Netanyahu unveils new memorial to Altalena

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hails the spirit of the Altalena as he unveils a new memorial to the the victims of the controversial ammunition boat.

“The men of the Altalena gritted their teeth and joined the IDF to help defeat the invading Arabs,” Netanyahu says, unveiling the memorial to the 1948 Altalena incident, which cast a pall over the foundation of the Israel Defense Forces.

“We continue in their path. The war against our enemies is not over,” the prime minister says.

The ship, carrying a large consignment of arms and weapons, was brought to Israel by Menachem Begin’s Irgun militia during the country’s War of Independence, in June 1948. However, the nascent government of David Ben-Gurion, at bitter odds with Begin, demanded that the ship and its supplies be turned over to the newly formed IDF.

As the ship reached the coast and then ran aground, a standoff ensued that ended in a shootout between Irgun members aboard and IDF soldiers on the shore, who were ordered to destroy the vessel. The ship was set ablaze by a cannon that was allegedly under the command of a young Yitzhak Rabin, later the IDF chief of General Staff and prime minister.

Sixteen Irgun members and three IDF soldiers died in the incident, and the ship’s cargo was lost.