1992 – Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel, Second Term
Israel is Waiting for Rabin
As a citizen, a rank-and-file member of Knesset, severed from the decision-making hub, Rabin followed the Gulf War which changed the balance of power in the Middle East. The reaction of the Israeli home front during the war sharpened his sense that the Israeli public was tired of wars and would be willing to pay the price of peace. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the core of anti-Israeli activity in the region, he saw a historic opportunity for progress towards peace. In the agreement reached between the superpowers at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, he saw the reinforcement of this trend. He believed that under the new circumstances, a window of opportunity was created for peace, and that it must be used to its fullest, quickly, before nuclear weapons reach the region and endanger the very existence of the state.
The Wave of Aliyah – immigration from the Soviet Union – and its intrinsic economic potential for the state reinforced his acknowledgement that Israel could now take risks. He knew brave leadership was needed for that purpose, and he believed it was within his power to fill the role. Following his victory over Shimon Peres in the Labor Party primaries, the party launched an intensive election campaign. Enjoying his status as a credible persona, “Mr. Defense” aiming for peace, widely embraced by public faith, Rabin led the election campaign under the slogan, “Israel is Waiting for Rabin.”
“We are amidst a period of danger that unconventional weapons will enter the Middle East… Therefore, looking at seven to ten years, we must advance a diplomatic process.”
Prime Minister Again
The turnover that returned the Labor Party to the government returned Rabin to the seat of the prime minister. He kept his promises and changed the national priorities: budgets for education, welfare, infrastructure, periphery towns, and Arab society grew significantly at the expense of the budget for settlements and defense. Guarantees from the United States for absorbing the olim [immigrants] from the former Soviet Union made it easier to carry out his plans and breathed life into the state economy. He earned affinity from the business sector by his support for a policy of market privatization.
Determined to integrate Israel quickly into the age of world reconciliation and lead a brave diplomatic step towards peace with the neighboring states and a solution to the Palestinian problem, he announced he would be willing to make territorial concessions. He immediately renewed peace talks with the Palestinians and with Syria that had begun after the Madrid Conference. He saw the Palestinian problem as the heart of the conflict, however, when it became clear that the talks in Washington with the representatives from the Occupied Territories had reached a dead end, he promoted the Syrian track, hoping that by their very existence, it would accelerate progress along the Palestinian channel as well.
His defense policy moved along two parallel tracks: while relieving sanctions over the lives of the population, he continued with a tough policy towards acts of terror and violators of the public order. It was an unusual step when he decided to deport 415 members of Hamas who were involved in terrorist attacks. Operation Accountability came in response to Katyushas fired in the north.
When he was updated on confidential peace talks in Oslo, he approved their continuation despite his doubts and made them the official channel of communication. He approved the PLO joining the talks as a party to the agreement only after a letter of commitment from Yasser Arafat affirming PLO recognition of the State of Israel and its departure from the ways of terrorism.
On September 13, 1993, in a festive event on the lawn of the White House, in the presence of the President of the United States, Bill Clinton, the Oslo Accords were signed. The agreement laid the foundations for a permanent arrangement which would include the establishment of a Palestinian national entity alongside Israel. The speeches by Rabin and Arafat and the historic handshake between them were the climax of the ceremony and became a symbol of hope in Israel and the world. Together with joy and uplifted spirits, the agreement also aroused fears of potential dangers and intensified the controversy between the supporters of this move and its objectors. The settlers led political and public protest of the agreement. The massacre of Muslims praying at the Cave of the Machpelah in Hebron by an extremist Israeli reflected the rising tension in Israeli society. Rabin considered dismantling the Judean and Samarian settlement, but in the end, left it in place.
Peace Agreement with Jordan
Upon the signing of the Gaza-Jericho agreement, and recognition of the Palestinians as a national entity, conditions for a peace agreement with Jordan ripened. Relations with the Jordanian Kingdom were built over long years of confidential contact between King Hussein and Israeli leaders, including Rabin. In May 1994, a decisive, confidential meeting was held between Rabin and Hussein, and the foundations for the peace agreement were laid. The generous aid that the United States promised to Jordan gave the final push towards this step. On October 26, 1994, the peace agreement was signed in the Arava and the borders between the two countries were finally set. This agreement was an important stage towards ties with other Arab and Muslim countries.
Repeated and recurrent suicide attacks by Palestinian objectors to the agreement that hurt innocent civilians in Israel’s big urban centers severely damaged the hope that a new age of prosperity had emerged for the entire region.
“Not only nations are making a pact of peace with one another today, not only our peoples are shaking hands for peace here in the Arava. You and I are making our peace here, peace of soldiers, peace of friends.”
The Second Oslo Agreement
Receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in December 1994, symbolized the admiration and respect from the nations of the world for the breakthrough on the road to peace, and it was an expression of encouragement and hope that they would progress on their path and complete this difficult step.
However, the mood among the Israeli public was different. Renewal of peace talks with Syria created a new camp of objectors that rejected any concessions in the Golan. The terrorist attacks continued and even intensified, and the split in Israel society widened, but Rabin was determined to continue.
In September 1995, an agreement was reached regarding a time schedule for implementation of the Oslo Accords and ways for implementing it. It was signed in Washington and popularly called “The Second Oslo Accords.” The opposition to the agreement organized to impede its execution. They arranged demonstrations and protests of the agreement and the mind behind it, Rabin. Incitement was heard from the demonstrators, interpreted by extremists as justification for letting blood.
“Peace, you make with enemies.”
