Yitzhak Rabin (1922-1995), first native-born Israeli prime minister (1974-1977, 1992-1995) and Nobel laureate. Rabin was assassinated in 1995 at a peace rally in Tel Aviv because he had indicated a willingness to cede Israeli-occupied territory in the interests of peace with neighboring Arab nations. Rabin had led efforts to negotiate peace settlements between Israel and neighboring Arabs.

Born in Jerusalem, in British-controlled Palestine (now Israel), Rabin attended the Kadoorie Agricultural High School from which he graduated with honors. Dedicated to serving his country, Rabin joined the Palmach, the secret commando unit of the Haganah (the major underground Jewish militia), shortly after its formation in 1941. During World War II (1939-1945), the Palmach worked with the United Kingdom to fight the influence of the Germans and their allies in the Middle East. Rabin was appointed a Palmach platoon commander in 1943 and deputy battalion commander in 1944. During these years, he established himself as one of the leading thinkers in the Palmach.

After World War II, the alliance between Palestine's Jews and the British deteriorated when the British tried to limit Jewish immigration to Palestine so as not to anger the surrounding Arabs. When the British tried to expel some Jews who had immigrated there without following standard immigration procedures, Rabin participated in a number of Palmach raids to free these illegal immigrants from the British detention camps. Rabin was arrested by the British in 1946, along with many other Jews, but was freed six months later.

During the first Arab-Israeli War—also known as the war of independence—in 1948 and 1949, Rabin commanded a Palmach brigade. He fought to break the Arab siege of Jerusalem and succeeded in securing the road from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. Rabin served as a member of the Israeli delegation to the postwar armistice negotiations in 1949.

In late 1948 the Palmach was absorbed into the new Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the armed forces of the state of Israel. In the 1950s and 1960s, Rabin rose rapidly through the ranks of the IDF, serving as commander of the Northern Command, chief of operations, deputy chief of staff, and chief of staff. As chief of staff from 1964 to 1967, Rabin was the leading military adviser to Prime Minister Levi Eshkol. He led the Israeli army to its massive victory in the Six-Day War in 1967, during which Israel captured the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Rabin became a hero in Israel.

Rabin retired from the army in January 1968 to become Israel's ambassador to the United States. During his five years in office, Rabin greatly improved Israeli-American relations in both the military and political spheres, and the United States replaced France as Israel's primary arms supplier. Rabin returned to Israel in 1973 and was elected to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in December as a member of the Labor Party. He served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Golda Meir until she retired in 1974 after she was criticized for Israel's lack of preparedness during the Arab-Israeli War of 1973. This war was a surprise attack on Israel launched from all sides by Syria and Egypt, with subsequent help from Jordan and Iraq.

Later that year, in the aftermath of Israel's concern over its security, Rabin became prime minister. During his three-year term, Rabin successfully revived Israel's sense of security. He signed an interim peace agreement with Egypt (Sinai II) in 1975 which provided for the disengagement of Egyptian and Israeli troops on the Sinai Desert front. He also masterminded a highly successful anti-terrorist operation in July 1976, in which Israeli commandos freed more than 100 airplane passengers, most of them Israeli, who were being held hostage by hijackers at Entebbe, Uganda. Rabin was less successful in managing the Israeli economy, as inflation increased and unions staged strikes. He was forced to take a leave-of-absence from his post as prime minister just before the May 1977 elections when it was revealed that his wife had continued to maintain a U.S. bank account after he completed his service as ambassador to the United States; such an account was then illegal under Israeli law. Although Rabin was no longer the acting prime minister and no longer ran the Labor Party's cabinet meetings, he remained involved in the party's affairs, keeping close tabs on current politics, and defense matters in particular.

Labor was defeated in the 1977 elections by the rival Likud bloc. Rabin continued to be an active Labor Party member. From 1984 to 1990, Rabin served as defense minister in two successive Labor-Likud National Unity governments. Labor and Likud had joined forces because neither was able to gain control of the Israeli Parliament. In 1985 Rabin successfully managed the withdrawal of Israeli forces from most of Lebanon, where Israel had become involved in a controversial guerrilla war in efforts to protect its northern territory from terrorist attack. He proved less successful in resolving the Palestinian intifada (uprising). The intifada, which erupted in 1987, was a series of protests against Israeli rule in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Nonetheless, the intifada convinced Rabin that continued occupation of these territories was not in Israel's long-term interest.

In 1992 Rabin led the Labor Party to victory against Likud in the general election. He established a coalition government in which he served as prime minister, and as defense minister. In these posts, Rabin pioneered an effort to reach a peace settlement with the Palestinians and signed agreements with the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Yasir Arafat, in September 1993, May 1994, and September 1995. These agreements paved the way for Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and set the stage for the discussion of issues such as the final status of borders and the city of Jerusalem. Rabin, Arafat, and Shimon Peres, the Israeli foreign minister, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in December 1994 for their work on the peace settlement.

In October 1994 Rabin also signed a peace treaty with Jordan that settled long-standing disputes over land and water rights, and pledged cooperation in areas including trade and tourism. Relations between Israel and Jordan improved in the wake of the treaty. Rabin also initiated peace negotiations with Syria, although at the time of his assassination little progress had been achieved.

Rabin also sought to improve Israel's relationship with non-Arab nations. He contended that Israelis should no longer view themselves as a “people that dwelled apart.” Instead, he urged a normalized relationship between Israel and the rest of the world. He also worked to improve ties with Russia after the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) collapsed.

A minority of Israelis did not support Rabin's efforts to make peace. They opposed his decision to stop building Jewish settlements in the West Bank and his willingness to return Israeli-occupied territory to the Palestinians. Opposition was motivated by both religious and security concerns. Among those who opposed Rabin was the man who assassinated him, a Bar-Ilan University law student named Yigal Amir. Amir considered it his religious duty to kill Rabin in order to stop the peace process and prevent the return of Biblical Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) to the Arabs. Most Israelis, however, mourned Rabin's death. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis and a large contingent of world leaders including U.S. President Bill Clinton were present at his funeral, showing their support for Rabin and his peace policies.