“Civil war, never again!” Netanyahu said. “This was the heartfelt cry of the commander of the Etzel, Menachem Begin.”
By United with Israel Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the discovery of the Altalena on Tuesday as an “emotional, foundational moment,” invoking the ship’s bloody history to call for national unity and pledging that Israel would raise the vessel from the bottom of the Mediterranean.
Speaking at the Etzel Museum in Tel Aviv following the discovery of the ship 78 years after it sank, Netanyahu opened with the words associated with Irgun commander Menachem Begin during the 1948 confrontation.
“My brothers and sisters, citizens of Israel, civil war, never again!” Netanyahu said. “This was the heartfelt cry of the commander of the Etzel, Menachem Begin.”
The Altalena arrived in Israel in June 1948 carrying immigrants, Irgun fighters and a large shipment of weapons, as the various pre-state Jewish fighting organizations were being incorporated into the newly established IDF.
A bitter dispute between Begin’s Irgun and the government of David Ben-Gurion over control and distribution of the weapons escalated into armed clashes, culminating in the shelling of the ship off Tel Aviv. Sixteen Irgun members and three IDF soldiers were killed.
Netanyahu sharply criticized Israel’s founding prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, for the decision to fire on the Altalena.
“Instead of unloading this vital weaponry, members of the Haganah on the shore opened infernal fire on the Altalena, claiming the lives of 16 Etzel fighters and three IDF soldiers,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister stressed that surviving Irgun fighters did not abandon the broader war effort following the deadly confrontation, but continued fighting alongside their former rivals in the newly established IDF.
“They were not bitter, they did not say, ‘You opened fire on us, we will not fight,’” Netanyahu said. “They went and fought alongside their comrades in the Haganah in the ranks of the IDF during the War of Independence.”
Netanyahu also revealed his own longstanding involvement in efforts to locate the ship. He said an initial search around 2011 was unsuccessful before he ordered renewed efforts in 2019, backed by a dedicated budget and information from the diary of Altalena captain Emanuel Fein.
“Today, finally, after 78 years, we have located the ship after it sank into the depths,” Netanyahu said, thanking Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu and those involved in the search.
The Altalena was located intact early Monday at a depth of 503 meters west of Israel’s coast following a complex maritime search operation.
Netanyahu said the discovery should serve as a reminder of the central lesson he draws from the affair.
“Off the coast of Tel Aviv, the Altalena went up in flames; off the coast of Tel Aviv, brothers fell by the hands of brothers,” he said. “But precisely out of the infernal fire burst forth the immortal cry” of Begin to stop the fighting and prevent civil war.
“This is the great lesson of the Altalena. It is as true today as it was true then,” Netanyahu continued. “Because division is weakness, and unity is strength.”
Netanyahu concluded with a pledge to recover the historic vessel itself.
“Standing here, after we found the Altalena, I pledge one more thing: to raise her from the depths of the sea, so that she will be a tangible symbol for our generation and for generations to come.”
“A tangible symbol of one simple commandment: Civil war, never again!” he said. “Because brothers and sisters we are, sons and daughters of Israel.”
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