"The Altalena affair was one of the most tragic moments in the state of Israel's history, at the critical moment of its founding," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday at a memorial ceremony for the ship's fallen. "Despite the bitter memory, you could say in our defense that we were a young state then." The Altalena, a cargo ship carrying members of the Irgun militia, was sunk by a Palmach unit commanded by Yitzhak Rabin after arriving in Tel Aviv against the Israeli government's orders. "In hindsight, today we are able to analyze why they opened fire on the ship instead of talking with its commander. It was a hasty, mistaken order... Possibly, one of the reasons was the insecurity of the young government regarding its authority, and out of a misplaced suspicion and a lack of trust. It was also certainly a result of the same severe rift that was like a gaping wound in the nation during that rough and stormy period." Netanyahu praised the then Etzel commander Menachem Begin, noting that the main lesson of the affair is "no to civil war," as Begin said. Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom seconded Netanyahu's remarks, saying that Begin "was a leader who united the various parts of the nation."
