AYALON INSTITUTE

MY ISRAEL:

THE AYALON INSTITUTE: A tale of deception.

In 1920 at the San Remo Conference in Italy, Britain acquired the mandate for what was in the past referred to as Palestine. The League of Nations later ratified the mandate in 1922. With the end of WW2 in 1945 it became apparent that the British would leave and a future conflict between Jews and Arabs was inevitable.

The Jewish pre-state militia, namely the Haganah had to prepare for war without arousing the suspicions of the British. To state the obvious, an essential ingredient to fight a war successfully is ammunition, which in this case were 9mm bullets for sten submachine guns used by the Palmach (an elite fighting force of the Haganah). It thus became imperative to build a bullet factory to satisfy demand. The factory had of course to be camouflaged and hidden from view. A site near the town of Rehovot, was chosen, as it contained a hill that could be easily excavated to contain an underground facility. Additionally, Rehovot is located in the center of the country near railway tracks, thus facilitating the transport of munitions to all parts of the country. In my opinion however, the masterstroke was choosing a site nearby a British military encampment. This done to avert suspicion and lull the British into thinking that the Jews would never attempt anything under their noses. This strategy induced the British to conduct searches further afield.

Operating as kibbutz on the surface, namely kibbutz Hill, it had all the amenities associated with the lifestyle of a kibbutz. These included a chicken coup, dining hall, children’s houses, gardens, e.t.c., but above all, it had a bakery & a laundering facility. In 1945, the Hagenah built an underground bullet factory over a period of 3 weeks. It was run by 45 kibbutz members and produced 2.25 million bullets between the years 1946 to 1948 & at the height of operations made 40 000 bullets per day. Only the 45 employees were aware of the factories existence & the rest of the kibbutz members remained unaware of its presence, a fact that later led to a rather amusing incident.

The bullet factory was located beneath both the bakery & the laundry room. A 10 ton movable baking oven mounted on tracks concealed a large floor opening through which machinery could be lowered into the factory below & the laundry room housed a sizable & noisy washing machine, which revolved around a pivot, as does a door, thereby exposing a hole in the floor through which workers could descend and ascend. The noise generated by the washing machine concealed any noise emanating from the factory. The laundry service offered by the kibbutz proved to be a very viable commercial enterprise & in addition to acquiring hospital and other private contracts, it serviced British officials stationed in nearby Rechovot.

Other ways to conceal the activities from the British included an alarm button at the gatehouse, activated when British personnel entered the premises. The 45 factory workers developed a light complexion due to lack of sun & a resident doctor adapted a sunlamp to create radiation thereby giving workers a tan. Whether this would be an acceptable strategy in today’s world is debatable. To my mind however, the most inventive & humorous explanation given to the British for the use of copper was, “to create capsules for the making of kosher lipstick”.

As mentioned previously, only 45 members of the kibbutz were aware of the factories existence. Those in the know developed a sense of superiority and referred to the “unenlightened” as giraffes, as their heads were lost in the clouds. This of course is not true of giraffe behavior but the comparison is understandable. When the factory workers emerged to go and have lunch for instance, they had to ensure that the room above that housed the washing machine was devoid of people & the door locked. On one occasion, someone had forgotten to lock the door and a “giraffe worker” by the name of Esther entered the room and fainted on seeing the washing machine move and factory workers emerging. The workers had neither the desire nor the will to kill her & she consequently became one of the few privy to the kibbutz secret.

In house tours offered both in English & Hebrew are well worth the expense, but must be booked in advance. Contact: Ayalon Institute Museum, Kibbutzim Hill, Rehovot : (08) 940-6552

Ron Traub (Tour Guide & Architect). Website: rontraub-tours.com Photo’s: Rimonah Traub