FOR ISRAELIS OF YITZHAK RABIN'S generation, perhaps the single most valued quality an individual can have is summed up by the word dugri. The concept is quintessentially Israeli even though the term itself, somewhat ironically, comes from Arabic. It refers to a manner of behavior that is simple, direct, honest. It conveys the idea of placing substance before style, of stripping away layers of subterfuge, of making no attempt at pretense or deception.
More than anything else, Yitzhak Rabin's life can be seen as an object lesson in dugri. When Rabin spoke, whether he was being cold or sentimental, he said...
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