Talk:Yitzhak Rabin

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Can not verify and NPOV

I’ve just removed some content from the Nobel Prize section (7 May 2024), because the content is not supported by the source.

From the page’s history, it seems that the content was originally added without any source. Later someone tagged it with the “citation needed” tag. Then, on 6 December 2016, a user who’s now banned indefinitely, added a source, with a quote and a page number (p.181), which seemed to have no relationship with the content:

All content added by that user may need checking. --Dustfreeworld (talk) 20:29, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

Source ahs been put back again, with an unrelated partisan quote that has no purpose in the section or article; I can't remove because of 30/500 DommageCritique (talk) 16:12, 22 January 2025 (UTC)

Add Awards section, Nobel Peace Prize 1994

An Awards section should be added in the biographic table, to indicate the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize received jointly with Peres (whose page indeed contains this section in the biographic table) and Arafat. 82.0.79.104 (talk) 12:01, 27 July 2025 (UTC)

Dog's Breakfast

Why is the assassination buried? Why is the name of the assassin not found in the lede? It's almost like someone doesn't want to talk about the perpetrator being a Jewish-Israeli... ~2025-41408-02 (talk) 12:21, 17 December 2025 (UTC)

Why don't you make changes instead of complaining? Wikipedia:Be bold: "Find a problem? Wikipedia wants you to fix it. No need to ask for permission or for others to do it." Dimadick (talk) 19:07, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 9 January 2026

Please remove the line “He was the first prime minister to have been born in Palestine” from the introduction. This is a recent and unnecessary addition. If this detail is kept, it should at least be changed to “Mandatory Palestine”, which matches the linked article and avoids politicization. Roahgo (talk) 22:18, 9 January 2026 (UTC)

 Done Changed "Palestine" to "Mandatory Palestine" to match the linked article. Day Creature (talk) 23:35, 9 January 2026 (UTC)
I've reverted this, as I believe the point being made is not the state (Mandatory Palestine), but the geographic location (Palestine). Feeglgeef (talk) 03:56, 10 January 2026 (UTC)
@Jondr21 and Nivamp: please discuss per the BOLD, revert, discuss cycle. Feeglgeef (talk) 16:39, 10 January 2026 (UTC)

Edit request 9 January 2026

Description of suggested change: The specific inclusion of saying he was born in "Palestine" seems particularly biased. David Ben-Gurion's Wikipedia page refers to Mandatory Palestine as Mandatory Palestine. It was most probably meant in good spirit, but saying Rabin was born in Palestine can conflate the sovereign entity of Mandatory Palestine with the Palestinian state today. Let readers decide for themselves whether Israeli sovereignty is legitimate. Wikipedia:Neutral point of view.

Diff:

−
He was the first prime minister to have been born in [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]].
+
He was the first prime minister to have been born in the [[Levant]], specifically [[Mandatory Palestine]].

Mussyyyy (talk) 22:20, 9 January 2026 (UTC)

Partly done: See my response to the edit request above. Day Creature (talk) 23:36, 9 January 2026 (UTC)

Discussion re Birthplace

I agree with the proposed wording by Mussyyyy regarding mandatory Palestine or the Levant. Wikipedia is supposed to as neutral as possible, not a leftist mouthpiece. Jondr21 (talk) 18:43, 10 January 2026 (UTC)

I disagree, because Palestine is more neutral, as it's the name of a valid region. We already have an article titled Palestine (region), so it doesn't matter if we use it. Additionally, Syria, Jordan,and Lebanon are part of the Levant, so it is too broad on its own. Feeglgeef (talk) 19:12, 10 January 2026 (UTC)

Edit request 10 January 2026

Description of suggested change: Change a mention of the "Levant" which is too broad for the point being made, that he was the first to be born in the area that is now Israel and Palestine.

Diff:

−
born in the [[Levant]], specifically in [[Mandatory Palestine]].
+
born in [[Palestine|Palestine (region)]].
−
born in the [[Levant]], specifically in [[Mandatory Palestine]].
+
born in [[Palestine|Palestine (region)]], specifically in [[Mandatory Palestine]].
−
born in the [[Levant]], specifically in [[Mandatory Palestine]].
+
born in the area now comprising Israel and Palestine.
−
born in the [[Levant]], specifically in [[Mandatory Palestine]].
+
born in the area now comprising Israel and Palestine, specifically in [[Mandatory Palestine]].

(any of these are fine) ~2026-20918-5 (talk) 21:18, 10 January 2026 (UTC)

 Not done Per WP:EDITXY, rejecting as unspecific (four choices offered; I presume this change is to be made in the lede, but it's unspecified). Also rejecting as it's likely to be controversial (choices 3 and 4 give extra focus to I/P, and I'm going to be cautious here). I'm rejecting choices 1 and 2 out of hand because leaving (region) in the text doesn't make for good writing. Perhaps "the region of Palestine" might be better for your purposes, but I digress. Please obtain consensus for your proposed changes before making such a request. Iseult Δx talk to me 04:46, 11 January 2026 (UTC)
He was born in Palestine, at the time under British mandate. It is not a subjective geographical term, it is the official, most commonly used name for the region at the time. "Mandatory Palestine" is a technical specification rarely attested outside of Wikipedia. Shoshin000 (talk) 11:33, 11 January 2026 (UTC)

Discussion

  • I object to this reversion. There is no place for "Levant" in the lead. Its not relevant at all. What is notable about Rabin was be was the first Israeli PM that was born on Palestine. Think Shoshin000's edit is actually fine, though maybe just keeping the second mention as Mandatory Palestine is okay too. I would like to reinstate it. Objections? Tiamut (talk) 14:59, 12 January 2026 (UTC)
    Palestine without the Mandatory adjective. The nationality of government clerks at the time of his birth (Turkish? British?) is not very much relevant. Benjamin Netanyahu was also born in the geographical region of Palestine, be it administered by the State of Israel. Shoshin000 (talk) 15:03, 12 January 2026 (UTC)
    Perhaps there should be an RFC about this? I think Levant is obviously irrelevant and unhelpful, due to being too large a geographic area. Feeglgeef (talk) 17:18, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

Ongoing edit warring

Any further edit warring on this article will result in the article being fully protected. Either come to a consensus to make suggested changes or leave the article alone. --Hammersoft (talk) 21:45, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

RFC: Location of birth

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.
D and E were equally popular.
It was pointed out that the British mandate didn't formally take effect until 1923. Looking at Mandatory Palestine, there is a gap between that event and the end of the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration, which we list as the previous government. The mandate was assigned to Britain in 1920, and Mandatory Palestine says it started then. That is also the current common name for the entity that was at the time known officially as Palestine.
I'm going to break the tie between D and E by saying E seems a bit clearer by saying "region" explicitly. I'm going to modify the wording for NPOV purposes to say there's a rough consensus for "the region of [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], at the time under [[Mandatory Palestine|British control]]",. Though "Mandatory Palestine" seems to be the current common name for this entity which was at the time known as Palestine, I avoid using it here because it's not necessary and there's a bit of a factual dispute. Given this is a new phrasing, it's OK if there is further discussion about whether to keep that or flip it to literally what option E said or something else that captures the nuance. -- Beland (talk) 21:15, 2 April 2026 (UTC)

There's been a bit of discussion on this topic, but I think it's important that we come to a consensus. The question is: What should be included after "He was the first Israeli prime minister to have been born in?" Here are some options:

  • A: "[[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]].", stable
  • B: "[[Mandatory Palestine]].", by @Day Creature after edit request by @Roahgo
  • C: "the [[Levant]], specifically [[Mandatory Palestine]].", by User:Jondr21 (now blocked) after edit request by @Mussyyyy
  • D: "[[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]." Proposed by temp account
  • E: "the region of [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], specifically in [[Mandatory Palestine]]", by me
  • Remove the text completely

Feeglgeef (talk) 22:18, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

Discussion (RFC: Location of birth)

I support E, as a reasonable solution that doesn't mislead the user (like the original text does), but is not too broad (like "Levant") Feeglgeef (talk) 22:20, 12 January 2026 (UTC)
Courtesy pings: Shoshin000, Tiamut, Jon698 Feeglgeef (talk) 22:27, 12 January 2026 (UTC)
E is fine. Jon698 (talk) 22:30, 12 January 2026 (UTC)
Either D or E would be fine. Palestine is the common name for the geographical region in question. Day Creature (talk) 22:35, 12 January 2026 (UTC)
D or E are fine by me, for the same reasons expressed above. Tiamut (talk) 05:42, 13 January 2026 (UTC)
My choice is either D OR "the region of [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]". OR "[[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], at the time under [[Mandatory Palestine|British mandate]]", for those who don't know off the bat what "Mandatory" means.
"Mandatory" is a superfluous adjective rarely found outside of Wikipedia, see the discussion at Talk:Mandatory Palestine. The official name was Palestine, or more fully the British Mandate for Palestine. It was not a colony, it was officially called Palestine, with its own citizenship, only under British administration in accordance with a mandate by the League of Nations.
And the Levant is completely irrelevant. At that point, why not just also say "first born in Asia". Whether he was born in Aleppo, Shanghai or Harbin, is not relevant, particularly since he was still Ashkenazi like the other ones. What matters for Rabin is that he was born and raised on the land whose government he headed, which certainly made him stand out in worldview. He did not know Europe, for him this was his only land. Shoshin000 (talk) 11:02, 13 January 2026 (UTC)
The claim that "Mandatory Palestine" is rarely found outside Wikipedia is simply false, as a minute in Google will show. Also, "British Mandate for Palestine" was not the name of the place but the name of the legal agreement that established Britain's role. The official name of the place was never anything other than "Palestine". Leaving that aside, the first question to answer here is: what is the sentence trying to say? I think the main point is that Rabin was the first PM to be born locally, where the state corresponding to "locally" depends on the time frame. Thus, I would phrase it as "the first prime minister to have been born in Palestine or Israel", followed (if it isn't already stated) by saying that he was born in Mandatory Palestine. Zerotalk 11:58, 13 January 2026 (UTC)
B. I don't think any of the other options provide additional useful information. I could also see "first PM born within the borders of modern Israel" or something, which is I think what the sentence trying to convey. GordonGlottal (talk) 13:39, 13 January 2026 (UTC)
D or Palestine during the British mandate.(Summoned by bot) I agree that 'Levant' is vague and not very familiar or relevant. As Shoshin000 says, what is distinctive is that he was born within the same geographical area that he later headed. I am also mindful of the fact that a regime or political period is not a place and that it can lead to anachronism or ambiguity to treat it as such. A teacher I know, who is Greek but who taught history in England for a while, was once earnestly asked by a student "Please Miss, were you born in Ancient Greece ?" Pincrete (talk) 12:22, 13 January 2026 (UTC)
D or E make the most sense. Palestine is generally used to refer to the region. ~2026-32772-7 (talk) 00:16, 16 January 2026 (UTC)
E. After thinking about it more, I think my suggestion for "Levant' was too vague, and I think that E is the best choice to make up for it. I think it's also important to have E as people would argue figures such as Benjamin Netanyahu were not born in Palestine for political reasons. By specifically referencing the region of Palestine rather than the political entity, it shows Rabin was the first born in the region, which many other Israeli leaders were born in, rather than just making it seem like he was the first born in the political entity of Mandatory Palestine. I think User:GordonGlottal's suggestion of Rabin being the first born within the modern borders of Israel also could work, although that would also bring some controversy with what is counted as within the modern borders. Mussyyyy (talk) 16:56, 16 January 2026 (UTC)
  • B (Summoned by bot) Rabin was born in Jerusalem in 1922. At that time Jerusalem was in Mandatory Palestine, so that's what we ought to state. TarnishedPathtalk 23:58, 21 January 2026 (UTC)
  • Why not "He was the first Israeli prime minister to have been born in Jerusalem"? Elsewhere the article describes him as "the first native-born prime minister of Israel", which I also think neatly sidesteps this problem. We could also expand it to say something like "He was the first Israeli prime minister to have been born in Jerusalem, as his parents had immigrated there from Eastern Europe a few years before his birth". WhatamIdoing (talk) 22:19, 25 January 2026 (UTC)
    That would be fine if the idea was just to say where he was born. However, if the idea is to compare him to earlier PMs, restricting the location to a smaller place makes the point weaker. That he was the first locally-born PM is a stronger fact than just that he was the first from a particular city. Zerotalk 13:04, 26 January 2026 (UTC)
  • He was born on 1 March 1922. The Mandate for Palestine was approved by the League of Nations on 24 July 1922 and came into legal force on 29 September 1923. Moreover, the Ottomans did not abandon sovereignty until they ratified the Treaty of Lausanne on 23 August 1923. So strictly speaking Rabin was not born in Mandatory Palestine at all, but in British-occupied Ottoman Palestine. Against this argument is that "Mandatory Palestine" was never an official name for the place (or even an informal name during the mandate period as far as I can determine) so one is perhaps allowed to bend the time period in which the term is retrospectively applied. Zerotalk 02:14, 27 January 2026 (UTC)
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 28 February 2026

He was the first prime minister to be born in Israel. ~2026-12895-22 (talk) 17:07, 28 February 2026 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want made. Please detail the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate.ScrubbedFalcon (talk) 18:06, 28 February 2026 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 21 March 2026

Separate wiki page on Israeli PM Yigal Alon says also born in British Mandatory Palestine. Thus statement at end of intro that Rabin was first Israeli PM born in Palestine is inaccurate - please check and correct. ~2026-17769-42 (talk) 20:39, 21 March 2026 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want made. See also WP:WINARS. ScrubbedFalcon (talk) 00:28, 22 March 2026 (UTC)
Alon was "interim prime minister" for about 17 days, so whether he counts could be argued. The fact that he was born in Palestine and served earlier than Rabin is true, though. Zerotalk 07:18, 3 April 2026 (UTC)

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