Israel and You Spaces and Places in Israel
This segment on the Ayalon Institute was featured in part two in The History Channel’s “Cities of the Underworld” series. Follow the show’s host, Don Wildman, on this clandestine journey back in time. Uploaded on the Jewishnationalfund’s channel.
The Ayalon Institute is located between Nes Ziona and Rehovot. It is located on Kibbutz Hill and was made to fool the British into thinking it was a kibbutz during the British Mandate. In fact, it was a secret ammunition factory set up by the Jewish underground. The institute’s story took place in 1945-48 – between the end of the First World War and the establishment of the State of Israel. The site features the reconstructed secret underground factory for the production of munitions, set up by the Haganah in preparation for the approaching war. The factory workers led double lives: as members of a camp preparing core groups of settlers for working the land, and belowground as bullet manufacturers. The institute was covered with four meters of earth, and its openings were camouflaged by the floors of a laundry and bakery, so that some of the kibbutz members were not even aware of its existence.
| Address: | David Fiks St., Rekhovot, Kibbutz Hill, Science Park |
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| Tel: | +972-(0)8-9406552 |
| Fax: | +972-(0)8-9407534 |
| Email: | ayalon@shimur.org.il |
| Parking: | Yes |
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| Animals: | Prohibited |
