国际英语新闻：Israel mulls Rabin's legacy as peace prospects blur

Dismayed by a wave of violence, the so-called intifada, some 60 percent of Israelis polled to embrace the Oslo Accords when they were first revealed after secret negotiations.

The international community, too, was awash with enthusiasm. Jets of royals and heads of state crowded the tarmac at Ben-Gurion International Airport. Rabin was invited to places where no Israeli premier had set foot before, for example, Indonesia and Japan. A peace treaty with Jordan was signed in October 1994.

But the euphoria came to a short, brutal end. Alongside the official cocktail parties, handshakes and smiles, Palestinian suicide bombers were exploding at public venues throughout Israel.

The optimistic polls plunged as a growing number of Israelis rallied behind right-wing ideology, and in support of West Bank settlements. Surveys taken in 1994 indicated 50 percent of Israelis opposed continuing along the Oslo path.

Rabin's biggest error, said commentator Asa-El, was at the emotional level, "Rabin was crude in character and did not understand that an Israeli premier's task is also to be agreeable to those with whom he disagrees."

"No one expected him to adopt a policy that he did not believe in and succumb to his objectors, but he should have shown them empathy," he told Xinhua, adding that he voted for Rabin, supporting him in his weekly Jerusalem Post columns.

"Thousands of Israelis hate Rabin and his memory to this day," he said, a social phenomena he terms "horrible" and must be thwarted.

Rabin is another person in Haber's eyes. "He had no understanding of dreams or grandiose visions," said Haber, " contrary to other Israeli leaders who spoke about a new Middle East or a Greater Israel, he dealt with day-to-day issues."

Haber was by Rabin's side when the gunshots were fired. Haber was the one to officially announce Rabin's death to a horrified nation a short time later.

An eloquent man who chose his words carefully, Haber maintained his composure when reminiscing about the former boss. But he missed him. A portrait of Rabin hangs in Haber's kitchen and photographs of Rabin meeting with world leaders dot the walls of Haber's home office that overlooks a manicured lawn.

"Israel's first prime minister (David) Ben-Gurion once said, 'I do not know what the people want. I know what is good for the people.' That is the saying that Yitzhak Rabin adopted, who followed him throughout his life," Haber attested.

He said one of his unofficial tasks as bureau chief was to appease those insulted by the boss, to "clean up after him." Those to be mollified included settler leaders, Labor faction members, even close friends. "It is hard to work with such a man," Haber admitted, "Israeli politics does not recognize such people."

"There isn't a morning in which I do not wake up, listen to the news and ask myself what Rabin would have said, decided and done, "Haber said, "I keep the answers to myself."