Rachel Rabin Yaakov, Sister of Yitzhak Rabin and Kibbutz Founder, Dies at 101

Rachel Rabin Yaakov, the younger sister of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and a founding member of Kibbutz Menara, passed away on Friday at the age of 101. A veteran educator and prominent figure in the Kibbutz Movement and the Upper Galilee region, Rabin Yaakov was born in Tel Aviv in 1925. She was among the founders of Kibbutz Menara in 1943, where she later served in various public roles, including kibbutz secretary and a member of its management.

Throughout her life, Rabin Yaakov dedicated herself to education. She taught at the local elementary school and was instrumental in establishing the "Har Ve'Gei" regional school in Kibbutz Dafna. From 1981 to 1986, she was the supervisor for the Department of Settlement Education at the Ministry of Education. After her tenure, she returned to Menara and once again served as kibbutz secretary. She also chaired the Association of Academic Colleges for Education of the Kibbutz Movements, "Oranim" and "Seminarium HaKibbutzim," from 1994. Her extensive work in education earned her numerous awards, and in 2017, the Kibbutz Movement nominated her for the Israel Prize.

During the initial phase of the "Swords of Iron" war, Rabin Yaakov, along with other residents, was evacuated from Kibbutz Menara due to daily Hezbollah shelling. Due to her medical condition, she has not returned to her home in the kibbutz, where she had been a member for over eight decades. She will be laid to rest on Monday in the Menara cemetery.

President Isaac Herzog eulogized Rabin Yaakov, calling her life a "model of educational and public endeavor." He acknowledged her role in establishing Menara and its defense during the War of Independence, noting her decades as a "leading figure in Menara and the Kibbutz Movement." Herzog also recalled her grief over her brother Yitzhak Rabin's assassination, emphasizing her choice to continue her public service despite her personal loss. He extended condolences to her family and the members of Kibbutz Menara.