Eyewitnesses to the Altalena

The Altalena affair has long been shrouded in clashing narratives and efforts by some historians to blur the stark reality of what happened on Israel’s shores in June 1948.

Now, 78 years after the tragic incident where Jews used guns against fellow Jews, the discovery of the sunken Irgun arms ship has reignited scrutiny of the events surrounding its destruction.

That review points toward some deeply shocking conclusions.

The conventional account portrays the decision of David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, to order the IDF to shell the Altalena–killing 19 people and wounding dozens—as a “tragic but necessary” step to consolidate the government’s authority and prevent the emergence of a rival army.

But beneath that oft-quoted narrative lies a far more disturbing scenario which eyewitness accounts and historical evidence strongly support—that Begin himself, leader of the Irgun, was the intended target.

Not because Begin posed a genuine threat, despite Ben Gurion dressing up the Altalena incident as an attempted overthrow of government power. On the contrary. The record shows that Begin had publicly handed the reins over to Israel’s first prime minister.

On May 15, 1948, he made an emotional speech in which he pledged loyalty to the new government, saying, “The Irgun is leaving the underground inside the boundaries of the Hebrew  State. We now have a Jewish government in part of our homeland and there is no need for an underground. In the State of Israel we shall be soldiers and builders. And we shall respect its government, for it is our government.”

True to his declaration of loyalty, Begin eventually disbanded and dispersed all Irgun units into the larger IDF.

In addition, despite being attacked and bombarded by the IDF in the Altalena incident, Begin exhorted his men aboard the ship not to fire back—a fact that no one has ever disputed.

“Achim anachnu—brothers don’t shoot at one another! There will be no civil war!” Begin is reported to have hollered to his men, as IDF shells pierced the ship’s armor-plated sides. The bullets killed and wounded many passengers, the majority of whom were Holocaust survivors.

Historians point to Begin’s extraordinary restraint as compelling evidence that Ben-Gurion’s fear of an Irgun coup projected his own egocentric worldview, rather than reflect reality. Critics argue that Ben-Gurion’s extreme conduct was a massive overreaction rooted in a desire to maintain an absolute monopoly on power.

Support for the allegation that Ben Gurion attempted to kill Begin can be found in documented accounts and biographies of Israel’s first prime minister and his contemporaries, as well as in interviews with survivors of the Altalena.

Taken together, these accounts paint a deeply troubling portrait of a man hailed by some as a visionary leader and nation builder, yet unmasked by his own actions as a power-hungry egotist capable of utter ruthlessness.

Yitzchok Shamir: Begin Wanted to Protect Yerushalayim

Blasting the Altalena, a book by Joanna Saidel, contains interviews the author conducted in 1993 with former Prime Minister Yitzchok Shamir, and with Shmuel Katz, an advisor to former Prime Minister Begin.

Shamir, who served as prime minister from 1986-1992, was close friends with Eliyahu Lankin, Altalena’s military commander, from 1944 when both men were deported and imprisoned by the British in Eritrea, Africa. Both eventually escaped and made their way to Paris, where they worked on Irgun projects before returning to Israel in 1948.

In interviews with author Saidel, Shamir discussed the origins of the Altalena, and how, with the help of the French, it came to Israeli shores in June 1948 bearing tons of ammunition and almost a thousand Jewish refugees who had survived Hitler.

Shamir went on to explain that Begin had informed the Israeli government that the Irgun was bringing the Altalena to Tel Aviv in June, and they negotiated an agreement to give part of the arms to Etzel (Irgun) in Yerushalayim.

Under its UN-designated status then as an “international” city, Yerushalayim lay outside the perimeters of Jewish territory allocated by the Partition Plan, and was therefore vulnerable to marauding Arab armies.

Begin wanted armed Irgun forces stationed in Yerushalayim to protect the city’s inhabitants, Shamir explained. He proposed to the Israeli government to give 80 percent of the arms to the IDF and twenty percent for Irgun forces in Yerushalayim.

Begin also wanted to make sure Irgun fighters in IDF units would be adequately armed; he feared they would be resented and treated unfairly by their superiors who had been conditioned to despise the underground.

As he expressed these concerns in his memoirs: “There was apprehension. There is no denying it. The men who were about to become the officers of our Etzel comrades were raised to hate them. [That hostility] was not a simple matter. Etzel fighters now in IDF ranks might be deliberately left out in the cold.”

Begin thus felt it was his duty to ensure that all of them were fully equipped militarily. [See Sidebar]

Ben Gurion’s Change of Heart

Ben Gurion’s personal journal attests to the meeting between Irgun and Haganah representatives over the Altalena.

“Yisrael [Galili] and Skolnik [Levi Eshkol] met yesterday with Begin,” the entry says. “Tomorrow or the next day their ship is due to arrive: 4,500 tons, bringing 800-900 men, 5,000 rifles, 250 Bren guns, 5 million bullets, 50 Bazoukas, 10 Bren carriers. Zipstein (director of Tel Aviv port) assumes that at night it will be possible to unload it all.”

“Before the ship arrived here,” Shamir recalled in the interview with Saidel, “Ben-Gurion changed his mind and demanded the Irgun turn over the entire ship with all the arms.”

“What did you think of what happened next?” asked Saidel.

“It was a great tragedy. One that could have been avoided,” Shamir replied. “Ben-Gurion believed that all groups had to be consolidated under his command. He was a very tough, intransigent person.”

‘He Wanted To Kill Us’

Saidel also discussed the Altalena incident with Shmuel Katz, as described in the Times of Israel. Katz was an author, historian, as well as a founding member of the Herut (forerunner of Likud) party and, later, adviser to Begin.

Saidel: Some people question whether Ben Gurion himself knew about the arms deal between Haganah and the Irgun when he blew up the Altalena—80 percent to Haganah, 20 percent to Irgun. Do you think Ben Gurion knew?

Katz: Oh, no question. He knew all about it. I wrote about this in my book, Days of Fire. I wrote that the Altalena was deliberately blown up because Mr. Ben Gurion wanted to kill Begin who was on the ship. I expected to be sued or tried for libel for writing that.

Saidel: Were you?

Katz: Interestingly, nobody came forth saying “This is libel, this is slander!” I explained in the book why I made this claim. Israel’s navy didn’t have anything close to the Altalena. Not that it was such a great ship, but it was the best thing we had. And it was offered to the government at no charge. This was part of the original agreement with Ben Gurion. A lot of people knew that. And yet he blew it up! What possible motive could there be for doing that?

Saidel: What do you say to the theory that Ben Gurion blew up the Altalena to consolidate his authority?

Katz: Nonsense. He was the prime minister and nobody was attacking his authority. His authority was not “consolidated” by blowing up the Altalena.

Firing Continued Despite White Flags

Captain Monroe [Emmanuel] Fein, who commanded the Altalena, wrote about the events of that fateful June 22, 1948, pointing out that the shelling of the ship came from both sea and land, despite the ship’s while flag of surrender.

“As the crew of the Altalena continued unloading the ship at Kfar Vitkin, small arms fire erupted from the beach in late afternoon, taking the crew by surprise. Thinking they were under attack by Arabs, we decided to try to get the ship out to sea,” Fein recalled.

“There were now only about thirty people on board. Suddenly, and without any warning, both corvettes (Israeli gunboats) opened fire on the Altalena with heavy machine guns. We were completely unprepared for such an attack and could not return fire.”

The Israeli gunboats signaled Altalena to proceed to Tel Aviv, and the ship’s commander complied. The crew succeeded in reaching Tel Aviv, hoping the danger of attack was over. But the shooting soon resumed with greater intensity, Captain Fein testified, lasting for about one-and-a-half hours.

“Some of the heavy machine-guns ashore were using armor-piercing ammunition which penetrated the steel bulkheads of the ship, causing dozens of casualties,” he recalled.

“Suddenly the ship took a direct hit that started a large fire in the cargo-hold. I had no choice but to order all men aboard to prepare to abandon ship,” Fein recounted. He raced to the bridge and began waving a white flag… At the same time another man hoisted a large piece of white canvas on the ship’s mast.

To Fein’s incredulity, automatic fire continued to be directed at the unarmed survivors and Irgun men.

“As more and more explosions erupted within the ship, it was clear we had to abandon ship. All men were ordered over the side and some attempted to swim ashore under fire. The ship was left burning and exploding violently.”

Begin, who was on deck, agreed to leave the ship only after the last of the wounded had been evacuated.

Under Fire from Sea and Land

This testimony of Captain Monroe Fein is corroborated by another crew member, Jerry Salaman, who confirmed Fein’s account of how the fighting broke out; how the white flags of surrender were ignored by the Haganah troops; and how the firing continued from the sea and land.

Salamon was wounded by gunfire but managed to make it ashore.

“Menachem Begin pleaded to the Haganah not to fight us,” he recalled. All guns on the ship were ordered not to open fire, and all ammunition was removed from the guns. Men were told not to fire under any circumstance.”

Captain Fein’s account is reinforced by crew member Michael Brecker who, in his memoirs, writes that in hindsight he understood why the white flag was of no avail. It was “because Mechanem Begin was the target,” he wrote.

“Way out at sea, I noticed two small Israeli corvette gunboats, the Wedgwood and the Haganah,” wrote Brecker. “The Wedgwood was commanded by Captain Paul Shulman, a Jewish ex-US Navy officer who later became commander of the Israel Navy. To my horror, heavy machine-gun fire started to break out against us from both sea and land.

“With hindsight,” wrote Brecker, “I suspected that the Wedgwood had opened fire to stop us unloading, but had overshot us and hit the Haganah troops who were now surrounding us and shooting at us as well. We were being fired on from both sides!

“I believe this [double onslaught] was from higher ups that were aware that Begin was on board and they had their orders to take him out.”

For Yitzchok Rabin, History Came Full Circle

Archival documents from Machal (overseas volunteers in the 1948 War of Independence) contains the testimony of Hillel Daleski, a Haganah recruit from South Africa who had been in Eretz Yisrael for only two months.

He was under the command of Yitzchok Rabin, a future Israeli prime minister who was then a young officer of 26, who ordered him to fire the artillery cannon that destroyed the Altalena. Daleski refused.

Rabin threatened him with court-martial.

Daleski yielded and fired, seeing the ship explode in flames in an earsplitting blast.

Years later, in an interview, he expressed remorse for bending to Rabin’s pressure. “If only the Altalena episode could be expunged from my memory for all time!” he lamented.

In a chilling twist, Yitzchok Rabin, the commander who compelled a subordinate to shoot at fellow Jews, would himself be assassinated by a Jew at Rabin Square some 47 years later.

***

‘No More Whitewash’

A few years ago, when Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu conceded that the Altalena affair was the result of a “terrible mistake” made by a young government, Minister Yariv Levin, the nephew of Altalena’s commander, challenged him.

“We need to say it clearly,” Levin said. “No more whitewash. The 16 victims of Altalena were murdered by their own brothers.”

This was not the first time this stark allegation had been made in the Knesset.

In 1959, when Begin was a reviled opposition leader boycotted and mocked by Ben-Gurion and his colleagues in power, he lashed out at his opponent:

“Mr. Ben Gurion,” Begin declared on the Knesset podium, “from this stage you accused me of planning and organizing an armed rebellion. This is a very serious allegation. I accuse you, with the force of undeniable truth, of false charges and blood libel.

“I accuse you of conspiracy and of secretly conniving to kill and destroy. I accuse you of an attempt to ignite a civil war in Israel while the enemy was attacking.  I accuse you of the murder of pure and innocent souls.”

As Begin continued, the speaker of the Knesset — Beba Idelson, a member of the Labor party—demanded that he stop.

Idelson: I am very sorry. I cannot let you say such things.

Begin: Not a single word will be taken back.

Idelson: You used the word, ‘murder!’ How can you?

Begin: Madam speaker, that is the truth, and one does not take back a word of truth.

Idelson: I will demand to erase this from the protocol.

Begin: I will not agree to it. I will not erase a single word from the protocol.

While it remains unclear whose words ultimately prevailed in the protocol, the clash underscored how the festering wound of the Altalena refused to heal—fueling bitter allegations of murder, betrayal and cruelty across generations.

“Seventy years have passed and the wound has not yet healed, and that’s a good thing,” then Israeli President Chaim Rivlin said in a 2018 memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Altalena. Some wounds must remain open, so that we do not think we can just go on.”

“Who can fathom that in the course of a war of survival, orders would be given to our soldiers to kill defenders of our land, the remnants of the death camps who came to fight for the people and the land? Our own brothers,” Rivliln went on.

“Seventy years later, we must salute the Altalena fighters not only for their devotion, but for the fact that even though they received brothers’ crossfire, they did not meet fire with fire, they did not meet death with death.”

***

Open Hunting Season on Irgun

As shocking as Ben Gurion’s actions in the Altalena affair were, the yishuv should have been psychologically prepared. Only years earlier, during the nightmarish period known as La Saison (‘The Season’), Ben-Gurion had collaborated with the British to systematically track down, arrest, interrogate and torture members of the Irgun.

This “open hunting season” lasted from November 1944 to March 1945, and was authorized directly by David Ben-Gurion and the Jewish Agency leadership, internal agency documents attest.

The primary objective was to crush the right-wing underground groups—principally Menachem Begin’s Irgun (Etzel)—which used a host of guerrilla tactics to break the British blockade keeping Jewish refugees from reaching Eretz Yisroel.

Following the assassination of British Commissioner Lord Moyne by the Lehi (a separate militant group) in November 1944, Ben Gurion declared that all the underground groups were a threat to the Zionist movement’s relationship with Britain.

[Ben Gurion and the Jewish Agency were at that time still naively pinning all their hopes for the establishment of a state on Britain’s goodwill, and willing to sacrifice fellow Jews on the altar of those fantasies.]

The Jewish Agency passed official directives mandating total cooperation with British authorities. Special operations units of the Palmach and Haganah (the mainstream Labor-led militias) actively gathered intelligence against Irgun using their secret service, Shai.

These forces caught, interrogated and turned over to British police and military forces approximately 1,000 Irgun members. Special units of the Haganah and Palmach abducted and occasionally tortured suspected Irgun members.

Hundreds were subsequently interned in camps like Latrun or deported to exile in Africa. Some captives were held in solitary confinement at remote sites like Kibbutz Kiryat Anavim and Ein Harod.

Elite Haganah and Palmach operatives subjected high-profile Irgun prisoners to intense interrogations and physical abuse. The most notorious instance was Yaakov Tavin, head of the Irgun’s intelligence service, who was abducted, blindfolded, tied up, and held in solitary confinement for six months while undergoing severe torture.

The harsh measures—particularly the use of ‘massering” (informant) networks and torture—triggered outrage and trauma within the yishuv. The Chief Rabbinate issued an explicitly harsh religious condemnation, declaring such actions “alien and abominable to the Jewish people.”

Prominent intellectual figures, alongside rank-and-file Haganah members, grew so repulsed by the torture and informant tactics that widespread defections ultimately forced Ben-Gurion to wind down the operation in March 1945.

In the wake of this appalling terror campaign against members of the underground, it is no wonder Begin worried that Irgun fighters integrating into IDF ranks in 1948 would be met with hatred and left without adequate arms.