Yitzhak Rabin

Image from Ameinu

On November 4, 1995, Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. 

    Yitzhak Rabin served two terms as the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, first from 1974 to 1977, then again beginning in 1992. He was active in the Israeli military early on in his life, having risen to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the War of Independence, then later became the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces during the 1967 Six-Day War. As prime minister, Rabin implemented many positive reforms, such as an updated education system and modernized healthcare. He earned much international accolade for his role in the Oslo Peace Accords, for which he - along with Yasser Arafat of Palestine and Shimon Peres of Israel - received a Nobel Peace Prize. 

    Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir, an Orthodox Jew and staunch Zionist. He viewed Rabin's plans in the Oslo Peace Accords to return occupied land to Palestine as a betrayal to Zionism, and plotted to put an end to this by killing Rabin. As the prime minister exited a peace rally on November 4, 1995, Amir fired two shots, one of which destroyed Rabin's lung. The internal damage suffered was severe, and Rabin soon died. 

    Amir is currently serving a life sentence for assassinating the prime minister. Because of Rabin's death, many parts of the Oslo Peace Accords were effectively abandoned and it never went into full effect. Speculation exists that had Rabin not been assassinated, the Middle East would be at peace - at least in regards to the Israel/Palestine conflict. Instead, violent conflict between Israel and Palestine actively persists to this day.