Yitzhak Rabin's Sister, a Kibbutz Founder and Educator, Dies at 101
Rachel Rabin-Yaakov, the younger sister of the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and a founding member of Kibbutz Menara, passed away on Friday at the age of 101. Born in Tel Aviv in 1925, Rabin-Yaakov chose a pioneering path from a young age, joining the "Working Youth" group and helping establish Kibbutz Menara in the Upper Galilee in 1943 at just 18 years old. She remained a resident of the kibbutz for over eight decades, serving in various roles including educator, secretary, and board member.
During the 1948 War of Independence, Rabin-Yaakov stayed at Menara, which was under constant fire from the invading Arab Liberation Army. After a brief, intensive training, she served as a radio operator and medic, defending the kibbutz and treating the wounded. She recounted treating soldiers injured in an operation and later recognizing one of them by a scar near his eye months later in Tel Aviv.
Beyond her contributions to the kibbutz, Rabin-Yaakov dedicated a significant part of her life to education. She taught the first class at Menara, co-founded the "Har Ve'Gei" regional school, and held leadership positions in educational organizations, including the Ministry of Education and the "Oren" and "Seminar HaKibbutzim" academic colleges. In 2017, she was recommended for the Israel Prize for her work.
Politically active, she was a member of the Mapai party's central committee in the 1950s and 1960s and was placed on party lists for Knesset elections. She married Rafi Yaakov during the first truce of the War of Independence, and they had three children. Their adopted son, Binyamin Jedidi, was killed in the Yom Kippur War.
President Isaac Herzog eulogized Rabin-Yaakov as a "model of educational and public endeavor," acknowledging her wartime service and her grief over her brother's assassination, noting her choice to "continue to adhere to public service." A biography about her life, written by her granddaughter, was published in September 2026.