1977 Israeli legislative election election saw the beginning of a period lasting almost two decades where the left- and right-wing blocs held roughly equal numbers of seats in the Knesset. Voter turnout was 79.2%. The Alignment was re-elected in December 1973, following the Yom Kippur War, but continued in-fighting and investigation into Israel's preparedness led to the resignations of Prime Minister Golda Meir and Minister of Defense, Moshe Dayan the following April. This led to a power struggle between former Chief of Staff and Ambassador to the United States Yitzhak Rabin and Transportation minister Shimon Peres. Rabin was elected by the party by a
Yitzhak Rabin: A Biography gravity of the matters at hand. When Rabin's wife, Leah, was put under trial for having an illegal American bank account (an incident which became known as the Dollar Account affair), he felt forced to resign as Prime Minister. Out of office, he published his memoirs, which were highly critical of Peres and other Leftists. He had hoped his book would boost his popularity, but it had the opposite effect. His shyness, which made him seem cold and aloof, only made matters worse. Rabin was convinced that he's days of political prestige were behind him. But, thanks to his wife's