Much of what occupied Israel in those days, was for Yitzhak Rabin, a Central topic: the settlers and the creation of a Palestinian state. But his lifetime was Rabin, what is announced in the subtitle of the biography of Israel's former Prime Minister, in fact, a Option: "when peace still seemed possible".

After the murder of the politician Rabin by Israeli extremists to the Church of multiplication Amir at the 4. November 1995, Benjamin Netanyahu won the subsequent election and was for the first Time, head of government office, the politicians of the right-wing nationalist Likud, with some interruptions, has held now for twelve years. After the assassination of Rabin and the election of Netanyahu's "began in Israel, to remove the large steps from Rabin's way," writes the biographer Itamar Rabinovich.

anecdotes and analysis

The author was involved, under Rabin, Israel's Ambassador in Washington, and peace negotiations with Syria, the Israel and the US promise at the time as much considered as the parallel initiated the Oslo peace process in 1993, a sensational agreement, but never led to a conclusion.

This personal involvement of the author in negotiations allows for interesting insights. Rabinovich, the President of the University of Tel Aviv, the middle East, history, taught, and now, the renowned Israel Institute directs, manages, anecdotes from Rabin's life with a sober analysis of the scientist to combine.

He does not glorify Rabin, but vividly describes the transformation from the radical underground fighters in Palestine to be a soldier, and finally, from diplomats to politicians. The author not only draws a sympathetic picture, and portrays the negative sides of his personality, such as Rabin's irascible failures and his over the decades, very personally fought battles with Shimon Peres, his rival in the labour party.

"One of the biggest threats for the state of Israel"

"perhaps The most formative experience in Rabin's" was to live according to the assessment of his biographers, the struggle for the independence of 1948 proclaimed the state of Israel, who saw Rabin as the leader of the paramilitary Palmach. After that, Rabin was involved, in spite of differences with the state founder David Ben-Gurion, on the structure of the army. In 1967 Rabin was the staff of General-in-chief of the army for preventive war and prevailed against the hesitant Prime Minister Levi Eshkol.

In the six-day war, Israel gained control over, among other things, the Golan heights, the West Bank and East Jerusalem – territories that are still standing today in the center of the clashes. "From the review of the Triumph appears as a very doubtful blessing," writes Rabinovich.

The Israeli settlers, which then began, in the occupied West Bank to be fixed, is referred to by Rabin in 1976 as "one of the biggest threats for the state of Israel. This is not a settler movement is a cancer in the social and democratic fabric of Israel, a grouping which the law takes into its own hands." This assessment proved to be correct, the settler movement established illegal Outpost in the occupied West Bank, which were legalized after the other.

"He was no flower child"

Meanwhile, approximately 500,000 Israelis live in 120 settlements and two million Palestinians in the West Bank. It took until the 90s before Rabin recognized the PLO and thus Arafat officially as a conversation partner. As defense Minister, he was the 1987 outbreak of the uprising of the Palestinians, the first Intifada, a brutal beat down. The former American foreign Minister Henry Kissinger described Rabin sober: "Yitzhak is not a flower child".

But finally, aged in Rabin the realization that Israel had to seek for strategic reasons, peace with the Palestinians. He went always to Israel's security interests, writes his biographer, these were "inextricably linked with the pursuit of peace". Rabin was ready for painful concessions to the Arabs, to gain international legitimacy and the state boundaries of Israel to define what is not done today, finally. He led to the 1994 peace Treaty with Jordan. Rabinovich points out that in his first term as Prime Minister, the preparatory work for the 1979, Menachem Begin, with Egypt concluded a peace Treaty made had been.

His military Background, Rabin gave in to Israel's credibility and authority. He was not a charismatic leader, but he has developed into the state of man through his ability to develop a Vision and to pursue.

The biographer gives Netanyahu indirectly to blame for the death of Rabin. He was calling Murder, and incitement is not open to distant and this salon to life. The difference between Rabin and Netanyahu Rabinovich describes as: Rabin have made a policy that Israel must not live for ever with the sword. Netanyahu did, however, on the 20. The anniversary of the assassination of Rabin declared: "We will live forever with the sword." The book is a key to a better understanding of Israel's policy.

Created: 06.03.2020, 17:45 PM