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will have accomplished the exact opposite of his intention to halt the
peace process. Rabin's martyrdom, leading to his consecration as the leg–
endary lost leader, will have ensured the end of the dream of the integral
Land of Israel. Rabin in death is more potent a myth than he was in his
long and distinguished career as soldier and statesman. One recalls the fa–
mous saying of the French Catholic poet, Charles Peguy, made in
connection with the Dreyfus Affair, "Everything begins as mystique and
ends in politics." As Israel faces the most important crossroads of its his–
tory in the 1996 elections, Rabin's mystique - for good or bad - has
become a powerful political weapon.
Eleanor Clark
An Early Friend and Contributor
1914-1996
