Rachel Rabin-Yaakov, Sister of Yitzhak Rabin and Pioneer Educator, Dies at 101

Rachel Rabin-Yaakov, a prominent educator, a pioneer of the 1948 War generation, and the younger sister of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, passed away at the age of 101. Rabin-Yaakov was a key figure in Israeli settlement education and a founder of Kibbutz Menara in the Naftali Mountains.

Born in Tel Aviv to Rosa and Nehemia Rabin, she joined the "Working Youth" group after training at Tel Hai and Kfar Giladi, and helped establish Kibbutz Menara in 1943. During the War of Independence, she chose to remain at the isolated kibbutz to defend it and care for the wounded amidst heavy attacks.

Rabin-Yaakov dedicated her life to education and public leadership. She served as Menara's first teacher, co-founded the "Har Ve'ge" regional school in Dafna, and supervised the settlement education department at the Ministry of Education. Later, she headed the "Oranim" and "Seminart HaKibbutzim" academic colleges of education and served multiple terms as the kibbutz secretary.

She was married to the late Rafi Yaakov, with whom she raised their children Tirzah, Yiftach, and Gad, and their adopted son Binyamin (Biniya) Jedidi, who fell in the Yom Kippur War. Rabin-Yaakov received numerous education awards for her extensive contributions and was recognized as a "Yekirat Ha'Mishlavot" (beloved figure) of the northern academic colleges.