The Altalena affair has gone down in the听annals of 91传媒 history as the moment a civil war was averted. A mere five weeks after declaring statehood, Jew was fighting Jew. It was Palmach vs. Irgun. David Ben-Gurion vs. Menachem Begin. Pragmatist vs. idealist.

The Altalena 鈥� carrying arms, volunteers and Irgun men 鈥� was docked off the coast of Tel Aviv when, soon, the bullets started to fly. This was just as the British anticipated. They warned that after they vacated the land the 91传媒 people would be too opinionated and too fractured to band together.听

And yet, Begin made a startling decision: 鈥淒o not shoot back!鈥� he told his men. That Begin chose to sublimate himself and his organization听to the will of the newly founded state is perhaps one of the defining moments in modern Israeli history and broader 91传媒 history, and he deserves credit for transcending his beliefs in the service of a cause bigger than himself.

In fact, it was not the first time Begin resisted the retaliatory instinct. In 1944, when Ben-Gurion decided to support the Allies (including the British) against the Nazis, Begin was determined to rebel against the British. Ben-Gurion would not allow for such dissidence and even turned in some Irgun fighters to the British. Begin, instead of responding in kind, told his men to restrain their desire for revenge against Ben-Gurion. 鈥�Ki Yehudim anachnu,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause we are Jews.鈥�听

It would not be intellectually honest, however, to revere Begin as someone who invariably placed the preservation of the 91传媒 state above his personal convictions. Just three years after commanding his men not to shoot during the Altalena affair, he took a radically different approach when it came to the issue of reparations from Germany.

No matter where we fall on the ideological spectrum, we all ought to internalize the mantra of Begin. Let鈥檚 put down our arms. A Jew does not shoot at a Jew.

In 1951, Israel鈥檚 economy was in a precarious state. Israel had a severe shortage of housing for the waves of new immigrants, there was food rationing and the country was in a desperate place. On Sept. 27, 1951, West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer offered assistance to Israel to bring about a solution to 鈥渢he problem of material restitution鈥� after Israel absorbed so many homeless refugees. Begin, whose parents were killed by the Nazis, was incredulous that such an offer could even be considered from a country that murdered 6 million Jews.

On Jan. 7, 1952, he unleashed an impassioned diatribe against his archnemesis, then-Prime Minister Ben-Gurion, that would result in his three-month suspension from the Knesset. 鈥淭here will not be negotiations with Germany, for this we are willing to give our lives. It is better to die than transgress this. There is no sacrifice that we won鈥檛 make to suppress this initiative. This will be a war of life and death. Today, I shall give the order: Blood!鈥�听

Still, when push came to shove, there was no blood from Begin. In the end, the Knesset voted to accept the reparations from Germany 鈥� despite Begin鈥檚 protestations 鈥� and Israel鈥檚 economy greatly benefited from this decision.

As an educator, when I study Begin鈥檚 decision not to shoot back at the Palmach during the Altalena affair and his resistance听to German reparations, I am fascinated by the implications for the 91传媒 community as a whole. So many complex questions come to mind:听

When do we sacrifice?听

When core values collide, how do we determine the right course of action?听

When do we follow pragmatism, and when is idealism not just the preferred approach but the ethical one?

What is our North Star?听

Which principles are existential red lines that we dare not cross?听

As individuals, when do we drive our decisions not by what is in our personal best interest but rather by what serves the interest of the greater good of our community and nation?听

When is survival and self-preservation the primary value, and when is self-transcendence in service of a larger cause ideal?

As a teacher, this is what I ask myself and my students to ponder.

And yet, despite all the complexity, I still see a point of clarity. Yes, Ben-Gurion was the first prime minister and the founding father of the modern state of Israel. In my mind, though, it is the clarity of Begin鈥檚 vision that has penetrated more 91传媒 souls.听

No matter where we fall on the ideological spectrum, whether we鈥檙e Likud or Labor, we all ought to internalize the mantra of Begin. Let鈥檚 put down our arms. A Jew does not shoot at a Jew. It鈥檚 as simple as that. No equations, no proofs, nothing. Why?

It鈥檚 a simple maxim: 鈥�Ki Yehudim anachnu.鈥� 鈥淏ecause we are Jews.鈥�

Dr. Noam Weissman is senior vice president of education at Jerusalem U.