AI Generated Image
Gun-running ship sunk by Israeli military in 1948 located intact 1,650 feet underwater
CBS News • • general
Key Points:
- Israel has recovered the wreckage of the Altalena, an arms-smuggling boat sunk by Israeli forces in 1948, an event that exposed deep divisions in the newly founded state.
- The Altalena, carrying weapons for the Irgun militant group, was sunk on orders from Prime Minister David Ben Gurion to prevent a rival paramilitary force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
- The clash resulted in 19 deaths, and Irgun leader Menachem Begin called for his fighters to surrender, avoiding a civil war amid external conflict.
- The incident symbolized the political divide in Israel, with Begin later becoming prime minister and leading the rise of right-wing nationalism, replacing the earlier socialist leadership.
- Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu, from the current right-wing government, emphasized the importance of confronting painful historical events and announced the discovery of the shipwreck off the coast of Tel Aviv.
