Yitzhak Rabin יצחק רבין
chief of staff in the Six-Day War, prime minister, assassinated in 5756
Yitzhak Rabin was born in Jerusalem in 5682, grew up in Tel Aviv and meant to be a water engineer. War decided otherwise: he joined the Palmach, fought in the War of Independence and stayed in the army.
In 5724 he became chief of the general staff and prepared the army for what came in 5727: in six days Israel took Sinai, the Golan, Judea and Samaria and the Old City of Jerusalem. Later came the embassy in Washington, a first term as prime minister, and years as defence minister.
In 5752 he returned as prime minister promising an agreement with the Palestinians. In 5753 the Oslo accords were signed and he shook Arafat's hand on the White House lawn; in 5754 came peace with Jordan and the Nobel Peace Prize. The country split: attacks continued, and part of society regarded the accords as betrayal.
On the 12th of Cheshvan 5756, after a peace rally in Tel Aviv, he was shot by a religious Jewish student. The killing of a prime minister by a Jew remains an unhealed wound.