Rabin: 20 Years After

Twenty years after that grave night of November 4, 1995, when Israel's prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was felled by an Israeli assassin's bullets, Robert Slater goes back to once again explore the man, politician and leader – a leader whose personal history paralleled that of his country, a onetime warrior that became a peacemaker. As the life of Yitzhak Rabin unfolds, the story of Israel is told: Rabin was the first native-born prime minister, the first to be born in the twentieth century, the first to be educated entirely in the country and the first to emerge from the army, bringing an altogether different tone to Israel's leadership. In his life he had been a bland, unexciting figure, whose military and political efforts were often overshadowed by more charismatic Israeli leaders. He had none of the down-to-earth charm of Golda Meir or the swashbuckling bravado of Moshe Dayan. So, what did make Rabin – former chief of staff and a taciturn, shy politician with an unpolished and simple style – into one of Israel's most longed for and admired leaders until this very day? Shortly before passing away, biographer Robert Slater, based on years of exhaustive research including extensive interviews with Rabin himself, former colleagues, aides, political rivals, friends and family, sheds light in this wide-ranging account on Rabin the man, statesman, leader and warrior for peace.