Netanyahu Criticized for Solo Altalena Statement | Jewish News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a solo statement on Monday following the historic discovery of the Altalena shipwreck in the Mediterranean, choosing not to participate in a scheduled joint ceremony with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu. Netanyahu filmed his remarks near the Etzel Museum on Tel Aviv's coastline, with beachgoers cleared from the area by his security detail.

"I commit to raising the Altalena from the depths of the sea, so it will serve as a tangible symbol for us and future generations, never again a civil war," Netanyahu declared in his recorded statement. The pledge came after the ship was located overnight between Sunday and Monday, found intact at a depth of 503 meters west of Israel's coast, following years of covert maritime search operations.

The ship Altalana catches fire after being shelled near Tel Aviv, June 1948 ( Hans Chaim Finn - Source: Slater, Elinor & Robert Great Moments in Jewish History, (Jonathan David Publishers, 1998) ISBN 0824604083, p.205 (Moments of Despair), נחלת הכלל)

Netanyahu's decision to deliver a separate statement rather than appear at the joint ceremony drew sharp criticism from Ben-Gvir's associates. "This is an embarrassing situation—you sit with us behind closed doors but won't be photographed with us publicly. Ben-Gvir also knows what a boycott feels like," allies of the National Security Minister said, attacking the Prime Minister.

Ben-Gvir himself, who has been a leading advocate for the search effort and worked with the Heritage Ministry in recent years to advance efforts to locate the ship's remains, addressed the historical significance of the discovery at a press conference. "The Altalena is not just a ship. It is a symbol of the national camp that for years they tried to boycott, silence, and push beyond the bounds of legitimacy," the minister said.

"Menachem Begin knew what persecution by brothers meant, what boycott meant, and what it feels like when they try to disqualify you and the camp you represent. Yet precisely at the most difficult moment, he established one principle above all: we are brothers. There will be no civil war," Ben-Gvir added.

Ben-Gvir takes a jab at Netanyahu: "Begin knew this firsthand" | Watch

The National Security Minister emphasized that the search for the ship's remains extends beyond a mere underwater salvage operation. "For us, this is a moral and ethical debt. Sixteen heroic Etzel fighters fell on its deck, and the remains we've located are part of their monument and legacy," he noted.

Ben-Gvir also addressed the personal dimension of the discovery. "For me, this is also a personal full circle. My mother, Shoshana of blessed memory, 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 shared.

The ship Altalena arrived in Israel in June 1948 carrying immigrants, including Etzel fighters, along with weapons and military equipment. The confrontation surrounding the vessel became one of the most painful and formative events in the young State of Israel's history, during which 16 Etzel members and three IDF soldiers were killed.

The search expedition, initiated by Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu and led by Roni Shedeh from the Marine Mapping Division at the Israel Mapping Center, represents a historic step in preserving Zionist heritage sites in the maritime domain. The location was accomplished using a vessel equipped with specialized sensors and advanced survey systems.