After his term as IDF chief of staff, as pressure from the Arab states and the Soviet Union for Israel to withdraw from territories captured in the Six Day War was mounting, Yitzhak Rabin arrived in Washington with a mission. As early as March 1967, before the war, he had identified the US capital as Israel’s primary diplomatic battleground and decided to take part in the struggle as ambassador to the United States. As ambassador, Rabin helped to navigate between different policy initiatives. Through the ties he forged with the White House, he helped to ensure the supply of US arms to Israel. Rabin’s stay in the US capital is a less familiar chapter in his distinguished public service, but it was especially important as a period when he acquired tools and experience for the next stage in his career — entering politics and, within a short time, becoming prime minister. Alongside his professional duties, he dealt with tensions with the Israeli leadership and with life far from home in Israel.
To mark 30 years since Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, the Israel State Archives presents this publication on Rabin’s role as Israel’s ambassador to the United States. It is based on 25 documents and many files, including Rabin’s personal letters, reports to the Foreign Ministry, confidential correspondence with the Prime Minister’s Office, and more.
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