The Altalena Affair through the Eyes of Hillel Kook

Abstract

The Altalena affair created two opposing foundational myths: the government’s myth
of statehood, according to which firing on the ship prevented a military coup; and the
Begin myth, according to which Begin’s refusal to respond prevented a civil war. In
this article, I offer a novel view of the affair based on the testimony of Hillel Kook.
Countering the statehood myth, I propose a new interpretation of Kook’s prolonged
detention during the affair: Mapai sought to silence the Irgun’s most effective public
advocate ahead of the elections to the Constitutional Assembly, while at the same
time trying to create the myth of an attempted coup. Unlike the myth associated
with Begin’s image, Kook’s diaries reveal criticism of his leadership, his failure in
negotiations, his indecisiveness, and his insistence on ceremonies that exacerbated
the crisis. Kook’s testimony points to shared responsibility for the affair’s outcome:
Ben-Gurion by his decision to shell the ship and Begin as a result of his conduct
which helped bring about that decision.