Product Description
Examines how Israeli society has commemorated Yitzhak Rabin. ... Read more

Product Description
History has proven that public officials have not alwaysbeen honest with their constituencies. Is deception always justifiablefor the sake of national security or is it a mere guise for somethingmore insidious?

In the shadow of the largest peace rally in Israel's history - PrimeMinister Yitzhak Rabin walked to his car under the protection ofIsrael's Secret Service (Shabak). What really transpired thereafterhas perplexed the Rabin family, Israel, and the world

-Who really murdered Yitzhak Rabin?

-Was it Yigal Amir? Did he act alone?

-From which direction was the bullet fired?

-Was this a breach of security or worse?

-Why were shouts of "blanks" heard?

-Was there a cover-up by the Shabak?

Is this another conspiracy theory or is the truth stranger thanfiction? Lies: Israel's Secret Service and the Rabin Murder is thebehind-the-scenes story of lies and on-going deception by the Shabakthat asks poignant questions, provides some answers, and demands more.

These questions beg for a reinvestigation into the murder of YitzhakRabin as well as a reassessment of the role of the Shabak in Israelisociety. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Indeed, beneath contempt!
As one who lives in Israel, recalls the live radio and TV broadcasts of that night and the newspaper details the next day, Dr. Morrison's book is indeed an eye opener into what most other people simply glanced over, chose to ignore as irreleant in the first place or have gone into denial about, simply because the consequences of inspecting the facts are potentially earth shattering and scandalous.

Unlike Barry Chamish's earlier book on the same subject, this book is footnoted with the precise sources of information, most of them readily available to the general public.

Even Rabin's daughter, in an interview several years ago to the Israeli Woman's magazine "La'Isha", stated at the time that there are questions regarding the events of the night of the assasination that are blatantly not answered by the official storyline.

Other than attempts to smear Dr. Morrison, this book has yet to be contradicted or have its questions resolved. If you haven't heard of the book until now, it's because so many people would wish it would just disappear.

It is indeed beneath contempt that the Israel government and left wing press have stifled the issues brought up and have caused a complacent and exhausted Israeli public to long ago forget what they themselves said and reported at the time.

Beneath contempt
This is yet another in a series of authors who try to twist history to prove that "Rabin was not murdered by the extreme right and even if he was, he brought it upon himself". We have certain words for enemies of the Jews who say similar things about our six million murdered brethren. Unfortunately the menu does not allow me to give it "minus five stars".

LIES FROM THE TOP DOWN!
This book will infuriate, frustrate and frighten you -- but it is a 'must read!' It proves beyond a doubt that the Rabin assassination was much more complicated than has been presented. Crucial evidence was lost, tamperedwith, or stolen. Doctors' reports disagree. The book leaves the reader withhaunting questions.David Morrison, a practicing psychiatrist in theUnited States for 20 years before moving to Israel, joins a growing numberof authors who are challenging the official version ofwho, how and whythe late Prime Minister of Israel was killed. Despite attempts by Israelipoliticians, the media, and book distributors to suppress alternativeopinions, the disturbing questions will not go away. Even the family ofYitzhak Rabin have publicly voiced their doubts and disbelief.

Oneof the most important contributions of this book is to place theassassination in context -- a deliberate and sustained official attempt todestroy the opposition. The police, the Secret Service("Shabak"), and other institutions of government maintained asystematic attempt to discredit and undermine the settler movement and itssupporters. The plot involved Ministers and the Attorney General's office,one of whom is now on the Israeli Supreme Court.Rabin's tenure in officemay have been one of the greatest threat to Israeli democracy.

Morrison carefully shows that the Shabak had been caught lying to officialcommissions of inquiry during the previous administration of YitzhakShamir. But the real shift came with Rabin's appointment of Carmi Gillon tohead the organization. With opposition to his policies growing, and hispopularity slipping dangerously, Rabin saw that the real threat to hispolicies was from the Right -- Israeli settlers and their supporters. Gillon's war against the settler movement involved recruiting agents toinfiltrate their communities and engage in provocative acts, includingviolence. One of these agents was Avishai Raviv, who is currently on trialin Israel, although all the proceedings are closed.

Raviv set upphony "terrorist" organizations, attacked and claimedresponsibility forkilling Arabs, and incited violence. His activities,although known by the government, elicited arrests and wide-spread attacksin the media against the Right wing opposition andthe settler movement.It was Raviv who lured Yigal Amir into his cult and encouraged him to killYitzhak Rabin.

Morrison presents a number of disturbingcontradictions in the official version of Rabin's death, and the eventssurrounding that tragic event. There are major discrepancies in doctors'descriptions of Rabin's wounds, and their locations. The official autopsyreport indicates that Rabin's spine was unhurt, while all other doctorsthat examined him noted that his spine was shattered.

Yoram Rubin,Rabin's bodyguard testified that he was shot by Amir. His clinical reportshows that he was only treated for superficial wounds. Leah, Rabin's wife,was told by Shabak agents at the time not to worry because Amir was onlyshooting blanks.There is no explanation for the absolute breakdownin security surrounding the Prime Minister.There are contradictions inballistic evidence. The bullets that were recovered were missing for 11hours between the time of the murder until their mysterious arrival at thepolice station. Moreover, the bullets do not appear to have been fired fromAmir's weapon.

Was it a "sting" operation -- an attempt todiscredit the right-wing -- gone awry? A conspiracy gone wrong? Or aninsider "hit?" One of the things I learned from the murdermysteries I've seen in movies is the detectives always ask: who stood togain the most? ... Read more

Product Description
Based on years of research and extensive interviews, this book explores Rabin the man, statesman, and the soldier. It also delivers an up-to-the-minute account of his assassination and its aftermath. This balanced portrait covers Rabin's varied and controversial political career. Original. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Account of Israel great statesman-warrior
Yitzhak Rabin was definitely a great man. He was the hero of the Six Day War : Under his command the IDF defeated the combined forces of Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq.
He also served as Israeli ambassador to Washington, and did sterling work to cement ties between Israel and her greatest ally,the USA.
Unfortunately he also made the greatest mistake in Israeli history.
Rabin, in a desire for peace, and under intense international pressure, signed accords with arch-murderer Yasser Arafat and his terrorist gang, the PLO, allowing the PLO to return to Israeli territory, and set up terror networks, with the aim of Israel's destruction.
Rabin miscalculated,not realizing that the PLO never had any intention of recognizing Israel, but saw territorial concession as just another step leading to the destruction of Israel and the genocide of her Jews.
Just three months after Rabin's murder at the hands of a far right zealot,Yigal Amir ( a horrible and execrable deed), Arafat made plain his aim of destroying Israel, at a secret meeting after a dinner of 40 Arab diplomats, on January 30, 1996, in the Grand Hotel Stockholm, Sweden:
"We of the PLO will now concentrate on splitting Israel psychologically into two camps. Within five years we will have six to seven million Arabs living on the West Bank and in Jerusalem. All Palestinian Arabs will be welcomed back by us. You must understand that we plan to eliminate the State of Israel and establish a purely Arab Palestinian State".
"We will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion. Jews will not wish to live among Arabs. I have no use for Jews.They are and remain Jews.
"We now need all the help we can get from you for a united Palestine under total Arab Muslim domination".

Rabin had seen too much bloodshed and had been put under intense pressure by the international community, who threatened to impose sanctions on Israel, when she deported 450 Hamas terrorists, with Jewish blood on their hands in 1993.

But it is still a mystery how a statesman and warrior, like Rabin, could be hoodwinked by modern day Hitler Arafat.

The book deals with key events in Rabin's life and career, as well as key events in Israel during the life and times of Rabin, such as the Arab pogroms against Jews in the Land of Israel, in 1920, 1921,1929 and 1936-1939.
Terrorist attacks across Israel's borders by the Fedayeen and later PLO, from the establishment of Israel, President Nixon's wise warning to Israel in 1968 to Israel to never return the Golan Heights to Syria, or to withdraw from disputed territories until there was a peace settlement and the Entebbe rescue raid into Uganda in 1976, under Rabin's premiership.
There are parts of the book when Slater is off the rails though such as his seeming condemmnation of Israeli actions during the First Intifada, not realizing the ruthless nature of Palestinian aims and strategies, and his naive belief that the First Intifada was not directed by the PLO, Syria. Iraq and Iran, and was somehow 'spontaneous'-rubbish.
Overall it is a great read of Rabin's millitary, diplomatic and political career, the latter giving an insight into Israel's vibrant multiparty democracy, which should be a model for the entire developing world!
... Read more

Product Description
Summarizes the life and career of the two-time Israeli prime minister and examines his potential impact on peace talks in the turbulent Middle East. By the author of Warrior Statesman: The life of Moshe Dayan. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Credible
This is a carefully documented record of the life of one of Israel's great heroes, Yitzhak Rabin. Rabin who was considered the finest staff officer to ever serve in the Israel Army led the Harel brigade in the Israeli war of independence. He helped built and train the Israeli Army into a modern fighting force. He was the Chief-of- Staff of the Army at the outbreak of the Six- Day War, and one of the principal architects of that great victory.
He subsequently entered politics and became the Prime Minister of Israel. His first time was shadowed by an illegal bank- account scandal. He made a political comeback, and was elected Prime Minister once more. He then along with Shimon Peres signed the Oslo Agreement with Yassar Arafat, one of the major mistakes in modern Israeli political history. He was assassinated by a radical religious right- wing political opponent in a dastardly action most people thought would never happen in a Jewish state. After his death he became a figure of 'myth' who the people mourned deeply.
This is a credible account. ... Read more

Product Description
Having been returned to power in 1992 for the first time in 15 years, Israel's Labour Government has implemented dramatic changes in foreign policy and domestic politics, including recognition of the PLO and the signing of the Declaration of Principles. As a result, Israel's relations with the rest of the world have undergone revision and re-evaulation. Representing a broad spectrum of viewpoints, this work offers an analysis of current Arab-Israeli relations and Israeli politics. Contributors examine Israel's relations with the United States, the successor-states of the Soviet Union, the Palestinians and bordering Arab states, and also look closely at Israel's domestic politics. ... Read more

Product Description

"Specialists would undoubtedly regard this book's publication as providing the definitive work of scholarship and interpretation of Yitzhak Rabin's historic role in the evolution of Israel's national security doctrines and practices. Its best features include meticulous, exhaustively thorough research, clear organization, and a straightforward prose style blessedly free from military or political science jargon." -- Samuel W. Lewis, former Ambassador of the United States to Israel

For more than forty years Yitzhak Rabin played a critical role in shaping Israeli national security policy and military doctrine. He began as a soldier in the Palmach, the elite underground unit of the Jewish community in Palestine, served in the 1948 War of Independence, and ultimately became chief of staff of the Israel Defense Force (IDF), defense minister in several governments, ambassador to the United States, and, twice, prime minister. As chief of staff, Rabin led the IDF to its triumph in the 1967 Six Day War. He was assassinated in 1995 as prime minister as he left a peace rally.

Drawing on unpublished materials and interviews with important sources, including Rabin himself, Efraim Inbar's work offers a systematic study of Rabin's strategic thinking and his policies. Topics include the evolution of Rabin's thinking, his contributions to IDF military buildup, his stress on Israel's relationship to the United States, his attitudes toward the use of force, and his approach to Israel's nuclear status in the Middle East. Inbar's conclusion evaluates Rabin's contribution to Israel's national security and assesses Rabin's personal transition from warrior to peace maker. Because of Rabin's crucial role in Israel's defense establishment at important junctures in its history, this book provides an important view into the security challenges Israel has faced and how the country has responded over four decades.

Customer Reviews (2)

Outstanding study of Israeli leader
This is an outstanding study of the work and world-view of former Israeli Prime- Minister Yitzhak Rabin. It centers on Rabin's lifelong dedication to the Security of Israel. It explores his development and understanding of the security doctrine of Israel. Inbar says that Rabin was not a systematic thinker but rather a pragmatic and capable leader. He is considered one of the founding fathers of the Israeli military force. He is considered also one of the great teachers of military doctrinein the Israeli Army . This study examines his view of strategic doctrine, his attitude toward US part in the Security of Israel, his relation to non- conventional threats.It also tells the story of Rabin's great contributions to Israel in its wars. Most notable in this regard is the part he played as Chief- of- Staff in the Six Day war. It notes the turnabout in Rabin's policies which came with his making of the Oslo agreement. Inbar makes it clear that Rabin had considerable doubts about this policy, and wished to pursue it cautiously.
Anyone interested in the military history of Israel, or in a deeper understanding of how a major Israeli leader thought on questions of security would do well to read this work.

interested ideas, how domestic policies led Rabin to DC
A clear and unemotional examination of Rabin's impact on Israeli government, security and military affairs, including his influence through his personnel appointments, arms acquisitions and policies.Inbar, ofteacher at Bar Ilan, raises interesting ideas on whether the Deri Affairand the lapse in Syrian Peace negotiations led Rabin to travel toWashington DC to sign with the PA and Arafat. ... Read more

Product Description
For more than 50 years, Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Israel, had a direct impact on the political, social and economic fabric of the Jewish State. Unfortunately, from the time that Rabin joined the Palmach, until his assassination in 1995, he accumulated one security failure after another.

Even so, most people view the late Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister and the Chief-of-Staff during the Six Day War of 1967 as a wise and courageous leader.InThe Rabin File - An Unauthorized Expose,Dr. Uri Milstein delves into Rabin's military performance - from his early involvement in the militia in 1941 to his assassination in 1995 - and reveals for the first time Rabin's controversial security biography.

By vigilantly investigating Rabin, presenting him as a personified reflection of the political and military culture of the State Israel, this riveting and thought-provoking book explains how little children were able to chase the mighty Israeli Defense Forces from the Gaza Strip; how the Hizbullah defeated the IDF in Southern Lebanon; and how Israel turned from a strategic ally of the United States to an American economic burden.

Dr. Milstein researches the principles of military philosophy and war as a means of understanding the behavior of individuals and their civilizations.As a writer and a historian he is neither bashful nor deterred by controversy.His provocative studies and books on the Israeli War of Independence, the Yom Kippur War and the Israeli Paratroopers have earned him much publicity in Israel and abroad. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

SOBERING
"As someone that was spellbound my the mystique of Yitzhak Rabin, I can guarantee you that THE RABIN FILE can be a very sobering book. As a resident of Jerusalem...I'm living with the consequences of his manyblunders."

Daniel Ardel - Jerusalem

potential classic historiography and far-reaching appraisal
This book could and should be read as a sample of a very important revision and as such as a piece of far- reaching historiography. It shows the pivotal role myth making plays in contemporary politics and highlightsthe need for a search for truth and how far actually this has been lacking.Implicitly the reader can detect the degree to which superficiality hastaken over from properly founded research in the creation of standardisedinterpretation. Therefore the book, as an expose, is something specialacademically. It is a product of the willingness to question 'orthodox'opinion and to research in detail and to document fearlessly. Thereforeauthor and publisher are to be congratulated on being willing to allowscholarship to advance by the production of a book that spells out in nouncertain terms just what may well be the terrible truth about the 'real'Rabin. In the light of theeulogies about him this brave appraisal is allthe more important. Truth is a casualty through death as well as war:President Kennedy's status changed as a result of his assassination and thesame to some degree may be true of Rabin. But this change may be anythingbut beneficial for the way in which Israel runs its democratic processesand understands its position vis a vis its neighbours' intentions. WithRabin neither the master strategist nor 'Mr Security' much is open toquestion and needs to be. This book starts everyone thinking differently.And it does so with diligence and thoroughness.

a harsh and unsparing portrayal of Rabin
Uri Milstein is unique among the new historians because his focus on the events of the War of Independence also pays major attention to Yitzhak Rabin's conduct and leadership. The same commander receives much lessattention from the other new historians. This book portrays Rabin harshlyand unsparingly as a weak-minded uncultured chain-smoking drinker, and as acoward who was promoted despite his many leadership failures in battle.Inwriting such a deep-level criticism of Yitzhak Rabin (a new martyr and aninternationally famous symbol of Israeli-Arab peace agreements), UriMilstein takes on a deeply entrenched Israeli Labor partypolitical-academic myth-defending juggernaut.Whether he has written thetruth or not might be disputed, but there is no question that Milstein'scareer has suffered as a result of his negative Rabin appraisals. This bookdeserves reading and attention unless its claims can be disproven by otherhistorians...which so far as this writer knows, has not occurred.In thebook Uri Milstein does write about denials and threats by other scholarsand political figures to sue him for libel...but according to Milstein,such suits were never brought to court.It may be that denials wereissued, and negative realities ignored, in order to protect Rabin's legend.In his book, Milstein provides not one instance (Rabin's commonly-knowncollapse in the Six-day War), but a pattern, of Yitzhak Rabin collapsingmentally or taking naps during military crises or of his fleeing frombattle when things turned to the worse (leaving his men behind under themost desperate circumstances).According to Milstein, Rabin's failureswere covered by his fellow Palmachnics for the sake of their own politicaland military survival, even as they themselves felt perplexed by his lackof leadership. If anything, this book raises an alarm by showing thepossible dangers to a nation brought about by a political myth-makingapparatus which turns a human being into a legend or symbol.In order forsuch a symbol or myth to exist, truths must be ignored or forgotten.Ifwhat Uri Milstein has written is true, it is also probable that much ofIsrael and the world would not want to hear about it.

Excellent book. Brings to light the real character of Rabin.
In this book, "The Rabin File", Dr. Milstein shatters the myth of Yitzhak Rabin, "Mr. Security" - the nickname that brought him to power in the '92 Israeli elections. Almost everyone who follows Israeliand middle eastern politics wonders what brought "Mr. Security"to sign the Oslo agreement that took Israel back to the days of the war ofindependece in 1948. It is even more preplexing if we consider thepolitical background of this move which is the defeat of the IDF (theIsraeli army) by the hands of stone throwing children of the Arab"Intifada".Milstein's book starts us on the path to the explanations ofthese two events.

"The Rabin File" is a biography of Rabin. Itbegins with Rabin's childhood as an unwanted child of an extreme communistagitator in Haifa. It continues to describe Rabin's career as an officer inthe Hagana (the jewish semi-underground defense forces during the days ofthe British mandate in Palestine) where he distinguished himself as areliable tool in the hands of the leaders of the jewish institutions whoused him for actions against the opposition. To them (his leaders) Rabinmost important characteristic was his total misunderstnding of militaryissues and his servility.

Dr. Milstein then describes the battles inwhich Rabin participated or commanded. The climax is the story of a convoyto Jerusalem which Rabin commanded. When the convoy entered an Arab ambushRabin fled for his dear life. The rest of his brigade's operations hecommanded from a safe distance, usually in his HQ in Jerusalem.

Dr.Milstein uses Rabin's biography to demonstrate the character of the IDF andthe general "survival principle" that he develops more deeply in his otherbooks.But even without any knowledge of this principle, this book is mostimportant as it brings to light the real character of Rabin, creator of theOslo agreement. I can hardly wait for the second part of Rabin's biographythat will cover his life from '48 till his murder in '92.

AUTHOR�S COMMENT
DR. URI MILSTEIN P. O. Box 9003, Ramat Ef'al, 52190Israel,Tel: 972-3 -6351062, Fax: 972- 3- 5351012 E-mail: urimilsh@inter.net.il AUTHOR'S COMMENT My book, "The Rabin File - AnUnauthorized Expose", originally appeared in Hebrew, in April 1995,half a year before Rabin's assassination. As any reader will discover, Ihave described in detail the military activities of Rabin, including hisflight from the battlefield as a brigade commander in Israel'sWar ofIndependence in 1948, and argued that Rabin knew nothing about army realityand the military ethos, and that he had actually failed in all hisactivities in this area. The most dramatic vindication of myargument was provided by his very assassination: half a year after hismurder, a National Inquiry Commission headed by Supreme Court Justice Me'irShamgar determined that the General Security Service, whose responsibilityit was to protect the Prime Minister, had failed in its performance, andthat the entire intelligence apparatus and the system for ensuring thePrime Minister's safety had been woefully flawed. Prime Minister Rabin wasdirectly in charge of the activities of the GSS, so that this awful failurewas not only that of then-head of the GSS, Carmi Gillon, but of Rabinhimself. Which means that Yitzhak Rabin was one of those responsible forthe success of his murderer. I said this in the Israeli media immediatelyafter his assassination. The result: my book about Rabin was banned inIsrael, the bookstores refused to carry it, historians and intellectualsrefused to relate to it and to discuss it in the newspapers, on the radioor on TV, my employ at Bar Ilan University and the College of Judaea andSamaria was terminated, and I could not secure any position in any Israeliuniversity. From that time on, I have had no permanent employment or steadyincome.This attitude towards me supports one of the main theses of thetheory that I have developed in my work, "The General Theory ofSecurity -- The Survival Principle" (which also appeared in English(namely, that the security setup has become a religion, and most peopleregard army generals as superior God-like personalities immune tocriticism. Thus, the security framework is anti-intellectual; processes ofdrawing practical lessons and correction of errors do not exist in it, andit functions at a dangerously lowlevel. These shortcomings becameapparent in the American army in the Vietnam War and in the Soviet army inAfghanistan,and have now surfaced in the IDF in its war with theHizbullah in South Lebanon. Conclusion: Only our ability to criticallyanalyze the performance of generals and statesmen like Yitzhak Rabin canenable us to understand the military ethos and army reality, improve thesecurity systems of the democratic countries, and avert the danger ofterrorist activity that makes use of nonconventional means, which, morethan any other factor, poses a threat toWestern culture. Yours UriMilstein ... Read more

Product Description
The bestselling, award-winning author of Fatal Voyage and Gensis 1946 presents a comprehensive biography of Yitzhaz Rabin that will publish to tie in with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel.

In the mots revealing portrait of the late Israeli leader writer to date, and the first to examine Rabin's longtime secret contacts with the PLO, Rabin family friend, confidante, and former Washington Post correspondent Dan Kurzman explores the life and workof the former Israeli prime minister. Tracing Rabin's life from his youth as a member of an elite commando unit to his rise as leader of Israel, and the account of his brutal assassination at the hands of a right-wing Jewish extremist, Kurzman details Rabin's evolution from shy child to desert warrior to peacemaker, and in the process tells the story of a nation's maturation into a modern state striving for peace.

Kurzman draws both on his relationship with Rabin, whom he first knew as a reporter's source during the Six Day War, and from interviews he conducted with more tan 200 people, including top politicians and statesmen from Shimon Peres to Henry Kissinger. It is the most complete portrait yet published of one of the twentieth century's most courageous and visionary statesman.Amazon.com Review
Yitzhak Rabin's life was driven by the goal of bringing peaceto Israel.Even when he served as army chief of staff during theSix-Day War, he worked actively for resolution to the conflict withEgypt, an extension of his efforts as Israel's U.S. ambassador duringthe Nixon administration.Years later, as Israel's prime minister,his efforts to reach a settlement with the Palestinians earned him thehatred of hardcore right-wingers and religious extremists alike,culminating in his assassination on November 4, 1995.

Dan Kurzman's biography, written in breezy,"fly-on-the-wall"prose, is based on more than 200 interviews, from Rabin's wife and sonto Rabin's colleague Shimon Peres to U.S. secretaries of state HenryKissinger and James A. Baker. The story of Rabin's rise to powerintertwines with the gradual development of Israel into a MiddleEastern power, with the final legacy of both still to be resolved. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Incomplete, but a good start
Overall, a good beginniners guide to Yitzhak Rabin, however like most subjects, one source is never enough and provides a very narrow view of the man. The main problem I have with this book besides the time when it was written (in the regretful post assassination era) is that it does not recognize to a very good degree, the Jews role in violence in Palestine, and it portrays Arabs as mostly the aggressors and Jews in self defense. Since I dont know that much about Rabin, being just a Bay Area Jew my criticism also targets the way in which it portrays the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is overly simplistic and generally biased, there are other books that are much more worth reading and enlightening regarding the conflict that Rabin was at the center of many times.

The Tragedy of a Self-Destructive Leader
Twice in his career, Yitzhak Rabin was hailed as a great hero, first after the 1967 Six-Day War and again after his 1993 signing of the Oslo Accords with Arafat.Unfortunately, in each case the truth of his actual role and performance was more or less suppressed.In 1967, he suffered a collapse that rendered him basically non-functional during the war which was actually commanded by Ezer Weizman and Haim Bar-Lev (although there is no doubt he contributed much to the Israel Defense Forcespreparations for the victorious campaign).In 1993, against his better judgment, the Oslo accords were forced upon him by his nemesises Shimon Peres, Yossi Beilin and others.Rabin's assassination, which took place under very murky circumstances in which there is evidence that the state security forces may have had a role in setting it up, cast him in the martyr's role which, temporarily strengthened support for the agreements which were already being undermined by unremitting terrorist attacks and bestowed upon him a saint-like reputation which was at odds with the true record of his life.Today, in the midst of the large-scale terrorist war against Israel which began in September 2000, a more balanced appraisal of Rabin than which is presented in this book may become possible.Recently, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army revealed that Rabin told him shortly before his death that it was now apparent to him that the Oslo Agreements were a disaster for Israel, and that if he should be re-elected he would abrogate them but he didn't feel strong enough at the time to do it.Tragically, the wave of terrorist atrocities were destroying the man before his death and he began to speak irrationally even to the point where this man who had devoted his whole life to the security of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel was now saying that it was "not reasonable to expect the state to protect the lives of the individual citizens of that state".In his final appearance in a television news interview program three days before his death, he was speaking incoherently and he stated that his political opposition which was making strong, telling criticism of his failed policies (and, unlike what is stated in the book was leading by far in public opinion polls) was so "despicable" that it was even responsible for traffic accidents in the country!The next day, an aquaintance of mine who is a life-long supporter of Rabin's Labor Party said "a madman is leading this country".When reading this book, it must be kept in mind at all times the post-assassination atmosphere in which it was written.One hopes that a new biography will soon be written in which a more balanced view of this man who contributed much to the State of Israel but who ended up being destroyed both by his closet political colleaguesand by the Arab leader with whom he signed the disastrous Oslo agreement.

Excellent!Fascinating!
Audio version is great!Well written, well researched, and well read!Reads like Uris' Exudus, but true!

A decent starting point in the examination of Rabin's life
This book is an excellent first step in understanding Yitzhak Rabin, but it is by no means the last.It gives a chronological, easily written account of his life, highlighting the tremendous accomplishments andbreezily whizzing by some of his faults.

If you are looking for a factualaccount of his life, this is a good book to use.If you are writing a10-page paper on Rabin's life, you need look no further.If you want totruly understand the psychology of this complicated man, or you would likea balanced portrayal of him, you will need to look beyond this.

In theintroduction, it states that if he had lived, he would undoubtedly havebeen re-elected.The facts suggest otherwise; the Israeli people had hadenough of him, and it was not until after his death that the nation beganto recognize what it had lost, both in its leadership and in its innocence. This book seems a product of the years of the wistfulness that oftenfollow the death of an important leader. ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Yitzhak Rabin, Yigal Amir, Barry Chamish, Yitzhak Rabin Assassination Conspiracy Theories, Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, Carmi Gillon, Larisa Trembovler, Rabin Square, Kempler Video, Dror Adani, Avishai Raviv, Hagai Amir. Excerpt:Site of the rally before the assassination: Rabin Square and Tel Aviv City Hall during the day. The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin took place on November 4, 1995 (12th of Cheshvan , 5756 on the Hebrew Calendar) at 21:30, at the end of a rally in support of the Oslo Accords at the Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv . The assassin, Yigal Amir , a right-wing religious Zionist strenuously opposed Rabin's peace initiative and particularly the signing of the Oslo Accords. Prelude The assassination of Israeli Prime Minister and defense minister Yitzhak Rabin was the culmination of Israeli right-wing dissent over the Oslo Peace Process. Rabin, despite his extensive service in the Israeli military, was disparaged personally by ultra-orthodox conservatives and Likud leaders who perceived the Oslo peace process as an attempt to forfeit the occupied territories. Contrary to Likud s accusations, Rabin was focused on the consolidation of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. He planned to give the Palestinian Liberation Organization control of 90 % of the West Bank s Arab population, while retaining 70 % of the land in the occupied territories. In a speech to the Knesset, Rabin promised that Israel would continue to have "total freedom of action in order to fulfill the security aims that touch upon the permanent solution." Nonetheless, hostility continued to mount against Rabin. Ultra-orthodox conservatives and Likud party leaders believed that withdrawing from any Jewish land was heresy. Rallies, organized partially by Likud, became increasingly extre... ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Natalie Portman, Yitzhak Rabin, Rehavam Ze'evi, Adin Steinsaltz, William of Tyre, Amos Kollek, Mohammad Amin Al-Husayni, Edward Said, Shahar Pe'er, Josef Tal, Sirhan Sirhan, Amos Oz, Elisha Ben Abuyah, Isaac Luria, Nathan of Gaza, Khalil Al-Sakakini, Wasif Jawhariyyeh, Mujir Al-Din Al-'ulaymi, Ada Yonath, Sholom Schwadron, Oded Schramm, Eli Ohana, Ben Zion Abba Shaul, Middlebush Giant, Eliezer Waldenberg, Uri Davis, Michael Sfard, Ron Ben-Yishai, Walid Khalidi, Chaim Joseph David Azulai, Ghada Karmi, Moshe Levinger, Else Lasker-Schüler, Yitzhak Yedid, Mustafa Barghouti, Yehuda Stolov, Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, Avraham Burg, Nissim Ze'ev, Zion Levy, Amira Hass, Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, Avishai Cohen, Yigael Yadin, Mordechai Weingarten, Ron Prosor, Mordechai Eliyahu, Dorrit Moussaieff, Elisha Levy, Menachem Shlomo Bornsztain, Omer Arbel, Ya'akov Katz, Mordechai Gur, Brian George, Yair Samet, Jamal Dajani, Nachshon Wachsman, Amram Blau, Tzvia Greenfeld, Sallai Meridor, Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Dan Meridor, Tzachi Hanegbi, Harel Moyal, Sami Hadawi, Izhar Ashdot, Adi Bitar, Abd Al-Qadir Al-Husayni, Idan Tal, Jacob Sheskin, Matan Vilnai, Bracha Eden and Alexander Tamir, Menachem Porush, Avner Strauss, Eli Schwartz, Binyamin Elon, Chaim Hezekiah Medini, Moses Hagiz, Mordechai Maklef, Itamar Rabinovich, Nehemiah Persoff, Yitzhak Navon, Yasmin Levy, Meir Feinstein, Gideon Ezra, Afif Safieh, Jacob Meir, Avraham Shapira, Haim Corfu, Uzzi Ornan, Uri Malmilian, Hind Al-Husseini, Benjamin Shwadran, Paul Guiragossian, Benny Begin, Zahara Schatz, Yossi Mizrahi, Samir Ghawshah, Yair Tzaban, Nasib Al-Bitar, Ze'ev Boim, Eli Elezra, Aviram Baruchyan, Joseph Navon, Shmuel Tamir, Dalia Itzik, Yehoram Gaon, Mubarak Awad, Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel, Eitan Ben Eliyahu, Reuven Rivlin, Ze'ev Bielski, Angelus of Jerusalem, Shaike Ophir, Abraham Yahuda, Hanna Siniora, Naomi Chazan, Guy Oseary, Isaac Berger, Michael Halika, Iddo Netanyahu, Mordechai Ha...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=204121 ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Yitzhak Rabin, Indira Gandhi, Olof Palme, Engelbert Dollfuss, Rajiv Gandhi, Thomas Sankara, Pyotr Stolypin, Luis Carrero-Blanco, 1st Duke of Carrero-Blanco, Spencer Perceval, Venustiano Carranza, Hendrik Verwoerd, Zoran Đinđić, Samuel Doe, Gabriel García Moreno, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Hara Takashi, Rashid Karami, Anastasio Somoza García, Ulises Heureaux, Wu Yuanheng, Murtala Mohammed, Aleksandar Stamboliyski, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Haj Ali Razmara, Antonio Cánovas Del Castillo, Ranasinghe Premadasa, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, François Tombalbaye, Hassan-Ali Mansur, Vazgen Sargsyan, Sidónio Pais, Abebe Aregai, Barbu Catargiu, Inukai Tsuyoshi, Carlos Castillo Armas, Ali Soilih, José Santos Guardiola, Beant Singh, Mohammad-Javad Bahonar, Sylvanus Olympio, Renaudip Singh Bahadur, Carlos Delgado Chalbaud, José Antonio Remón Cantera, José Canalejas, Manuel Enrique Araujo, Louis Rwagasore, Wasfi Al-Tal, Francisco Mendes, Haruo Remeliik, Ahmad Mahir Pasha, Bernardo Berro, José María Reina Barrios, Boutros Ghali, Jigme Palden Dorji, Pedro Blanco Soto, Mahmoud An-Nukrashi Pasha, Dimitar Petkov. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 293. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Hindi: Indir Priyadarin Gndh; née: Nehru; 19 November 1917 31 October 1984) was the prime minister of the Republic of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term from 1980 until her assassination in 1984, a total of fifteen years. She was India's first, and to date only, female prime minister. She was the world's longest serving woman Prime Minister. Indira Gandhi was born into the politically influential Nehru Family. It's a common myth to relate the name Gandhi with Mahatma Gandhi, but her surname is from her marriage to Feroze Gandhi. Her grandfather, Motilal Ne...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=15179 ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Yitzhak Rabin, Rehavam Ze'evi, Rudolf Kastner, Eden Natan-Zada, Yaakov Alperon, David Applebaum, Emil Grunzweig, Menahem Stern, Aharon Katzir, George Khoury, Haim Smadar, Rachel Levy. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 74. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Rudolf Israel Kastner (1906March 15, 1957) was a Jewish-Hungarian journalist and lawyer who became known for helping Jews escape Nazi-occupied Hungary during the Holocaust. He was assassinated in 1957 after an Israeli court accused him of having collaborated with the Nazis. Kastner was one of the leaders of the Va'adat Ezrah Vehatzalah the Aid and Rescue Committee, or Vaada a small Jewish group in Budapest who helped Jewish refugees escape from Nazi Europe into Hungary during World War II, then helped them escape from Hungary after the Nazis invaded that country too on March 19, 1944. Between May and July 1944, Hungary's Jews were being deported to the gas chambers at Auschwitz at the rate of 12,000 people a dayfor "resettlement," as the Nazis said. Kastner negotiated with Adolf Eichmann, a senior SS officer, to allow 1,685 of them to leave instead for Switzerland on what became known as the Kastner train, in exchange for money, gold, and diamonds. Kastner moved to Israel after the war, becoming a spokesman for the Ministry of Trade and Industry in 1952. In 1953, he was accused in unusually strong language of having been a Nazi collaborator, in a pamphlet self-published by Malchiel Gruenwald, an amateur writer and stamp collector. The allegation stemmed in part from Kastner's relationship with Eichmann, and in part from his having given positive character references after the war to three other SS officers, including Kurt Becher, allowing Becher to escape prosecution for war crimes. The Israeli government sued Gruenwald f...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=2657307 ... Read more