Netanyahu Vows Rescue of Irgun Ship Altalena, Sunk by Ben Gurion
Prime Minister Netanyahu vows to raise the Altalena ship, sunk by Ben Gurion in 1948, as a reminder of past conflict and the importance of Israeli unity.
Jerusalem, 24 August, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The Altalena was a cargo ship, captained by ex-US Navy lieutenant Monroe Fein and loaded with Etzel (Irgun) weapons and fighters.
Prime Minister David Ben Gurion refused to let the ship dock on Israel’s shore, fearing an Irgun confrontation with the fledgling IDF. He eventually ordered the sinking of the ship, resulting in the death of 19.
On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to raise the Altalena, which has recently been discovered. In a short speech, he reminded Israelis that despite the ruthless attack, Irgun leader Menachem Begin, later Israel’s sixth prime minister, restrained his men and prevented a civil war.
Netanyahu, whose government funded the search for the ship’s remains, stressed the important lesson of Altalena, namely that “We are brothers, one future, one destiny,” and no political dispute, no matter how rough, should ever bring Israelis to the brink of a civil war.