- B. After the founding of the State, Begin did not trust the Hagannah, since their ideology differed greatly from his own and those of his soldiers. Therefore, he wanted to retain his army even after the State of Israel was declared. Ben Gurion, however, said he could not run a country with many armies and many leaders, and insisted that the Irgun lay down their arms.
- C. When the Altalena came into Tel Aviv with arms for the Irgun, Ben Gurion ordered the ship be sunk, and a “civil war” battled ensured with casualties on both sides.
- D. Menachem Begin, in order to keep the peace and continue fighting the Arabs, relented and laid down his arms. Some of his soldiers were absorbed into the Hagannah which became the new Israel Defense forces under David ben Gurion who was also the Minister of Defense.
Moral Dilemma
You are Menachem Begin, commander of the Irgun forces, and you are standing aboard the Altalena. You have always demanded a separate army under your command, and do not trust Ben Gurion, his political views or his decisions. But you also know that a country cannot function unless properly its army is united as one. Ben Gurion demands that your forces come under his direct command. Now, when you tried to unload arms for your forces, Ben Gurion’s Haganah has opened fire and has even killed some of your men. A battle is ensuing. If you continue to fight, many more of your soldiers will die at the hands of the Jewish Hagannah army and it will tear the new State apart. If you give in, you will lose all your authority and everything you have worked for, politically and militarily. Should you surrender to Ben Gurion’s demands and combine your forces to form one army or not? List the reasons to give in and the reasons not. What makes you ultimately decide to do what you do?
For further information, analysis, web sites and study by the teacher and or student on this topic, please refer to the Data Disk of Episode VII Educators’ Guide. Feel free to contact Rabbi Dr. Nachum Amsel for any questions or issues Nachum@jewishdestiny.com or phone 212-444-1656 – (note time difference to Israel when calling.)