Yigal Allon (1918-1980)—commander-in-chief of the Palmach, which he helped to found, a member of the Knesset for 25 years, and holder of a host of cabinet positions—was among Israel’s most important military and political leaders. He represented a wing of the Israeli left, and of the military establishment, that became sidelined within the Labor party in favor of the faction led by Moshe Dayan and Shimon Peres. Reviewing a recent biography of Allon’s political career, Uri Heitner reflects on the directions the Israeli left did not take—including the so-called Allon Plan, which called for partitioning the West Bank between Israel and Jordan:

In the past few decades, the Jewish state has vastly expanded its diplomatic, economic, and sometimes military ties with South and East Asia, while doing its best to stay away from the conflicts that divide the countries in the region. Daniel Samet surveys the potential for these relationships, urging Jerusalem to avoid deepening cooperation with China and instead to focus on cultivating further its alliances-in-the-making with China’s competitors: