Rabin of Israel

Updating a 1977 book, this brisk political biography profiles Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin as a centrist with a rare combination of toughness and flexibility. Through interviews with the taciturn, introverted Rabin, son of Russian immigrants to Palestine, with his family and associates, Time 's Jerusalem correspondent Slater brings us closer to the former military hero, whose overriding concern as a political leader is Israel's national security. New chapters cover his political exile as a Knesset backbencher, his feud with Labor Party rival Shimon Peres and his military suppression of the Intifada, which convinced Rabin of the necessity for a political solution granting some autonomy to the Palestinian Arabs. Photos. (July)