Day Five: Tel Aviv

Today, Erev Shabbat, we headed to Tel Aviv. We began our tour outside the city, at the Ayalon Bullet Factory. This was a clandestine, underground bullet factory, hidden by a bakery that operated above it, which produced 2.5 million bullets for the Israeli forces during the War for Independence. All sorts of preparations needed to be made in order to keep the factory a secret, even from fellow Jews. As the factory workers were supposed to have been out in the fields, special UV lamps were brought into the factory to provide the necessary "tanning," so that their pale skin would not be an immediate give away. The factory has since been turned into a museum, with manikins placed at the various machines to simulate the scene that once took place here.

The stairway leading to the bullet factory, hidden by a bakery oven placed on a track

A manikin simulates the scene of the factory's operation

On our way into Tel Aviv, we stopped at a falafel stand. The jovial proprietor provided us with an array of salads and explained the four different flavors of falafel that he offers in his shop--all of which were delicious!

Crispy on the outside, fresh and green on the inside!

 In Tel Aviv, we visited Independence Hall on Rothschild Boulevard, the main drag in the city. The hall was originally the home of Meir Dizengoff, the first mayor of Tel Aviv and once of its founding settlers. Dizengoff bequeathed his home to the city of Tel Aviv, to be turned into an art museum for the public. The site was chosen to declare independence, not for historical purposes, but because the main room is partially underground, its narrow windows running along the very top of the walls, near the ceiling. With the fear that the ceremony might very well be under attack by Arabs, the room was chosen because of the difficulty in throwing a grenades inside.

After hearing the presentation, the recording of Ben Gurion's declaration was played, followed by the singing of Hatikva by all who were present at the time. Hearing the recording in the very room in which Israel's independence was actually declared gave us goosebumps.

Independence Hall, with Herzl's picture above the dais, as it was when independence was originally declared

Our final stop was the Nachalat Binyamin market. This is a special crafts market that is only open on Fridays in Tel Aviv. Artists set up their own booths and sell their wares as visitors wind their way through the beautiful, open air market. Plenty of jewelry, judaica, artwork, and other crafts were all on display. We enjoyed our time shopping there and were filled with pride over the sight of so many Jewish artists creating such beautiful pieces for sale.

Our next entry, for Shabbat, will obviously have no pictures, but we hope to provide everyone with a meaningful and vivid description of our activities. Shabbat Shalom!