Mao Zedong, Israel and the road not taken - 50 years after leader’s death

50 years after Mao Zedong's death, the article examines the extraordinary trajectory of Sino-Israeli relations, from Israel being the first Middle Eastern country to recognize Communist China in 1950 to Mao later hosting PLO leaders. It details the brief window in the 1950s when full diplomatic relations appeared possible, the role of Israeli diplomat David Hacohen, and the factors that ultimately prevented normalization.

Fifty years after Mao Zedong's death, the article examines the extraordinary and ultimately failed trajectory of Sino-Israeli relations. Israel was the first Middle Eastern country to recognize Mao's Communist China in January 1950, and for a brief period in the mid-1950s, full diplomatic relations appeared within reach. Israeli diplomat David Hacohen, stationed in Burma, initiated talks with Chinese officials, leading to an Israeli commercial delegation's visit to China in early 1955. Chinese officials spoke warmly of friendship with Israel and the Jewish people. However, Israel hesitated, partly due to what Hacohen called 'friendly American pressure' and concerns about damaging ties with Washington. By the 1955 Bandung Conference, China was moving toward alignment with Arab and non-aligned states. Within a decade, Mao was hosting PLO leaders in Beijing and supplying Palestinian terrorists. The article concludes with a telling episode: in July 1976, after the Tangshan earthquake, then-PM Yitzhak Rabin sent a condolence cable to Beijing, which was returned because China did not have diplomatic relations with Israel.