Yitzhak Rabin's Sister Recalls "Wild Incitement" Before Assassination

Rachel Rabin-Yaakov, the sister of assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, has passed away. In a 2015 interview with Maariv, she reflected on the atmosphere leading up to her brother's murder, stating, "I felt Yitzhak's blood was spilled with impunity." She recalled feeling immense fear in Jerusalem in the days before the assassination, noting that people were afraid to walk the streets or board buses. Rabin-Yaakov recounted hearing Rabin being called a "traitor and murderer" and chants of "With blood and fire we will expel Rabin!" She believed security forces failed to protect him adequately, not reacting as trained to neutralize the shooter immediately.

Despite the perceived incitement, Rabin-Yaakov stated that Yitzhak Rabin himself was not afraid, believing he would not be harmed in Israel. She mentioned that she did not attend the peace rally on the night of the assassination, recalling a conversation with her brother where he seemed concerned about rally attendance.

She remained committed to her brother's path, emphasizing the need for dialogue and finding solutions rather than resorting to force. Rabin-Yaakov asserted that the lesson from Rabin's murder had not been learned, citing "wild incitement" that was not addressed as a contributing factor. She described Yitzhak as a very introverted and shy child, sharing that he wrote to her with a subtle humor she found unknown to many.

In her later years, Rabin-Yaakov was involved in education and served as chairwoman of the administrative committee for two colleges of the Kibbutz Movement. She viewed her work as a mission to share firsthand accounts of pre-state Israel. Reflecting on the night of the assassination, she described calling her brother's numbers without an answer and driving to his Tel Aviv home, only to hear on the radio that he had died. She concluded by stating that matters concerning Rabin's assassin were not just a concern for the Rabin family but for Israeli society as a whole.