The famously-martyred Israeli prime minister was once a shy boy who hung around the soccer field and dreamed of becoming a water engineer, but life had a very different plan for Yitzhak Rabin. The first half of this compelling biography of one of Israel’s most important political figures shows how Rabin’s early military service evolved into his diplomatic fight for peace.

“Today we are embarking on a battle which has no dead and no wounded, no blood and no anguish,” Rabin said, addressing the United States Congress ahead of the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords, declaring “this is the only battle which is a pleasure to wage: the battle for peace.” Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Yitzhak Rabin lost his own life in what he thought was to be a bloodless engagement.

Densely-packed with information, Rabin offers interviews of fellow politicians and family members, along with historic film footage, to tell the history of modern Israel through the fallen prime minister’s personal biography. Part I covers his childhood in Israel, his military service that began at age sixteen, the roots of his rivalry with Shimon Peres, his ambassadorship for the Nixon administration, and his first term as Prime Minister — ending with the dramatic rescue of Israeli hostages and defeat of terrorists at the Entebbe airport in Uganda. Throughout his personal and political life, Rabin’s dedication to his homeland and the Jewish people was consistent. But while his early life was spent conquering territory and establishing Israel as a strong and independent nation with military force, he spent the last years of his life negotiating for peace and asking the settlers to abandon their homes.

The documentary explains how Rabin’s early life experiences affected his later political decisions. During the Israeli War of Independence, other nations refused to sell Israel weaponry. This drastic shortage of supplies led to massive Israeli casualties. Having fought in the war and watched his friends die because of their inability to protect themselves, Rabin made it a priority to strengthen the Israeli Defense Forces once he entered politics.

Cutting through the dense history of politics and bloodshed, the film offers anecdotal stories that flesh out the characters of Rabin and his political contemporaries. Family interviews reveal Rabin’s private side, so well-hidden from the public eye – with a focus on his relationship with his wife, Leah, whome he married at a young age. Leah was confident, beautiful, and proud of herself for having had “the sense to see potential in such a shy man.” When Rabin became an ambassador to the United States, Leah organized their social calendar, playing an important, if indirect, part in his early political career.

The complicated political relationship between Rabin and Shimon Peres is also explored. Both Leftists, they had a long history of bitter rivalry. Peres explains that their “political animosity had a personal aspect,” because they came from “two different political factions.” But the two were also very different in temperament. Once again, an inside look at Rabin’s daily life provides an example: When the two met on a trip to Africa, they immediately frustrated one another because Peres was in a hurry to get to the meetings, while Rabin, a photography buff, wanted to stop and take pictures of everything.

This seeming paradox reveals a deep insight into a man who pursued all he did with greatest passion.

Despite Rabin’s focus on strengthening the military, he fundamentally tried to avoid war, and his anti-war instincts brought him repeated criticism for being “hesitant” and “weak.” Just before the Six-Day War, his biographer says, Rabin was smoking 120 cigarettes a day and getting little sleep, worried of the looming hostility. While Rabin’s critics would read his anxiety as a sign that he was a feeble, unfit leader, his admirers see his uneasiness as proof that he understood the gravity of the matters at hand, and the immeasurable value of his fellow countrymen’s lives.

It was his experience in the horrors of battle that made him resolve to keep Israel’s young soldiers out of war whenever possible, setting the stage for a political career that was to include the Nobel Peace Prize.