Abstract

A Talk with Yigal Allon

The article presents an interview of Yigal Allon, the Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, who lives on a kibbutz just north of Tiberias on the "Kinneret." Allon is a combination of three factors, a Zionist, a Socialist and a realist. The son of a well-to-do Palestinian land-owning family, his first commitment was to socialism and the kibbutz way of life. He is an idealist of the old school and believes firmly that the kibbutzim and the social values they represent are an example for Israel's youth and the rest of the world to follow. Allon said, "First of all, there's the historical rights of the Jews in this land. We do have a right to be here-a historical right. Otherwise, Israel would be the same as South Africa or Rhodesia. If we reach a compromise with the Arabs it will be in spite of our historical rights, and in order to achieve another historical aim--which is peace."