Yitzhak Rabin

Yitzhak Rabin served in the Palmach and Israeli armed forces for twenty seven years, rising to chief of staff before retiring in 1968. His appointment to Washington was his first civilian post. He cultivated relationships with Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and American Jewish organizations, while retaining a direct channel to Prime Minister Golda Meir. ¹

During the Jordan crisis of September 1970, Rabin supported Nixon's request that Israel be ready to help King Hussein against Syrian intervention. He also favored an agreement in stages with Egypt, including withdrawal from positions deep in Sinai and reopening the Suez Canal. He returned to Israel in 1973, entered the Knesset, and became prime minister the following year. ^{1, 2}

Rabin later served as defense minister and returned to the premiership in 1992. He approved the Oslo agreements with the Palestine Liberation Organization and signed the 1994 peace treaty with Jordan. He shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat. On 4 November 1995, an Israeli opponent of the peace process assassinated him after a rally in Tel Aviv. ^{2, 3}