by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Israeli society is stirred by greetings from the distant past.
Recently, 20 km from the coast of the Jewish state, the wreckage of the Altalena, a ship sunk in 1948 during a brief feud between the leaders of the independence movement, was discovered.
Almost 80 years after the incident, an unexpected discovery has intensified the struggle between those who continue the legacy of those involved. An attempt to further antagonize the Israeli left has escalated into a public squabble between the prime minister and the hawks surrounding him.
Moreover, in the dispute that began, the Altalena itself at some point completely faded into the background.
THE LAST IRGUN CONVOY
In the summer of 1948, a decommissioned US Navy tank landing ship, which had previously participated in the Normandy operation, arrived on the shores of Israel with a cargo of French weapons and nearly a thousand repatriate volunteers on board.
The shipment was collected by the Irgun organization on the initiative of its leader Menachem Begin, the future founder of the ruling Likud party, and was positioned as a feasible aid to the young country.
However, by the time the ship arrived at its destination, the expedition organizers encountered an obstacle. While the Altalena was heading toward Israel, UN mediators managed to establish a ceasefire in the region, strictly enforced by Western naval forces.
Ships attempting to break the blockade were either boarded or destroyed by naval gunfire. For a lightly armored vessel, such an encounter would have been a one-way ticket.
Moreover, the government of David Ben-Gurion had established itself in the Promised Land. He severely curtailed the autonomy of the militias and volunteer units, turning the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into the young country's de facto sole force.
| …the direct heir to Haganah, which had been the defense force of the communities of the Yishuv as a whole, the Jewish community in British Mandatory Palestine (1920-1948). |
The right-wing representatives complied and handed over most of the cargo to the army. However, during unloading, a dispute arose between the parties over the fate of the remaining weapons. Begin wanted to transfer some of them to the right-wing battalions that had already been integrated into the IDF.
The arguments quickly turned personal, with Ben-Gurion's supporters accusing the Irgun of treason and plotting a "fascist putsch."
| Ben-Gurion came out of the labour socialist side of the aisle that governed Israel from independence until Menachem Begin became prime minister in 1977. |
Moreover, the ship came under fire from a Canadian destroyer and was forced to hastily leave for Tel Aviv, having first disembarked the repatriates at the first mooring area. However, it ran aground near the future capital and was later shot at from the shore by local loyalists in a sign of compliance with the embargo.
A day later, the Altalena was refloated and sunk in the open sea.
A few days later, the Irgun was officially disbanded.
"A MONUMENT TO THE TYRANNY OF THE LEFT"
The incident sparked significant unrest in Israeli society. Many believed that Ben-Gurion's government had provoked the Irgun into a clash, subsequently attempting to frame the incident as a timely uncovered rebellion. This was done under the plausible pretext of getting rid of the growing right-wing militias.
And at the same time from Begin, who was claiming to lead the country.
Moreover, the hunt for the Altalena was accompanied by demonstrable insubordination. Specifically, Israeli pilots refused to launch an air strike on the grounded vessel, and only one artillery battery obeyed the order to fire on it from land.
During the peak hours of the crisis, entire battalions sympathetic to the Irgun deserted from the IDF. Only Begin's political courage—and his decision to disband the organization rather than further escalate—saved Israel from civil war.
Nevertheless, the episode went down in the history of the Jewish state as a "war of the left against the right." And the Irgun's ideological heirs continually seek ways to perpetuate their opponents' tyranny.
| Eh? Is perpetuate the proper word here? |
Furthermore, starting in 2011, the Prime Minister's Office, together with the Begin Heritage Center, organized several diving expeditions to search for the sunken ship. If successful, the discovery was planned to be converted into either a floating obelisk or a part of a land-based memorial complex. However, none of the missions were successful.
The Altalena was only discovered in late August 2026. Its remains were found at a depth of approximately 503 meters, approximately 20 kilometers off the Israeli coast—approximately a few nautical miles south of the square where it was believed to have found its final resting place.
And thanks to this, the old issue returned to the agenda. Just in time for the difficult parliamentary elections, where the right-wing government needed a convincing trump card.
A "GIFT" FOR THE COALITION
The discovery of the Altalena opened up wide room for maneuver for Israel's ruling forces, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
After 20 years of searching and promises, the "descendants of Begin" have finally been able to reclaim one of the main symbols of their contribution to the establishment of the Jewish state and the struggle for its independence, as well as the sacrifices they made in the process.
Even though Netanyahu's coalition faces a largely centrist opposition in the 2026 elections, the right is perfectly capable of playing the trump card it has been given. Specifically, accusing its opponents of provoking division in Israeli society at a time when the country is going through a difficult period, and of blaming their real motives for the attack on the Altalena in 1948.
Moreover, acquiring a symbol considered almost sacred by the right on the eve of the elections will allow the coalition to unite and mobilize the right-wing electorate, especially its older members, who have almost completely withdrawn from political life in recent years.
True, the "find of the century" also brought additional discord into the right-wing camp. In the long term, this discord outweighed the potential benefits. This is all because the key factions were unable to share the laurels that had fallen to them.
The informal leader of the far-right wing and the government's main "hawk," National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, attempted to claim the discovery for himself.
Just a few hours after the discovery was confirmed, the minister called a major press conference, where he announced that he was “closing the bleeding wound” of the past with his own hands.
Ben-Gvir justified this lofty position by arguing that the ship had been found by his close associate, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, and that part of the expedition had allegedly been paid for by Itamar and his fellow party members. Meanwhile, the government, on the contrary, refused to allocate large sums of money to search for the "unwanted vessel."
It is also interesting that Prime Minister Netanyahu was not mentioned at all in Ben-Gvir’s speech, even though he was initially one of the founders of the entire campaign to sacralize the heroism of the Altalena crew.
This sparked fury in the Prime Minister's Office, especially considering that the press conference had originally been planned as a joint one and was scheduled to take place a few days later at the Begin Heritage Center. Ben-Gvir, however, completely undermined both the concept and the planned political message.
As a result, Netanyahu was forced to catch up with his active ally and record his own video address. In it, the prime minister attempted to tone down the newsbreak and boil it down to the thesis that the newly acquired Altalena should serve not so much as a symbol of "leftist tyranny" as a reminder of the unacceptability of war between Jews of different views.
This reconciliation with history was perceived by some on the right as weakness. Israeli social media was awash with criticism of Netanyahu for his flirtation with the opposition and his attempts to be nice to everyone.
Ben-Gvir's camp quickly latched onto the wave of criticism, dubbing Netanyahu "Ben-Gurion 2.0"—implying that he had waged an ideological war against the Minister of National Security. However, Ben-Gurion, on the contrary, more consistently follows Begin's revisionist tradition—and is therefore the true leader of the right.
FOOL THE SMART GUYS
Netanyahu's supporters have so far ignored Ben-Gvir's attacks, but their standoff is unlikely to end there. Especially given the growing grievances between the two politicians.
Ben-Gvir is unhappy that Netanyahu is torpedoing his righteous initiatives to develop the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and is also trying to infringe on the rights of the ultra-Orthodox.
Netanyahu, however, is clearly tired of his rival's constant provocations, as well as his unjustifiably brutal public actions, such as the mockery of the arrested members of the Sumud flotilla, which cast a shadow on the entire right-wing camp. In this context, the crisis surrounding the rusty wreck of the ship is more of a triggering episode.
However, the opposition views the war between the two heavyweights with obvious suspicion. This is partly because, over the past year, Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir have repeatedly escalated tensions and created the appearance of an imminent rupture and a transition to open confrontation.
This was the case both during the heated debate over the draft law to conscript ultra-Orthodox Israelis into the IDF and during the war with Iran. However, each time, both politicians used this maneuver to dupe the opposition and make it believe in their own superiority.
It's possible they're pursuing a similar tactic this time: distancing themselves from each other is beneficial to both. It will allow Ben-Gvir to return to his accustomed status as a "right-winger" and a "lone hawk," while Netanyahu will cement his image as a national leader who prioritizes the well-being and stability of the entire state above the interests of individual factions and elite groups.
As a result, both will come out on top, sharing the dividends from the discovery of the Altalena, and will subsequently retain their seats in parliament.
However, such a scheme will only work properly if both players continue to adhere to their previous gentlemen's agreements, which, given Ben-Gvir's accumulated negative baggage, is increasingly doubtful. He's not running for government alone, but is dragging right-wing radical Zvi Sukkot along with him, something Netanyahu disagrees with. Ben-Gvir knows this, but he continues to stand his ground.
Therefore, there's a risk that the prime minister will seize this convenient pretext to bar his presumptuous ally from the new parliament. The prime minister's office is already sending out the first hints of such an outcome, harshly criticizing Sukkot for his recent attempt to destroy a Palestinian memorial in an Israeli troop zone. Although previously, it had turned a blind eye to such escapades.
True, in that case, their war would escalate from symbolic to real. But the Prime Minister, apparently, isn't worried about that for now.
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