97 quotes by Yitzhak Rabin (1922-1995), Israeli (Military Officer)

Quotes About

Ze'ev Sternhell

Israel is the first democratic state—and from the end of the Second World War until now the only one—in which a political murder achieved its goal.

The murder to which he was referring was the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. He had been very active in trying to negotiate a peace treaty with the Palestinians. A minority of right wing, religious fundamentalists were opposed to any peace treaty that would give the Palestinians control over the land that the fundamentalists believed was given to the Jews by God. Israel’s political system was so fractionated with minority parties having so much influence that Rabin was the only leader on the horizon who was influential and powerful enough to transcend the party politics, Since his assassination the peace process has been stalled, and the murder paid off.

Jeffery Goldberg

The death of Yitzhak Rabin proves that assassins can change history.

Yitzhak Rabin was the extremely popular President of Israel. At the time of his assassination his party controlled the Knesset (Parliament) and he was moving to make a two state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli problem. An ultra Orthodox Jewish fanatic shot Rabin so what there would be no settlement that would give up Israeli control of Judea and Samaria—the Biblical lands that literal believers in the Bible know that God consecrated that land for the Jewish People. To make a settlement compromise was needed on both sides and Rabin was strong enough to persuade most of the Israelis to take that risk. His successors never had the trust and confidence of the Israeli people that Rabin had as he had led the Israeli armed forces to victory and had also proved that he was a brilliant politician on domestic affairs. The unity that Rabin was able to create among Israelis has never been duplicated by any Israeli politician since.

Popular Quotes

Yitzhak Rabin

You can always make peace with an F-16 in your pocket.

Yitzhak Rabin

In fighting terror, you cannot let it interfere with the normal life of civilians in Israel.

Yitzhak Rabin

We did not think that [Egyptian President] Nasser wanted war. The two divisions he sent to Sinai on May 14 would not have been sufficient to launch an offensive against Israel. He knew it and we knew it.

Yitzhak Rabin

We are destined to live together, on the same soil in the same land. We, the soldiers who have returned from battle stained with blood, we who have seen our relatives and friends killed before our eyes, we who have attended their funerals and cannot look into the eyes of their parents, we who have come from a land where parents bury their children, we who have fought against you, the Palestinians We say to you today in a loud and clear voice: Enough of blood and tears. Enough. We have no desire for revenge. We harbor no hatred towards you. We, like you, are people who want to build a home, to plant a tree, to love, live side by side with you in dignity, in empathy, as human beings, as free men. We are today giving peace a chance and again saying to you in a clear voice: Enough.

Yitzhak Rabin

[Israel will] create in the course of the next 10 or 20 years conditions which would attract natural and voluntary migration of the refugees from the Gaza Strip and the west Bank to Jordan. To achieve this we have to come to agreement with King Hussein and not with Yasser Arafat.

Yitzhak Rabin

I considered the prevention of war as the test of our security policy; in addition to being able to rapidly and forcefully end any war forced upon us.

Yitzhak Rabin

We, the soldiers who have returned from battle stained with blood, we who have seen our relatives and friends killed before our eyes, we who have attended their funerals and cannot look into the eyes of their parents, we who have come from a land where parents bury their children, we who have fought against you, the Palestinians We say to you today in a loud and clear voice: Enough of blood and tears. Enough.

Yitzhak Rabin

I admire King Hussein his courage in leading his country for a long time.

Yitzhak Rabin

I enter negotiations with Chairman Arafat, the leader of the PLO, the representative of the Palestinian people, with the purpose to have coexistence between our two entities, Israel as a Jewish state and Palestinian state, entity, next to us, living in peace.

Yitzhak Rabin

We do not celebrate the death of our enemies.

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About the Author

Yitzhak Rabin

Born: March 1, 1922
Died: November 4, 1995
Nationality: Israeli
Profession: Military Officer

Biography

Yitzhak Rabin was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until his assassination in 1995.

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YITZHAK RABIN