin’s hopeful, tragic final years and months."—David K. Shipler, Moment

"One of Israel’s finest senior Middle East historians has written this excellent biography."—Ken Stein, Israel Studies Review

“One of Israel’s finest senior Middle East historians has written this excellent biography. . . . We are treated to key moments in Israel’s past when Rabin’s decisions left their mark, entwined with Zionism’s national evolution during his half-century of public service.”—Ken Stein, Israel Studies Review

Winner of the Washington Institute Book Prize Gold Medal for 2017

“Yitzhak Rabin was a soldier and a statesman who fought for the security of Israel and for a concept of peace for all nations. Itamar Rabinovich has written a thoughtful and extraordinarily comprehensive account of a significant leader.”—Henry A. Kissinger

"Itamar Rabinovich has written an insightful book on Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s charismatic warrior-statesman who valiantly dedicated himself to the cause of peace in the Middle East. As the head of Rabin’s team during Syrian-Israeli peace negotiations and as Israel’s ambassador in Washington, Rabinovich was at Rabin’s side during key moments in his country’s history.  I recommend his book to all those interested in peace between Arabs and Israelis."—James A. Baker, III

"This highly informative and tightly-packed biography is undergirded by a deep personal knowledge of Rabin’s strengths and flaws as a leader and a sure command of Israel’s military and diplomatic history."—Derek Penslar, Harvard University and the University of Toronto

From the Publisher

"Mr. Rabinovich, the distinguished Israeli scholar and diplomat. . . . easily establishes that the prime minister was a man of great complexity. . . . Even the warm esteem in which he holds Rabin does not prevent Mr. Rabinovich—a scholar with an abiding commitment to historical accuracy—from presenting a portrait of his friend in full."—Elliott Abrams, Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal - Elliot Abrams

"This well-written, easily digestible biography also provides useful insights into the inner workings of Israeli politics."—Booklist

Booklist

This highly informative and tightly-packed biography is undergirded by a deep personal knowledge of Rabin’s strengths and flaws as a leader and a sure command of Israel’s military and diplomatic history.”—Derek Penslar, Harvard University and the University of Toronto

Derek Penslar

Itamar Rabinovich has written an insightful book on Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s charismatic warrior-statesman who valiantly dedicated himself to the cause of peace in the Middle East. As the head of Rabin’s team during Syrian-Israeli peace negotiations and as Israel’s ambassador in Washington, Rabinovich was at Rabin’s side during key moments in his country’s history.  I recommend his book to all those interested in peace between Arabs and Israelis.”—James A. Baker, III

James A. Baker

Yitzhak Rabin was a soldier and a statesman who fought for the security of Israel and for a concept of peace for all nations. Itamar Rabinovich has written a thoughtful and extraordinarily comprehensive account of a significant leader.”—Henry A. Kissinger

Henry A. Kissinger

★ 03/01/2017
Rabinovich, president of the Israel Institute and Israel's ambassador to the United States from 1992 to 1996, has written a highly readable, insightful biography of former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin (1922-95), from the vantage point of a colleague who knew and worked with him as one of his aides. The author starts with Rabin's role in the military as a commander in the Palmach, a standing Jewish military force created in opposition to the prospect of a German invasion of Palestine in the 1940s, and narrates the politician's life until his assassination in 1995 at the end of a rally in support of the Oslo Accords. The narrative traces the political and diplomatic vicissitudes of the first native-born and youngest prime minister in Israel's history. While Rabin's accomplishments as a soldier were exemplary, his reputation as a leader and statesman, including his disputes with previous prime ministers David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir are discussed in more nuanced terms. Rabin should be remembered as a peacemaker, Rabinovich maintains, for his role in seeking to resolve the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his accomplishments such as the Oslo Accords. VERDICT This work is a valuable addition to collections in modern Israeli politics, biography, and diplomatic history. Highly recommended.--Herbert E. Shapiro, Lifelong Learning Soc., Florida Atlantic Univ., Boca Raton

Library Journal

2017-01-10
A political biography of a pragmatic centrist who paid with his life when the center could not hold.It is almost impossible to write anything about the Middle East in general—and Israel in particular—that is not contentious, and this biography of Israel's first native-born prime minister, however measured its tone, necessarily has its own perspective and point of view. Israel Institute president Rabinovich (Israel and the Arab Turmoil, 2014, etc.) served as Israel's ambassador to the United States, just as his subject had before him, and was appointed by Rabin to be chief negotiator with Syria. He plainly sees the rise of the radical right as responsible both for Rabin's assassination and for his succession by the still-controversial (and still-in-power) Benjamin Netanyahu, though he stops short of implicating the latter in the former. Rabinovich does his best to elucidate the complexities of his subject, "a political dove and a military hawk," amid the political complexities of Israel and the United States as well as the relations between the two. He also shows how any sort of peace or reconciliation within Israeli politics alone may be difficult to achieve, let alone sustain. Of Rabin's relationship with the more conservative Shimon Peres, whom the prime minister felt compelled to appoint as his Minister of Defense, the author writes, "this was the first round of a joint journey between two political Siamese twins that would last for twenty-one years—twins who both disliked and appreciated each other, competed and partnered, eventually realizing they were joined at the hip and bound to collaborate with each other." Rabin's rise to power also found him navigating bumpy relationships with David Ben-Gurion and Moshe Dayan (both subjects of previous biographies within the publisher's Jewish Lives series). Ideologues may well find reason to argue with the biography's analysis of its subject's life and death, but it puts the complexities of his career and achievement in fresh perspective.

Kirkus Reviews