Israel Finds Altalena Ship Intact on Mediterranean Seafloor After 78 Years

Israel announced Monday it had recovered the wreckage of the Altalena, an arms-smuggling boat, found intact on the Mediterranean seafloor 78 years after its sinking.

Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu stated the Altalena was located at 12:30 am, at a depth of 503 meters (1,650 feet), west of Israel's coast. The sinking of the Altalena in 1948 by the Israeli military exposed deep divisions and is described as a painful and seminal event that shook the young State of Israel. The ship had sailed from France carrying weapons for the Irgun, a militant Zionist force.

In June 1948, Israeli forces opened fire and sank the boat off Tel Aviv on the orders of David Ben Gurion, Israel's first prime minister. Ben Gurion sought to assert his authority and prevent a paramilitary rival to the newly established Israeli military. Sixteen Irgun members and three Israeli soldiers were killed in the fighting.

Irgun chief Menachem Begin instructed his fighters to surrender, famously stating, "There will be no civil war with the enemy at our gates." Begin later became prime minister in 1977. Heritage Minister Eliyahu, from the current far-right government, announced the discovery. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who jointly announced the find, posted on X that there is a message in finding the Altalena at this particular time.

Disagreements are permissible, and differences of opinion are permissible, but a civil war must never be allowed. About a year after the battle, the Altalena was refloated, towed 15 miles out to sea, and scuttled. Israel's Heritage Ministry invested 1 million shekels (about $296,000) in the search, deploying the national research vessel Bat Galim with advanced technology.