Rabin’s tenure as IDF Chief of Staff was marked by the rapid military growth of Arab states and their growing arsenal of Soviet weapons. His primary task was to prepare the IDF for the possibility of a total war. He engaged in equipping the IDF with innovative American weapons and technologies and training for coordinated, multi-force military action.At the same time, he worked diligently in preparing operational plans that would serve the IDF whenever and wherever necessary. All these withstood the challenge faced by the IDF in the days and months preceding its rapid and unprecedented victory during the Six-Day War.

One of the flash points was found in the Galilee, following attempts by Lebanon and Syria to divert the headwaters of the Jordan River flowing through Israeli territory. Rabin opposed any initiative that included occupying Syrian territory. He directed the IDF’s response toward disabling the mechanical equipment employed by the Syrians and their allies to divert the water.

Another campaign that Rabin was required to wage war against the Fatah, the military arm of the PLO, which was created in 1964. Since Fatah had established its bases in Syria and it was from there that the terrorists infiltrated for attacks in Israel, Rabin felt fully justified in acting against the Syrians. Rabin’s remarks in a press interview against the Syrian regime provoked a harsh response. They were later perceived as a factor that accelerated the preparations for war in Israel. In the face of attacks against the Israeli civilian population, Rabin was reluctant to order a response against the enemy’s civilian infrastructures. Nevertheless, in November 1966, he approved a reprisal against the Jordanian village of Samu’a, during which many Jordanians, soldiers, and civilians were killed.

At the end of 1966, after a three-year term as Chief of Staff, the Prime Minister decided to extend Rabin’s tenure another year.

1967 – Chief of Staff during the Six-Day War

The Six-Day War in June 1967 broke out during Rabin’s fourth year serving as Chief of Staff. At the start of that same year, no one thought about war, certainly not with Egypt. At the center of the tensions stood the continued aggression on the northern border. The Israeli Air Force was called into action in reaction to hostile Syrian activity. In an aerial battle conducted on April 7, 1967, IAF pilots downed six Syrian MiG 21 jet fighters. In response, Egypt, bound by a defense pact with Syria, began calling up its reserves. The deployment of an Egyptian military force into the Sinai Desert contradicted agreements reached following the 1956 Sinai Crisis. Rabin viewed this as a casus belli and recommended mobilizing the reserves. Egypt’s president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, demanded that the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) leave the Sinai and ordered the Straits of Tiran closed to Israeli shipping. From Israel’s standpoint, this was a declaration of war. The situation continued to deteriorate rapidly, and war became inevitable.

Rabin was fully confident in the strength of the IDF to be victorious, and the army under his command was charged and ready for battle. The cost of the reserve call-up was heavy on the country. The public was anxious. The General Staff was pressuring for a preemptive strike. Despite this, Rabin understood the need to afford the government every opportunity to seek a diplomatic resolution to the crisis. Senior leaders with whom he was consulting undermined his confidence in the IDF’s ability to go to war without the backing of a friendly power. Torn between his recognition of the need to launch a preemptive strike and his awareness of the obligation to obey the directives of the nation’s political echelon while working around the clock and smoking incessantly, fell into a state of exhaustion. He found it difficult to continue his duties. However, after a 24-hour respite, he returned to his post.

The public’s anxiety during the “Waiting Period” led to the establishment of the “National Unity Government.” Prime Minister and Defense Minister Levy Eshkol was forced to resign as Defense Minister, and Moshe Dayan was appointed to the position. On June 4, the government authorized the IDF to launch its offensive.

The next day, June 5, in an operation encompassing nearly all of the air arsenal of the IDF, IAF forces conducted a coordinated attack against the airfields and air forces of Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan, with devasting results. Following the surprise attack, the path was now open for armored and infantry forces to break through Egyptian lines in the Sinai Desert. The Egyptian army was defeated within a few days and withdrew back across the Suez Canal. Following several attacks by the Jordanian army around Jerusalem, a second front was opened. After two days of combat, IDF forces occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem and reached the Western Wall. After having defeated the armies of Egypt and Jordan on the fifth day of the war, the IDF attacked Syrian forces on the Golan Heights. After completing the capture of the Heights, a ceasefire entered into effect. It removed the threat faced by the communities of the Galilee region.

1968 – Ambassador to the United States of America

In the early months of 1968, after 27 years of military service, Yitzhak Rabin no longer wore a uniform. Subsequently, he was appointed to his first civilian position as Israel’s ambassador to the United States. The first year of his term was marked by that year’s presidential elections in the United States. Rabin utilized the time to study the mechanisms of the American government, become acquainted with prominent individuals in the American media, and develop bonds with the Jewish communities and important Jewish organizational leaders.

In contrast to the tradition of Jewish support for the Democratic Party, Rabin gave his open support to Richard Nixon, the Republican presidential candidate. An earlier acquaintance with him and monitoring his positions during the campaign strengthened his assessment that Nixon would be a better ally for Israel. Nixon’s victory and his selection of Henry Kissinger as head of the National Security Council created the conditions for Rabin’s greatest achievements as ambassador. Despite the serious tension created during this period between Israel and the United States surrounding the government’s plans for arrangements in the Middle East, to which Israel objected, Rabin succeeded in fostering special relations between the two countries. His activity toward achieving the agreement of Golda Meir’s government for a ceasefire on the Suez Canal contributed to removing the American embargo on deliveries of Phantom jets to Israel.

In September 1970, through talks with Rabin, Nixon requested Israel to assist King Hussein of Jordan in thwarting Palestinian and Syrian attempts to threaten his rule. Rabin supported the request and worked to gain the Prime Minister’s concession, even at the cost of war with Syria. Ultimately, Hussein successfully repressed the “Black September” insurgency. Still, Israel’s willingness to assist him significantly enhanced the collaboration between Israel and the United States, facilitated an increase in American economic aid, and improved the king’s relations with Israel.

Like her predecessor, Levi Eshkol, Golda also saw in Rabin, an ambassador who had a unique status and thus established a direct line of communications with him.

In the second half of his tenure, Rabin based his status as a diplomat and a candidate for senior political roles in Israel. He learned to appreciate American democracy and the achievements of the free market economy. His relations with government leaders and the Jewish communities grew, winning him sincere admiration.

The death of Egypt’s president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, in 1970 and the election of Anwar Sadat to the position altered the political reality in the Middle East. The American administration saw this as a window of opportunity to promote arrangements between Israel and its neighbors and increased its activity to obtain interim agreements. Rabin supported the idea of progressing toward peace in phases and was aware of the possibilities inherent in Sadat’s proposals for a settlement with Israel. He believed that an IDF withdrawal inland into the depths of the Sinai Desert and reopening the Suez Canal would also open the way for a settlement with Egypt and consequently strengthen the alliance with the United States. Rabin cautioned that its rejection of the American plan would lead to a coerced arrangement or even renewed conflagration. Golda and her ministers stood firm behind their position.

The election campaign for the 8th Knesset was imminent, and Rabin expressed his desire to return home.

In March 1973, after five years as the nation’s ambassador, Yitzhak Rabin returned to Israel and joined the Israel Labor Party. Ahead of the December elections, the party’s “Nominations Committee” placed him in the 20th spot among the list of candidates headed by Golda Meir. Approximately a month and a half before the expected elections, it became clear that Israel was not facing an election but rather an all-out war.

On October 6, 1973, the Yom Kippur War broke out unexpectedly. It was the first time Rabin did not hold a position or authority. His attempts to be seconded to this or that commander was unsuccessful. On the fourth day of the war, he accepted Finance Minister Pinchas Sapir’s offer to head up the “Emergency Loan Fund” to raise funds for the war’s expenses.

1974 – Rabin’s First Term as Israel’s Prime Minister

The First Term as Israel’s Prime Minister

Rabin entered his term as prime minister on June 3, 1974. During his three-year term of office, he led a policy that expressed a continuity of the Labor Party’s leadership in the government, a generational change of the guard, and a willingness for changes.

He saw the renewal of the diplomatic initiative and progress toward peace as a necessary task. He started negotiating with Egypt on an interim agreement, mediated by the American Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. The agreement, one of his most notable achievements as prime minister, was reached after difficult negotiations, fraught with crises, and signed on September 1, 1975. Subsequently, Rabin would come to see it as the first step toward a full peace agreement with Egypt that was signed four years later by the Likud government headed by Menachem Begin. Following the signing of the interim agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was obtained with the American administration led by President Gerald Ford, in which the United States made several far-reaching commitments to Israel’s security and economy.

In his attempts to promote talks with neighboring states, Rabin secretly conferred with King Hussein. He conducted the first clandestine visit of an Israeli prime minister to the king of Morocco.

While working to promote peace, Rabin also found it necessary to cope with PLO terrorist activity against Israeli citizens. He opposed any negotiations with the PLO and argued that the Palestinian problem would be resolved through the Jordanian option. Against the organization’s Palestinian supporters, he took an uncompromising “strong arm” policy.

During his second year in office, “Gush Emunim” activists established a settlement in Sebastia in Samaria. Although Rabin disagreed with the concept of Jewish settlement amid Arab population centers, he avoided entering into a harsh confrontation with the settlers. After some hesitancy, he approved establishing a Jewish settlement in Kadum. Thus paving the way for continued settlement activity, which he opposed.

1977 – As an Opposition Parliamentarian

Following the Knesset elections held on May 17, 1977, it became clear that the Labor Party had been removed from power. For the first time, the Likud, headed by Menahem Begin, was charged with assembling the government. The Labor Party moved to the benches of the opposition. As a Member of Knesset (MK), Rabin was amazed by Sadat’s visit to Israel. Despite his reservations regarding the clauses relating to the withdrawal of settlements from the Sinai, he supported the peace treaty with Egypt in the Knesset.

In 1979 he published his memoirs, “The Rabin Memoirs” (in Hebrew, the book was titled “Pinkas Sherut”), in which he summarized his pathway in the military and settled accounts with his political adversaries of the day, particularly Shimon Peres. In a small office in the Defense Ministry offices in Tel Aviv, which was allocated to him as a former prime minister, he spent time writing for newspapers, meeting with old friends, and breathing life into his faction and supporters in the party.

Once more active in party politics, he threw his support behind Yigal Allon, the Labor Party candidate for prime minister, in advance of the general elections scheduled for June 1981. However, Allon’s sudden passing in February 1980 led him to declare his candidacy. While Peres won the party’s nomination, the Likud won the elections. While Peres won the party’s nomination, the Likud won the elections.

On June 6, 1982, Operation Peace in Galilee began to protect the communities of the north. Rabin supported its initial phases; however, as the war continued and its objectives expanded, he warned against the IDF becoming mired in the Lebanese “mud.” He demanded the army’s withdrawal to a security zone from which it could defend Israel’s northern border.

1922 – Childhood and Family

Yitzhak Rabin was born on March 1, 1922, in Jerusalem. His parent, Rosa Cohen and Nehemiah Rabin, were pioneers of the Third Aliya. Nehemiah worked for the Electric Company, and Rosa was employed as a bookkeeper; however, most of their efforts were directed toward volunteer public service. Rosa

filled several senior positions in the “Haganah,” the Tel Aviv Municipality, the Histadrut, and the education system. She was known throughout the Yishuv by her nickname, “Red Rosa.” Nehemiah filled positions in the “Haganah” and the Histadrut.

n 1923, the family moved to Tel Aviv, where Rabin spent his childhood, where in 1925, his sister Rachel was born. When he was 15 years old, his mother died after an illness.

In his parent’s home, he absorbed a system of values that guided him throughout his lifetime.

“It was during my childhood that I formulated a sense of responsibility for the position, a love of the landscape and the Land of Israel, a sense of camaraderie.”

School Years

In 1928, Rabin began his studies at the “Beit Hahinuch for Workers’ Children” in Tel Aviv, which became his second home. The school aimed to shape the world of the Israeli “sabra,” the contemporary Jew, bound to the landscape of the Land of Israel, working its land, defending against those who would scheme against it, and ready to mobilize for any mission. An emphasis was placed on combining studies and work, touring, and social activity.

The activity in the “Noar HaOved” youth movement was an inseparable part of the students’ lives. In its framework, Rabin became familiar with the teachings of Jewish socialists and trained for fulfillment in the kibbutz.

1941 – A Soldier and Commander in the Palmach

The summer of 1941 saw the establishment of the Palmach, and Yitzhak Rabin was among the first to join its ranks. In 1943, several months after the Germans’ defeat at the Battle of El Alamein, the collaboration between the British Army and the “Haganah” ended. The Palmach was required to finance its activity by working on kibbutzim. The new arrangement led to concern among the Palmach units, who were forced into inaction. At the same time, those enlisting in the British Army would see action in the war against Hitler. Rabin was among those who stayed in the Palmach and saw the establishment of an independent Jewish fighting force in the Land of Israel as the primary assignment of his generation.

With the Palmach’s expansion and organization into battalions, Rabin was promoted to serve as deputy commander of the 1st Battalion.

At the end of the Second World War, the Yishuv’s leadership decided upon a new defense policy, the primary focus of which was a “close struggle” to achieve the fundamental goals of Zionism – immigration (aliyah) and settlement. As a part of this initiative, the “Haganah” established new settlements and illegal immigration (aka “Aliyah Bet.”) The conflict with the British was unavoidable: Many of the boats carrying illegal immigrants on their way to the Land of Israel were unsuccessful in breaking the British blockade, leading to the immigrants, Holocaust survivors, being forcibly disembarked and imprisoned in the detention camp at Atlit. In 1945, in an operation to release the detainees initiated by the “Haganah,” Rabin commanded the force that infiltrated the camp at Atlit. The operation was a success, and the immigrants were released. It was during this operation that Rabin first came face to face with Holocaust survivors.

In 1946, the leadership of the Yishuv decided it was time to step up the struggle against the British. The Jewish Resistance Movement was established as part of an alliance between the “Haganah,” “Etzel,” and “Lehi” underground movements. Following a series of operations, the British struck back: On June 29, 1946, in a well-planned and vast British military operation, known in the collective memory as the “Black Sabbath,” the Yishuv’s leadership was detained, and large stockpiles of weapons were confiscated. With his father, Rabin was arrested and held for approximately five months. Immediately following his release, he was promoted to command Palmach’s 2nd Battalion. In October 1947, he became Palmach’s Chief of Operations.

1948 – Independence

A Commander during the War of Independence

On November 29, 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations approved a resolution calling for the partition of the Land of Israel (then known as Mandatory Palestine) and the establishment of a Jewish State and an Arab State. The Jews accepted the proposal, while the Arabs rejected it and initiated attacks on Jewish targets to thwart its implementation. The War of Independence began.

As the Palmach’s Chief of Operations and charged with coordinating with the General Staff, Rabin dealt primarily with reinforcing the Palmach forces with weaponry and personnel and securing the route to Jerusalem that was subject to infinite attacks from within the Arab villages spread out along the route.

In the early days of April 1948, he was seconded to the “Harel” Division of the Palmach and shortly afterward promoted to serve as “Harel” HQ commander. He warned against the line of defense taken up in transferring the convoys to Jerusalem and called for a more aggressive stance vis-a-vis the villages serving as bases for the convoy’s attackers. During that same month, the “Harel Brigade” was established, and Rabin, at the age of 24, was promoted to serve its commander. Four days later, a decision was reached to implement Operation “Yevusi,” which was intended to assert control over Jerusalem immediately upon the withdrawal of British forces. Tens of his soldiers fell in battle during the harsh battles within the city and on the roadways leading into it. On May 14, 1948, the day of the declaration of the state, Rabin found himself in the company of his exhausted fighters at the command post near Kibbutz Ma’ale Ha-Hamisha.

On June 11, the first ceasefire took effect, under which a makeshift detour to Jerusalem known as “the Burma Road” was established by soldiers from the “Harel” Brigade and alleviated the siege over Jerusalem. On July 9, “Operation Danny” began leading to Lod and Ramla’s occupation. Yitzhak Rabin served as Chief of Operations and deputy to the operation’s commander, Yigal Allon. The sight of the refugees being driven out of their homes with their belongings severely impacted IDF soldiers.

1984 – שר הבטחון  

לאחר הבחירות שהתקיימו ב-23 ביולי 1984 לא זכתה אף אחת מהמפלגות הגדולות במספר מנדטים מספיק להקמת ממשלה והוקמה ממשלת האחדות הלאומית. על פי ההסכם בין הליכוד ומפלגת העבודה כיהן שמעון פרס כראש הממשלה הראשון ובתום שנתיים העביר את התפקיד ליצחק שמיר.

פרס מינה את רבין לשר ביטחון, והוא נבחר מחדש לתפקיד גם על ידי שמיר – עד תום כהונת ממשלת האחדות השלישית בראשות שמיר ב-1990.

בתקופת כהונתו פעל להוצאת צה”ל מלבנון בשלבים וביסס את אחיזת צה”ל ברצועת הביטחון. בניגוד לכל קודמיו הסכים לקיצוץ תקציב הביטחון, מהלך שהתאפשר לאחר יציאת מצרים ממעגל המלחמה. הסכמתו ל”עיסקת ג’יבריל”, לשחרורם של 1,150 שבויים פלסטיניים תמורת שלושה שבויים ישראלים, עוררה מחלוקת בציבור, אך האחריות לחיי השבויים הישראלים הכריעה את הכף לאישור העסקה.

כשפרצה האינתיפאדה לא זיהה תחילה את ייחודה. בחודשים הראשונים האמין כי יש פתרון צבאי להתקוממות העממית ופעל לדכא אותה בכוח. מדיניותו נראתה בלתי מוסרית וחסרת תוחלת בעיני השמאל ובלתי מספקת בעיני הימין.

לאחר חודשים אחדים של מאבק שוכנע כי ההתקוממות מבטאת מאוויים לאומיים פלסטיניים אותנטיים, שישראל לא תוכל עוד להתעלם מהם. נכונות הפלסטינים לספוג אבידות הפתיעה אותו והובילה להכרה שמדיניות הכוח לבדה לא תביא את השקט. הוא היה ער לצמיחת הנהגה פלסטינית מקומית ולראשונה ראה בה בת שיח למשא ומתן מדיני. בתוך כך גברו חששותיו מפני השפעות האינתיפאדה על רוח הלחימה של צה”ל ועל מעמדו כצבא העם.

ב-1989 ניסח יוזמת שלום דו-שלבית במסגרתה הציע לאפשר בחירות להנהגה מקומית בשטחים, שתנהל את האוטונומיה הפלסטינית עליה הוסכם בקמפ-דיוויד ותבטיח את השקט בשטחים. בשלב השני, לפי היוזמה, יתקיים משא ומתן עם ההנהגה הנבחרת על הסדר הקבע. בלחץ אמריקני זכתה התוכנית לתמיכת ראש הממשלה יצחק שמיר. ב-1990 התפרקה ממשלת האחדות, ומפלגת העבודה חזרה לאופוזיציה.

1992 – רבין ראש ממשלת ישראל, כהונה שנייה

ישראל מחכה לרבין

כאזרח, חבר כנסת מהשורה, מנותק ממוקדי קבלת ההחלטות, עקב רבין אחרי “מלחמת המפרץ”, ששינתה את יחסי הכוחות במזרח התיכון. תגובת העורף הישראלי במלחמה חידדה את תחושתו כי הציבור הישראלי עייף ממלחמות ויהיה מוכן לשלם את מחיר השלום. בקריסת ברית המועצות, שהיתה מוקד הפעילות האנטי ישראלית באזור, ראה הזדמנות היסטורית להתקדמות לשלום. בהסכמה שהושגה בין המעצמות בוועידת מדריד, באוקטובר 1991, ראה חיזוק למגמה זו. הוא סבר כי בנסיבות החדשות נוצרחלון הזדמנויות לשלום ויש למהר ולמצותו בטרם יגיע נשק גרעיני לאזור שיסכן את עצם קיומה של המדינה. 

גל העלייה מברית המועצות והפוטנציאל הכלכלי הטמון בה למדינה חיזק את הכרתו כי עתה יכולה ישראל ליטול גם סיכונים. הוא ידע שלשם כך דרושה מנהיגות אמיצה והאמין כי בכוחו למלא את התפקיד. לאחר ניצחונו על שמעון פרס בבחירות הפנימיות במפלגת העבודה החלה המפלגה במערכת בחירות אינטנסיבית. נהנה ממעמד של איש אמין, “מר ביטחון” החותר לשלום, הזוכה לאמון ציבורי רחב, הוביל רבין את מסע הבחירות תחת הסיסמה “ישראל מחכה לרבין”. 

“אנו נמצאים בתקופה של סכנה שלמזרח התיכון ייכנס נשק לא קונבנציונאלי… לכן, בראייה של שבע עד עשר שנים, מוכרחים לקדם את התהליך המדיני” 

שוב ראש ממשלה 

המהפך שהחזיר את מפלגת העבודה לשלטון החזיר את רבין לכס ראש הממשלה. הוא עמד בהתחייבותו ושינה את סדר העדיפויות הלאומי: התקציבים לחינוך, לרווחה, לתשתיות, ליישובי הפריפריה ולמגזר הערבי הוגדלו באופן משמעותי על חשבון תקציב ההתנחלויות ותקציב הביטחון. קבלת הערבויות מארצות הברית לקליטת העולים מחבר העמים, הקלה על ביצוע תוכניותיו והפיחה חיים בכלכלת המדינה. תמיכתו במדיניות של הפרטה במשק העניקה לו גם את אהדת המגזר העסקי. 

נחוש לשלב את ישראל במהירות בעידן הפיוס העולמי ולהוביל מהלך מדיני נועז לשלום עם המדינות השכנות ולפתרון הבעיה הפלסטינית, הודיע כי יהיה נכון לוויתורים טריטוריאליים. הוא חידש מיד את שיחות השלום עם הפלסטינים ועם סוריה, שהחלו אחרי ועידת מדריד. בבעיה הפלסטינית ראה את לב הסכסוך, אך כשהתברר לו כי השיחות עם נציגי השטחים בוושינגטון נקלעו למבוי סתום, קידם את המסלול הסורי, בתקווה שעצם קיומו יאיץ את ההתקדמות גם בערוץ הפלסטיני. 

מדיניותו הביטחונית נעה בשני מסלולים מקבילים: בעודו יוזם הקלות בחיי האוכלוסיה המשיך במדיניות תקיפה כלפי מבצעי טרור ומפירי סדר. בצעד יוצא דופן החליט על גירוש 415 מאנשי החמאס שהיו מעורבים בפיגועים. על ירי קטיושות בצפון הגיב במבצע “דין וחשבון”. 

משעודכן על קיומן של שיחות שלום חשאיות באוסלו, אישר את המשכן חרף ספקותיו והפך אותן לערוץ הידברות רשמי. את צירופו של אש”ף כצד להסכם אישר רק לאחר מכתב התחייבות מיאסר ערפאת על הכרת אש”ף במדינת ישראל והסתלקותו מדרך הטרור. 

ב-13 בספטמבר 1993, במעמד חגיגי על מדשאות הבית הלבן, ובהשתתפות נשיא ארצות הברית ביל קלינטון, נחתם “הסכם אוסלו”. ההסכם הניח את היסוד להסדר קבע, שיכלול הקמת ישות לאומית פלסטינית לצד ישראל. נאומיהם של רבין וערפאת ולחיצת היד ההיסטורית ביניהם היוו את שיאו של הטקס והפכו לסמל של תקווה בארץ ובעולם. בצד השמחה והתרוממות הרוח עורר ההסכם גם חרדות מפני הסכנות הטמונות בו וחידד את המחלוקת בין תומכי המהלך לבין מתנגדיו. את המחאה הפוליטית והציבורית נגד ההסכם הובילו המתנחלים. הטבח שעשה קיצוני ישראלי במתפללים מוסלמים במערת המכפלה בחברון שיקף את המתח הגואה בחברה בישראל. רבין שקל לפרק את היישוב היהודי בחברון, אך בסופו של דבר השאירו.

1995 רצח ראש ממשלת ישראל יצחק רבין 

שלום חבר 

מחנה תומכי תהליך השלום, שליווה בתקווה את ההתקדמות בשיחות, נחרד מעוצמת המתקפה של מתנגדי ההסכמים והחליט לתת ביטוי לתמיכה הציבורית הרחבה למהלכי הממשלה. 

עצרת שאורגנה ב-4 בנובמבר 1995 סחפה המונים אל כיכר מלכי ישראל בתל אביב. המפגינים הביעו את תמיכתם בהסכמים ובמנהיגותו של רבין. אף שרבין עצמו לא התלהב תחילה מרעיון עצרת התמיכה, הוא נעתר להזמנת המארגנים והסכים לשאת דברים מעל במת העצרת. נוכח ההמונים המריעים חש לרגע כי ציבור תומכיו גדול ורב. בסוף העצרת, בדרכו אל מכוניתו, ירה בגבו רוצח יהודי שלושה כדורים. 

ראש ממשלת ישראל, יצחק רבין, נרצח. 

במוצאי שבת, 4 בנובמבר 1995, י”ב בחשוון תשנ”ו, הגיע יצחק רבין לכיכר מלכי ישראל בתל-אביב, כדי להשתתף בעצרת המונים בסיסמה “כן לשלום – לא לאלימות”. 

בתום  עצרת חמה ואוהדת, שבה הפגינו המונים את אמונם בו ואת אהבתם אליו, נורה יצחק רבין בדרכו למכוניתו ונפצע אנושות בידי רוצח יהודי. 

יצחק רבין נפטר בבית החולים איכילוב בשעה 23:14, לאחר שכל מאמצי הרופאים להצילו לא הועילו.

תל אביב – מיד לאחר הרצח החלו לזרום אזרחים ישראלים רבים לכיכר מלכי ישראל. צעירים ומבוגרים, דתיים וחילוניים, ימניים ושמאלניים, תושבי המרכז ותושבי הפריפריה, ותיקים ועולים חדשים, יהודים וערבים התכנסו להתאבל בכיכר, הדליקו נר, ציירו כתובת גרפיטי, שרו ומחו דמעה. בשבוע שלאחר הרצח הפכו האזרחים את הכיכר ל”כיכר רבין”. בסופו של אותו שבוע קיבלה עיריית תל אביב החלטה רשמית על כך. 

ירושלים – ארונו של יצחק רבין הונח בחזית הכנסת למחרת הרצח. מבוקר יום ראשון ועד ההלוויה שנערכה ביום שני בצהריים, עלו עשרות אלפי אזרחים לירושלים כדי לעבור על פני הארון ולהיפרד.

1949 – IDF Service

In November 1949, Yitzhak Rabin was promoted to the position of commander of the battalion commanders’ course. Many of the first battalion commanders’ course participants were Palmach alumni, who Rabin had convinced to continue fulfilling command positions in the IDF, and thus preserve the spirit of the Palmach and its values. Rabin’s success in this position opened before him the pathway to promotions in the IDF.

In early 1951, he was promoted to Chief of Operations in the General Staff Branch. During this period, he stood out as an outstanding staff officer who was familiar with every detail in the many areas where he bore responsibility and was a senior partner in shaping the IDF’s defense doctrine.

As a candidate for senior command positions, he was sent in November 1952 to the United Kingdom to study at the British Army Staff College. Shortly following his return in 1953, Rabin was promoted by the new Chief of Staff, Moshe Dayan, as head of the Training Branch. In this position, he worked to integrate the experience gained in both the Palmach and the British Army, established the training infrastructure in the IDF, was one of the founders of the Command and Staff College (per the Hebrew acronym PUM), and set new standards for educating commanders.

In 1956, he was promoted to command the Northern Command. He was responsible, among other things, for securing Israeli control over demilitarized zones between Israel and Syria, preserving Israeli fishing rights in the Sea of Galilee, and defending the kibbutzim, moshavim, and other communities subject to shelling. During the October 1956 Sinai Campaign, he remained in the north to prepare the forces under his command in advance of a possible opening of an additional front.

In January 1958, when Haim Laskov was selected as Chief of Staff and Zvi Tsur, his deputy, Rabin sensed that his advancement in the military had been delayed and planned finally to leave the military for academic studies, but it was not to be. In April 1959, a radio broadcast mistakenly and without advanced knowledge announced the codenames of units recruited for a military exercise. The publication caused panic among the Israeli public and an emergency call-up of Egyptian and Syrian military units. Following the fiasco nicknamed “the Night of the Ducks,” the commander of the Operations Branch was relieved of duty, and Rabin was promoted to the position.