Yigal Allon, Israeli military leader and politician. His handwritten letter and photograph, 1964.
Handwritten letter in Hebrew, size: 18.5 x 13 cm. (7.2 x 5.1 inches), Brown stains
Size of photograph: 7 x 10.2 cm. (2.7 x 4 inches), with stamp on reverse side: Apr. 26 1964
Yigal Allon (Hebrew: ×™×’×ל ×לון‎; 10 October 1918 – 29 February 1980) was an Israeli military leader and politician. He was a commander of the Palmach and a general in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). He was also a leader of the Ahdut HaAvoda and Israeli Labor parties. He served briefly as acting Prime Minister of Israel between the death of Levi Eshkol and the appointment of Golda Meir in 1969, the first native-born Israeli to serve in the position. He was a government minister from the third Knesset to the ninth inclusive.
Born a child of pioneer settlers in the Lower Galilee, Allon initially rose to prominence through his military career. After the outbreak of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, he joined the Haganah and later the Palmach. He commanded a squad and organized key operations in the Jewish Resistance Movement such as the Night of the Bridges. During the 1947–1949 Palestine war, Allon commanded the conquest of the Galilee, Lod and Ramla, as well as the entire Negev up to Eilat as Head of the Southern Command.
Allon entered politics after a forced relief from command by then-Premier David Ben-Gurion. During his political career, he served as foreign and education minister, deputy prime minister, and briefly as acting prime minister. He was one of the architects of the creation of the Labor party, advocating for the merge of Ahdut HaAvoda with Mapai.
In 1967, he devised the eponymous Allon Plan, which proposed next steps for Israel after the 1967 Arab–Israeli War. While the plan was not officially adopted, it served as a guideline for the next decade of Israeli settlement.[2][3] He also took part in the Sinai Interim Agreement in 1975. He is considered[by whom?] to have a reputation of missing opportunities for greatness, for example he lost the position of Defense Minister to his political rival, Moshe Dayan.
In 1980, Allon died unexpectedly due to cardiac arrest while campaigning for the leadership of the Labor party.