Lessons of the Altalena Affair: Lebanon only gets one army, there's no room for Hezbollah - opinion
It’s time for the lesson of the Altalena to be implemented in Lebanon. Only one army can be allowed to operate in Lebanon for peace and prosperity to exist in the Land of the Cedars.
Lebanese army soldiers secure a site that was hit by a strike, in Saraain(photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)ByNEVILLE BERMANThe Altalena Affair is not the title of an Agatha Christie novel. The Altalena was the name of a ship, and its final voyage was historic.
On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion formally declared the existence of the State of Israel. The next day, five Arab countries attacked the newly declared State of Israel with the intention of wiping it off the map. Three weeks later, the Altalena set sail from across the Mediterranean, carrying a shipment of arms destined for Israel. At the time, the war was still in progress. The voyage would end three days later with the deliberate sinking of the ship just off the coast of Tel Aviv. The question that immediately arises is Who sank the Altalena? Considering the importance of the cargo, it is reasonable to assume that one or more of Israel’s enemies were involved. In actual fact, the order to sink the ship was given by Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister. Why would an Israeli prime minister order the sinking of a ship bringing desperately needed arms to Israel?
To find the answer, we need to look at events before the 1948 war. The Altalena Affair involved two principal characters. They were Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin, who also became prime minister of Israel. After the end of World War II, Britain was still administering Palestine under a League of Nations mandate. The British were not interested in preventing Arabs from attacking Jewish farms, so Ben-Gurion established an armed group called the Hagana to assist the farmers in defending their livelihood. Ben-Gurion believed that only through diplomacy could Britain be persuaded to establish a Jewish state in Palestine.
Begin, the head of the Zionist paramilitary organization the Irgun, believed that the only way that the British would leave Palestine was to force them to leave. The British administrative headquarters of Mandatory Palestine were situated in the southern wing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Begin decided to blow up the hotel. On July 22, 1946, members of the Irgun, disguised as Arab workers and hotel waiters, placed milk containers in the kitchen of the hotel. In the milk containers were bombs. Phone calls were made, warning the occupants of the hotel to evacuate. The British ignored the warning. The bombs exploded. Ninety-one people of various nationalities were killed, and 46 were wounded. Ben-Gurion was furious at what Begin had done. He declared that “the Irgun has become the enemy of the Jewish people.” Ben-Gurion regarded Begin as his arch nemesis.
Why was the Altalena destroyed?
A few weeks after Israel’s War of Independence started, Ben-Gurion was informed that Begin was bringing a ship packed with arms to Israel, Ben-Gurion demanded to know who the arms were intended for. Begin replied that 80% of the arms were intended for the Hagana, and the rest were for the Irgun. Ben-Gurion famously replied: “There are not going to be two states. There are not going to be two armies. If Begin doesn’t give in, we shall open fire.” The 'Altalena' on fire after being shelled near Tel Aviv in June 1948. (credit: HANS PINN/WIKIPEDIA)Begin refused to compromise. The order to sink the Altalena was given. Begin was aboard the Altalena when it was fired upon. To his credit, he ordered the crew not to fire back, as he believed that Jews should not fight Jews. The ship was sunk, and the arms so desperately needed were lost. The decision to sink the Altalena was a landmark, albeit harsh, decision that forged the democratic character of Israel in the most dramatic way: The state was in charge, and no private militias would be tolerated.
Unfortunately, Lebanon has never understood the lesson of the Altalena. Having a Lebanese army as well as a militia controlled by Hezbollah acting on behalf of Iran in the same country is a recipe for chaos and disaster. It’s time for the lesson of the Altalena to be implemented in Lebanon. Only one army can be allowed to operate in Lebanon for peace and prosperity to exist in the Land of the Cedars. Lebanon has reached its own Altalena decision point. It needs to disarm Hezbollah’s army.■
The writer, born in South Africa, is a certified accountant who lives in Ra’anana with his Israeli-born wife.
