In September 1993 the Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and the PLO leader, Yasser Arafat, made history by shaking hands on the White House lawn. But it was a moment that almost didn't happen. Witness talks to White House insider, John Podesta, who was there.

(Photo: Left to right, Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton and the PLO leader, Yasser Arafat. Credit: J. David Ake/AFP/Getty Images)