Altalena wreck found 78 years after episode that shook Israel’s early statehood

The “Altalena affair” unfolded as Israel was fighting for its independence.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

The Altalena, the ship at the center of one of the most divisive episodes in Israel’s early history, has been located on the Mediterranean seabed 78 years after it sank off Israel’s coast, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu announced Monday.

The ship was found at a depth of 503 meters during a maritime search conducted using specialized sensors and advanced survey systems, following months of preparation and planning.

The Altalena arrived off Israel’s coast in June 1948 carrying immigrants, Irgun fighters, weapons, and military equipment.

The Irgun was a Jewish underground organization led by future prime minister Menachem Begin.

The “Altalena affair” unfolded as Israel was fighting for its independence.

Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, seeking to establish a single national military under government control, ordered the weapons aboard the ship transferred to the newly formed Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

When the Irgun refused, fighting broke out first at Kfar Vitkin and later near Tel Aviv.

An IDF unit commanded by Yitzhak Rabin confronted Irgun forces, and the ship was shelled.

Seeking to prevent the confrontation from escalating into civil war, Begin ordered his men not to retaliate.

Sixteen Irgun members and three IDF soldiers were killed in the fighting.

Ben-Gvir described the discovery as “a historic closing of the circle,” while Roni Sadeh, director general of the Israel Mapping Center, called it “an exciting historical moment.”

Officials said documentation of the wreck will be presented at a forthcoming press conference.