My Story 31

We all live in the shadows of both great, and not so great men. Our collective and private lives are influenced by their decisions, actions, and inactions. I have already written about the disastrous effects of Shlomo Carlebach on my life, and on the lives of many others. Yet, there are even more who, to this day, regard him as a great spiritual leader. Those who cry out in their pain are branded as liars and lunatics. Another such person was, at this point in my story, about to bring about the deaths of thousands, and yet be regarded by millions as a great statesman. Although I was not harmed by him bodily, he killed my Zionism, and my dreams of living and raising my family in the Holy Land. Yitzchak Rabin (y.sh.), had, in his youth, been a leader in the Palmach, one of the paramilitary groups that fought for Israel's independence. After Statehood was declared, the Palmach put itself under the command of Prime Minister David Ben Gurion (y.sh.). Two Right Wing groups did not. Immediately after independence, the surrounding Arab countries launched an attack on the fledgling State. The two Right Wing groups fought separately, seeing the leftist coalition as little more than stand-ins for the British colonial government. (Only after his death, was it revealed that Teddy Kollek, left-wing politician and longtime mayor of Jerusalem, had been a paid agent of MI5).  Menachem Begin's Irgun was, however, conducting negotiations for the eventual uniting of the various militias. June 1948 saw Jerusalem under siege. Begin was bringing in a boat, named the Altalena, loaded with armaments and fighters, to take part in this battle. Ben Gurion feared that the arms would be used in a takeover of the Israeli government. A compromise was reached, in which the weapons would be divided between the Irgun and the IDF. Then, Ben Gurion had a change of heart. He ordered pilots to sink the ship while it was yet distant from shore. The pilots refused. He then ordered Rabin to destroy the ship as soon as it arrived in port. This was carried out. The ship was sunk a few kilometers off the coast of Israel. All the much-needed arms were lost. Sixteen Irgun fighters were killed, plus three IDF soldiers. Israelis still argue if the term "murder" should be used in this context. Ben Gurion, upon hearing of the sinking, said "Blessed is the cannon". When Rabin lost the 1977 election to Begin, he said "Too bad I didn't finish him off that day on the beach". Books that spoke of the incident were banned in Israel until Begin came to power. No remorse was expressed (until recently by President Rivlin, who called it an "unforgivable crime"), and remains a sore point between the Israeli Right and Left, and a stain on Rabin's name. Rabin rose through the ranks of the military. It is not generally known that it was he who drew up the brilliant battle plans for the Six Day War. He was the Chief of Staff. Mysteriously, he was replaced immediately before the fighting started by Moshe Dayan, the hero of the 1956 Sinai campaign. Only later was it revealed that, after informing the Cabinet of the battle plans, Rabin broke down, and started screaming "But nothing will work! We are all going to die!" He spent the next several days in a drunken stupor. Yosi Sarid (y.sh.), who had been at that meeting, is the one who revealed that information, which he said he regretted doing for the rest of his life. For the Israeli Right, Rabin would always be "the drunkard". As late as the 1992 elections, the Lkkud campaign ads would picture him with a liquor bottle and glass in the background. But Rabin's legacy is primarily to be judged by his actions in the 1987 uprising known as the Intifada, and its aftermath. Here he becomes, depending on your viewpoint, one of the greatest heroes, or one of the greatest villains, of Jewish history. My view is that he was a villain. I see myself as a victim of his actions. To be continued.