Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir clash over credit after Altalena discovery

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir delivered separate statements on Monday evening after the discovery of the Altalena, the ship sunk off Israel’s coast during the War of Independence, with the event overshadowed by a dispute between the two coalition partners over credit for the discovery.

After Ben-Gvir issued a statement about the discovery without crediting Netanyahu, the prime minister avoided a joint appearance and photo with the minister, instead delivering his remarks alone outside the museum.

According to Maariv, the two had been expected to make a joint statement, and decided at the last minute to separate. 

Associates of Ben-Gvir said that “the prime minister’s conduct shows his intention to go with [Gadi] Eisenkot. Ben-Gvir was good for him for four years, and now, of all times, to return to boycotts and avoid even taking a picture with him?! This is exactly what they did to Menachem Begin, and it is regrettable that the prime minister is behaving this way toward a coalition partner.”

Netanyahu's press conference was held at the Etzel Museum following the discovery of the shipwreck. The prime minister said he intends to raise the Altalena from the depths of the sea and turn it into “a tangible symbol” for current and future generations, centered on the message: “Civil war, never again!”

“Civil war, never! That was the heartfelt call of Etzel commander Menachem Begin," Netanyahu continued. "He stood here on the shore, not far from here, and he said these words following David Ben-Gurion’s tragic decision to open fire on the rescue ship ‘Altalena.’”

The prime minister said that “the ship brought significant weapons for our soldiers during the War of Independence. But instead of unloading these vital weapons, the ‘Haganah’ members on the shore opened a barrage of fire on the ‘Altalena’ that claimed the lives of 16 Etzel fighters and three IDF soldiers.”

Netanyahu said that every year since then, Altalena supporters have gathered for a memorial ceremony honoring those who fell and their comrades who later died in the War of Independence.

“They were not bitter; they did not say, ‘They opened fire on us, we will not fight.’ They went and fought together with their comrades in the ‘Haganah’ in the ranks of the IDF during the War of Independence.”

He added: “From the ranks of the IDF during the War of Independence, I come to this ceremony and salute them,” saying that “in recent years, something absurd has happened. During the ceremony, I hear calls of incitement against us by political rivals standing outside the ceremony and simply desecrating it. Have they not learned the lesson? We are brothers, political rivals, but we are brothers, sons of one nation with one future and one destiny.”

The prime minister also said that in recent years he had asked education ministers to include the Altalena story in the curriculum.

'Today, finally, after 78 years, we have located the ship'

Netanyahu added that he had also worked to preserve Israel’s historical heritage, saying he established the Heritage Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office in 2009 and later set as a goal the search for the Altalena. He said an initial search effort was carried out in 2011 together with the Begin Center, but failed to locate the ship, before the search was renewed in 2019 with a dedicated budget and based on the diary of the ship’s captain, Emanuel Fein.

“Today, finally, after 78 years, we have located the ship after it sank into the depths,” Netanyahu said.

“I congratulate Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu and all the people who took part in this operation. This is a moving moment, a warming moment. Off the coast of Tel Aviv, the Altalena went up in flames. This is the great lesson of the Altalena: division is weakness and unity is strength. The unity among us is broader than it appears. Therefore, we must establish a broad national government.”

Netanyahu described the discovery as a historic moment, saying: “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. But precisely out of the infernal fire, burst forth the immortal cry of the commander of the Etzel, Menachem Begin of blessed memory, to stop the firing that was taking place, to stop the entire course of the battle, because we will not go to a civil war.”

'Against our enemies, we do not hesitate'

Ben-Gvir later gave his own statement to the media.

“The Altalena is not just a ship. It is a symbol of the national camp that for years they tried to boycott, silence, and remove from legitimacy. Menachem Begin knew what persecution by brothers meant, what a boycott meant, and what it feels like when they try to disqualify you and the camp you represent. And yet, precisely at the most difficult moment, he established one principle above all: We are brothers. There will be no civil war,” he said.

Ben-Gvir further said that for decades, “they tried to bury the story of the Altalena, remove it from the pages of history, and erase the legacy of the heroes who fought and fell. The search for the ship’s remains is not only an operation to locate remains in the depths of the sea. For us, this is a moral and values-based obligation. Sixteen heroic Etzel fighters fell aboard it, and the remains that were discovered are part of their memorial and their legacy.”

The minister added that the discovery also represented a personal closing of a circle for him.

“My mother, Shoshana, may she rest in peace, was a proud Etzel fighter. In the home where I grew up, I absorbed stories of heroism, but also stories of persecution and discrimination,” he said.

“The lesson of the Altalena is true today as well: Against our enemies, we do not hesitate, we do not show mercy, and we are not confused, but strike them with all our might. But within our own people, even when there are deep disagreements, the testament of Begin is clear: Jews, in all their forms, are brothers. There will be no civil war.”