The confrontation brought the young country dangerously close to internal armed conflict.
By United with Israel Staff
The wreck of the Altalena, the ship at the center of one of the most painful and consequential confrontations in Israel’s early history, was located off the Israeli coast early Monday, 78 years after it sank.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu announced the discovery, saying the vessel was found intact at 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 24 at a depth of 503 meters west of Israel’s coastline, following a complex maritime search operation.
The discovery came after months of planning and preparations. The search was conducted using a vessel equipped with specialized sensors and advanced underwater surveying systems.
The Altalena arrived off the coast of the newly established State of Israel in June 1948 carrying immigrants, including Irgun fighters, along with a large shipment of weapons and military equipment.
Its arrival came during a particularly sensitive period, just weeks after Israel declared independence and as the country was fighting the War of Independence. The various pre-state Jewish fighting organizations were being incorporated into the newly formed Israel Defense Forces, including the Irgun, also known as Etzel.
A bitter dispute erupted between the government of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and the Irgun, led by Menachem Begin, over control and distribution of the weapons aboard the ship.
The confrontation first erupted near Kfar Vitkin before the Altalena sailed toward Tel Aviv. There, the standoff culminated in exchanges of fire between IDF and Irgun forces and the shelling of the ship off the coast.
Sixteen Irgun members and three IDF soldiers were killed during the affair.
The confrontation brought the young country dangerously close to internal armed conflict. Begin famously ordered Irgun fighters not to retaliate in a way that could lead to civil war, and the organization subsequently completed its integration into the IDF.
The Altalena itself became one of the enduring symbols of the bitter political and military divisions surrounding Israel’s founding.
After remaining lost beneath the Mediterranean for nearly eight decades, the vessel has now been located in its entirety at a depth of more than half a kilometer off Israel’s coast.
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