Yitzhak Rabin Research Paper

The year 1995 was an optimistic year for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The Oslo Accords had been signed, which created a "framework" for a peaceful, two-state solution. Support for a two-state solution was high, and Israel's Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, was a strong supporter of the process. Then, on November 4, 1995, Yitzhak Rabin, the main supporter of the peace process in the Israeli Government was assassinated (Ravnitz ). The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin was not justified because it derailed the Israel-Palestine Peace Process, was not in alignment with Israeli democracy, and was an against the killer's own people and Israeli interests. Yitzhak Rabin had been a critical part of the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process. He had signed the Oslo Accords earlier, which provided basic guidelines for Palestinian independence and where Israel officially recognized the legitimacy of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (Kimmerling 440), opening the way for
more talks.
It was the closest to a peace agreement the Israelis and Palestinians ever reached. There was significant opposition to the Peace Process, but support was higher: 80% of Palestinians said that they supported a two-state solution. (Ravnitz) However, after he was assassinated, his successors were unable to reach a deal, possibly because Arafat, the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, trusted Rabin more (Bowen), leading to a slowdown in peace talks, so by now, support for peace talks and a two-state solution are down dramatically. About half of Palestinians support a two-state solution, down from 80%. Only about 35% of Israeli Arabs (distinct from Palestinians) think that a two-state solution will works (Ravnitz). Even one person who was a strong opponent of Rabin during his leadership now is not only attending memorials to him but even organizing them. Danny Hirshberg is a settler in the West Bank, an area that is the
heart of Palestine (Harris). Palestinian independence would probably mean he would have to leave his home, and Rabin came dangerously close to that happening. However, he said that he helped to run a rally commemorating Rabin because of his support of Israeli democracy (Harris). Israel is notable for being democratic in a largely authoritarian Middle East, and the assassination of a democratically chosen leader undermines democracy: a leader leaves office when the people vote him out, not with a bullet. Rabin's killer was Yigal Amir. He was Jewish, just like Rabin (Bowen). In killing him, Amir committed an act against his own people, which makes the crime even worse. The assassin murdered Rabin because he did not want a deal to be made with Palestine and he claimed the killing was justified by a Jewish law called din rodef (Shindler 264). However, Louis Jacobs, a Rabbi and an expert on Jewish law, said that the Amir manipulated the halachah, or Jewish law, for political reasons (Shindler 265). Amir also acted against the Israeli people as a whole: after Rabin was killed, about one-fifth of the country, including conservatives, went to his funeral (Ravnitz). It is true of course, that many in Israel did not like Rabin. Some called him a traitor and depicted him as a Nazi; one group said his government was "raping the Jewish people," and he was also compared with Marshal Petain in France (Shindler 260-261). Additionally, some people did not think he could have really achieved peace with Palestine (Ravnitz). But the Oslo agreements he signed would end up being one of the best opportunities for peace in Israel. It is also true that many do not want peace, but in 1995, the peace process was highly popular. Maybe the idea of sharing land with Palestine would be more popular today if negotiations about them had succeeded twenty years ago.