---
born: 1922-03-01
category: Nuclear Scientists & Programs
died: 1995-11-04
location: Jerusalem
summary: As army chief of operations, Yitzhak Rabin was among the old-fashioned military
  men, including Yigal Allon and Ariel Sharon, who believed that Israel's essential
  advantage over the Arabs was the quality and training of its military personnel.
tags:
- Person
- Nuclear
- Israel
---

[Yitzhak Rabin](/people/yitzhak-rabin/) was an [Israeli](/places/israel/) politician and military leader who served as Prime Minister of [Israel](/places/israel/) and Defense Minister. He was a rival of [Shimon Peres](/people/shimon-peres/) within the [Labor Party](/organizations/labor-party/).[^1]

As army chief of operations, [Yitzhak Rabin](/people/yitzhak-rabin/) was among the old-fashioned military men, including [Yigal Allon](/people/yigal-allon/) and [Ariel Sharon](/people/ariel-sharon/), who believed that [Israel](/places/israel/)'s essential advantage over the Arabs was the quality and training of its military personnel. To these men, nuclear weapons were nothing more than a great equalizer, and they argued that an [Egypt](/places/egypt/) equipped with the bomb would be far more dangerous to [Israel](/places/israel/) than an [Egypt](/places/egypt/) limited to conventional arms.[^2]

As Defense Minister, [Rabin](/people/yitzhak-rabin/) did not try to impede the [Joint Committee's](/organizations/iran-israel-joint-committee/) arms operations, as he had no interest in helping [Peres](/people/shimon-peres/). However, he unceremoniously and disrespectfully threw [Oliver North](/people/oliver-north/) out of his office when the [Contras](/organizations/contras/) were mentioned, thwarting [North's](/people/oliver-north/) attempts to set up his second channel.[^1]

[Rabin](/people/yitzhak-rabin/) replaced [Shimon Peres](/people/shimon-peres/) as leader of the [Labor Party](/organizations/labor-party/) and became Prime Minister of [Israel](/places/israel/) in 1992 after the national elections, replacing [Yitzhak Shamir](/people/yitzhak-shamir/).[^1]

[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.
[^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 9.