Israel: Tour Day 2 - Independence Hall and a visit to Jaffa

Our first full day of our tour in Israel.

Independence Hall

Our first stop of the tour was, appropriately, Independence Hall, the place where the State of Israel was declared, following the pivotal UN resolution in 1948, allowing the establishment of the country at boundaries established by international consensus.

On the way, Rabbi Infeld described how Theodore Herzl wrote a book in 1896 that laid out principles of modern Zionism and, and in his visionary (some would say crazy) writings, was its founder. Herzl organized the first Zionist congress in 1897. Essentially, he changed Zionism from a religious movement ("next year in Jerusalem") to a political movement. As history would show, Herzl's "fantasies" have become reality.

It was David Ben Gurion that announced, 60 years ago this year, the creation of Israel to the world. Rabbi Infeld: "The honking horns that you hear outside the bus today is a miracle".

On May 12th 1948 (5708) at 4:00pm, the State of Israel was declared in Tel Aviv. The name "Tel Aviv" means "spring hill = new life" was born again, the first Hebrew city in the world.

Tel Aviv was built on sand dunes. Part of the 2nd Aliyah, many secular Jews settled in the city. Now, Tel Aviv now has over 380,000 residents, including Jaffa which overlooks the rest of town on a point located on its southern coastline. The surrounding area has over 2.2 million people.

At the time the UN resolution was passed, Israel had only one rifle for four people and no working cannon, For six months, the British were assigned to continue its protectorate in the region, after which Israel would be expected to support itself.

However, the British had a total military embargo, preventing any arms shipments into the region. In addition, entry to the region was not permitted by holocaust survivors. This, together with the fact the British abstained from voting on the UN resolution has not been forgotten by Israel, who decided, despite this, to declare independence.

For Independence to last at all, Israel had to have the means to defend itself. Ben Gurion dispatched Golda Meir to the United States in order to raise awareness of the situation. In a matter of weeks, she raised 50 million dollars and "saved the situation. Israel began to purchase arms and smuggled them into the country.

Independence Hall brought all of these concepts into focus. The humble, aging building, the chairs borrowed from a nearby delicatessen for the announcement in 1948, the sound system that was used to broadcast the event around the world but was donated for the occasion and required the sponsor's advertisement on the microphone to Indicate the fact, the recorded speech played to us in the hall, ringing as it had in 1948, followed by the Rabbi's prayer afterward that brought Golda Meir to tears, and then the Israeli national anthem, played by a band situated upstairs, above the crowded little Hall, and finally the sense that this was only the beginning, that Israelis would, very soon be dying to defend this newborn country. For, in fact, only three days later, Arab armies invaded Israel with the intent of wiping it from the face of the earth,

The significance of the moment, and the fact that Israel has survived to this date is a miracle of focused resolve, incredible sacrifice, luck, and, perhaps God's own invervention.

From Independence Hall, we were taken to. Alayon Institute, where part of that struggle that made possible the State of Israel took place, during the time of the British occupation leading up to Israel's declaration of independence.

On the way, we passed by past energy efficient modern office buildings and were told of conservation efforts in Israel. For example, sewage treatment plants are designed to capture methane gas, which is used for industrial purposes.

Jaffa oranges used to be a major agricultural product, but Yehuda explained that orange orchards have been allowed to decline in recent years. Inexpensive oranges from other countries have undercut the market. It simply does not pay to bring them to market these days. We heard similar stories regarding other types of goods that were once export staples in the Israeli economy.

Alayon Institute

We made it to the Alayon Institute in the early afternoon. The guide, a delightful, enthusiastic young woman, told us of this rather special kibbutz. Before speaking to its history, she explained that in a Kibbutz "everything was in common, Everything! She then went on to tell of a mildly risque story of two women, a shower, and a handsome man to demonstrate the point.

Ayalon Institute was created to commemorate a kibbutz that existed during the British occupation. To the British, it was a small facility designed to train young people with skills and values that would be particularly helpful once they 'graduated' and were sent out to a kibbutz to work and live. It was, in fact a secret ammunition factory, situated next to a major British army. Base and a rail yard. The factory was organized as part of the Haganah, a gutsy group of Zionist fighters.

The need for the factory was critical. In the six months that Israel had to prepare against the expected onslaught of Arabs once the British left their mandated protectorate, Israel had managed to procure 40,000 hand guns. But no country would let them buy bullets. The need to be self-sufficient in terms of arms and ammunition was obvious, and continues to this day. In fact, when Israelis receive F-16 fighter jets from the United States, most electronics are replaced by Israeli systems so that they can be independently maintained.

The tour through the ammunition factory was a fascinating insight into the secret
world of the Israeli resistance movement against the British. The factory itself was hidden underground, between two buildings, a communal laundry and a bakery.


This resulted in two 'worlds' for people living on the kibbutz, an "upstairs" world, where life went on normally, to the point that a pre-school and kindergarten was situated only a few steps away.

And then, there was the 'downstairs' world, hidden through a ladder that was covered by a heavy laundry machine that was installed with a special hinge that swung away. Only the workers directly involved in ammunition manufacture and the woman tending the laundry upstairs knew about it.

The entire factory was built in 21 days. 70 people knew about the factory, rotated in shifts. Others thought they were working in field "B". Air came from the laundry room.

Despite its close proximity to a major British army base and train station, it was never discovered during the time the British were posted there. In the meantime, the factory produced over two million bullets in its two years of operation.

Leaving the Alayon Institute, we drove by the Weitzman institute, nearby. Yehuda mentioned that, among other projects, Canadians and Israeli counterparts collaborate there to develop ways to efficiently store solar energy.

On the way to Jaffa

Viewed three modern office buildings shaped square, round, triangle, side by side, an interesting architectural statement. Accommodation in Jaffa is expensive, about one million US dollars for a one bedroom apartment.

While traveling to Jaffa, we passed by the Itzak Rabin center. Built to withstand nuclear attack, it is now used mainly for researchers doing peace-centered work. We also passed by the Mossad center, Israel's organization the is responsible for "activities" abroad. Later, we passed by the Israel museum. As we neared, Jaffa, Yehuda mentioned that most of the modern buildings were built in the 60s, with some newer ones in the 80s. Newer apartments often contain rooftop gardens.

As we passed the Diaspora museum, we saw, on the left in the distance, mountains that are part of the West Bank. Later, we passed by the Yarkon river the second largest in Israel (the river Jordan is the largest), but it is a "creek" compared to some of the great rivers of the world.

We stopped briefly at a kosher food court, where many buildings built on thin pillars to allow shops underneath. Yehuda mentioned that there are major concerns over earthquake safety in the region due to this type of construction. More modern buildings are being built differently, but the old buildings remain a present danger.

Site of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin

We stopped the bus in front of an office building for a somber visit next to what was once called Kikar Malkhei Yisrael (Kings of Israel Square), located in central Tel Aviv. The square has been a traditional site for major demonstrations for many years. At the time Rabin visited it, on November 4th 1995, there had been a ten day demonstration for peace. The street was full of people. A car was parked nearby the office building in an area that had been secured for Rabin's exit after addressing the demonstration. However, despite the fact it was secured, an armed assassin was in the area, who was later identified to be part of a radical right-wing Orthodox group.

Yehuda raised many questions that were in his mind about what happened. He has a military background, like most Israeli men. However he also received specialized training as a bodyguard to Menachem Begin. Because of what he knows, Yehuda cannot understand how the assassin to Yitzhak Rabin was not killed instantly by Rabin's own bodyguards. Why, Yehuda asked, was the assassin not only allowed to live, but also marry while in prison, and as a matter of Jewish law, have children? Further, Yehuda wondered, how could it be that the bodyguard who failed to protect Yitzhak Rabin from the assassin has remained in Moussad and was recently promoted to head the protection detail of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon? Perhaps, Yehuda suggested, right wing extremists had managed to infiltrate Moussad at one point. This might, at least, explain how the assassin entered the secured area unchallenged.

Rabbi Infeld used to live on Balfour street in Jerusalem, where he had seen major protests in Jerusalem against Rabin. However, when Rabin was killed, the site of protests became a site of memorial. The memorial that we saw in Tel Aviv consists of a number of large, black, broken blocks of stone, symbolizing the broken society that was responsible for what occurred at this location.

Jaffa
The beautiful coastal city of Jaffa is situated within sight of the beaches of Tel Aviv.

We passed by a church commemorating the site where St Peter raised Tabatha from the dead. While walking along the broad courtyard, Yehuda mentioned that, in 1799, Napoleon slaughtered 4000 men when he invaded the city.

Further along, we walked along beautiful alleys set between ancient buildings along sandstone steps, which led to galleries. Along the way, we passed by Armenian, Greek orthodox, Roman catholic churches.

Yehuda mentioned that the streets had been renovated streets from the '70s forward. The orginal concept was to draw tourists to small art studios and antique shops that developed there. Artists did, in fact, try to make a go of it, but unfortunately (or fortunately, for us), few tourists come here. The area is quite beautiful, though, and there are still a number of very good shops located there.

<---a unique tree, suspended in a living sculpture











Eventually, we wandered out of the artist area, into a park overlooking the sea.

There, we saw a reconstructed gateway dated from the time of Ramses II. The stones surrounding it were placed there over three thousand years ago, between 1200-1500 BCE,

Nearby, at Abrasha Park, was a modern "Statue of faith" depicting Jacobs dream, the sacrifice of Isaac and the fall of Jericho.

As we left Jaffa, we saw desert plants called "maluach". These are broad pointed gray-green leaves, with the ability to push salt out. Apparently, a very specialized desert rat lives under this plant. Scientists discovered that it appears it exists only by eating this plant. When it was denied this plant, it died ....of diabetes. Could it possibly have medicinal value? We may hear about it someday.

Tomorrow, we visit Caesarea!