Altalena rises from the depths: when political fear trumped statesmanship | Dr. Eitan Lesri

78 years after the Altalena affair, the discovery of the ship's remains brings the old national wound back to the surface – and the debate over Ben-Gurion, Begin, statesmanship, and the lesson that the legacy of 'No more civil war' leaves for Israel of 2026. Dr. Eitan Lesri analyzes the events that led to the tragedy, Ben-Gurion's order to fire, and Begin's historic response calling 'No more civil war!'

In August 2026, nearly eight decades after the tragedy of June 1948, the Ministry of Heritage and research bodies announced the discovery of the remains of the ship 'Altalena' at a depth of about 503 meters in the sea. Dr. Eitan Lesri analyzes in his article the events that led to the tragedy: the Altalena sailed from France during the War of Independence carrying vital equipment for the war effort, including about 5,000 rifles, millions of bullets, hundreds of machine guns and shells, and about 940 immigrants, many of them Holocaust survivors. Menachem Begin, the Irgun commander, conducted negotiations with the government over the distribution of weapons, but David Ben-Gurion feared Begin's rising popularity and political influence. The confrontation began at Kfar Vitkin and escalated on June 22, 1948, off the coast of Tel Aviv, where a shell was fired at the ship, setting it ablaze. Begin, who boarded the ship, ordered his men not to return fire and called 'No more civil war! A Jew will not shoot a Jew, even if we lose this event.' In the entire affair, 16 Irgun fighters and 3 IDF soldiers were killed. Ben-Gurion called the cannon that shelled the ship 'the holy cannon' and claimed an attempted rebellion, a label used to marginalize the national camp for decades. The article emphasizes that Begin chose the democratic path, built the Herut movement, and led to the political upheaval of 1977. The lesson for 2026, according to the author, is that political cynicism and partisan suspicion must not override national solidarity.