Cannon that sunk 'Altalena' in 1948 to be moved to Menachem Begin Heritage Center

By JNS Staff

(JNS) — Israel’s Defense Ministry has agreed to transfer the cannon that shelled the Altalena, the Irgun cargo ship that the newly created Israel Defense Forces shelled off the Tel Aviv beach in 1948, to the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, Hebrew media reported on Wednesday.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz authorized the transfer after Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu requested that the “holy cannon” be relocated from the IDF’s Glilot military base in Ramat Hasharon to Begin’s national memorial in Jerusalem.

The weapon was nicknamed the “holy cannon” by Israel’s first prime...