Altalena Affair - Aftermath

Aftermath

The Altalena Affair exposed deep rifts between the main political factions in Israel, and is still occasionally referenced in Israeli media to illustrate the modern debate as to whether or not the use of force by the Israeli government against fringe Jewish political elements is legitimate. Proponents of Ben-Gurion's actions praised them as essential to establishing the Government's authority and discouraging factionalism and formation of rival armies. This was consistent with other actions he took, such as dissolving the Palmach later that year. Furthermore, Ben-Gurion's supporters have argued that a state must have a monopoly over the use of force (see Max Weber for a detailed discussion of this idea). The Irgun, by attempting to import weapons to use as a private militia, was undermining the legitimacy of the fledgling State of Israel.

Opponents condemned what they saw as unnecessary violence and claimed that opportunities for a peaceful resolution were intentionally frustrated by Ben-Gurion and top IDF officers, and that Ben-Gurion used the IDF to persecute his political opponent Begin, who had not the intention nor the capability of posing any serious military threat to Ben-Gurion's government (a few thousand of fighters at most in comparison to a 100,000 strong IDF force). According to them, Begin only wanted to strengthen his Irgun forces in their desperate attempt to defend the Old City of Jerusalem, which might not have fallen into Jordanian hands if not for Ben-Gurion's politically motivated interference.

As events have faded into history, the debate on Altalena in Israel has become less intense, though it was reignited for a short time when Likud headed by Menachem Begin won the 1977 elections. On the 60th anniversary of the affair a memorial on the Tel Aviv beach was inaugurated, based on the Irgun and its followers' narrative and mentioning only the Irgun's casualties.

Begin later said, "My greatest accomplishment was not retaliating and causing civil war". Years later, on the eve of the Six-Day War, in June 1967 (when Levi Eshkol was Prime Minister), Menachem Begin joined a delegation which visited Sde Boker to ask David Ben-Gurion to return and accept the premiership again. After that meeting, Ben-Gurion said that if he had then known Begin as he did now, the face of history would have been different.

Read more about this topic:  Altalena Affair

Famous quotes containing the word aftermath:

    The aftermath of joy is not usually more joy.
    Mason Cooley (b. 1927)