Philip Rubenstein
Israel’s Prime Ministers, Part 8: The Great Peace Gamble

The 1990s opened with unprecedented optimism. Secret negotiations, historic handshakes, and bold diplomatic initiatives appeared to offer a path towards a lasting peace. From the breakthrough of Oslo to the final negotiations at Camp David, Israel’s leaders pursued their most ambitious effort yet to end decades of conflict. This lecture looks at the evolving partnership between Rabin and Peres—leaders who eventually learned to work together more effectively, even as their personal rivalry endured—and charts their attempts, followed by those of Ehud Barak, to reach agreements with both the Palestinians and Syria. We also consider a fundamental question at the heart of the peace process: whether each side possessed both the willingness and the authority to make peace, carry their own people with them, and turn agreements into lasting realities.