Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the ship Altalena has finally been located after 78 years on the seabed off the coast of Tel Aviv. Speaking at the Etzel House, he described the discovery as an emotional and foundational moment for the nation. The vessel sank during the War of Independence after coming under fire from Haganah forces while attempting to deliver weapons. Netanyahu used the occasion to revisit the events of that day and the lasting lesson they carry.

The Altalena, named after the literary pseudonym of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, arrived carrying significant arms for Israel’s fighters. Instead of unloading the cargo, Haganah units on the shore opened fire, killing 16 Etzel fighters and three IDF soldiers. Etzel commander Menachem Begin responded with a passionate call against civil war, urging his men not to return fire. Netanyahu recalled that Begin stood on the beach not far from the current ceremony site and insisted that brother must not fight brother.

In the years that followed, survivors and admirers of the Altalena gathered annually to honor those who fell both on the ship and later in the War of Independence. The fallen did not turn bitter or refuse to serve; they continued fighting alongside their former adversaries within the newly formed IDF. Netanyahu said he has attended the memorial ceremony every year and salutes their example. He also noted that he asked the Minister of Education to include the Altalena story in school textbooks so future generations would learn its meaning.

The search for the wreck itself stretched across more than a decade. An initial effort in 2011 conducted with the Begin Center yielded no results. In 2019 Netanyahu ordered the searches renewed, this time with a dedicated budget and the captain’s logbook written by Emanuel Fine. Using the diary entries as a guide, teams eventually succeeded in locating the sunken ship. Netanyahu congratulated Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu and everyone who took part in the complex operation.

Standing at the Etzel House after the discovery, the prime minister framed the Altalena as a living symbol of national unity. He emphasized that division is weakness while unity is strength, repeating Begin’s original cry that civil war must never be allowed. The same principle, he said, remains true today. Netanyahu linked the find to broader efforts by the Heritage Division he established in 2009 to restore and protect sites connected to the Jewish people’s history in the Land of Israel.

Netanyahu closed with a concrete commitment: the Altalena will be raised from the depths so it can stand as a tangible reminder for this generation and those to come. The restored ship is intended to embody one simple commandment—civil war, never—because the people of Israel are brothers and sisters. The announcement transforms a long-submerged wreck into a national monument dedicated to the rejection of internal conflict.