The Ayalon Institute
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.
In the 1930s, it became clear to the Zionist leaders that they were going to need weapons to defend themselves against
the Arabs and to fight for their independence. The Jews of Palestine
were very resourceful in smuggling weapons and establishing clandestine
arms factories. The underground factories churned out relatively easy
to build Sten submachine guns, but the Haganah had difficulty obtaining the 9 mm bullets needed for the weapons.
The head of the clandestine Israel Military Industry,
Yosef Avidar, devised a plan to smuggle in machines for a secret factory
to make the bullets. Though he was successful in purchasing machines
in Poland in 1938, the Zionists
could only get them as far as Beirut, where they were stored for nearly
four years before Jews who served in the British army succeeded in bringing
them to Palestine.
The ammunition plant was built almost under the noses
of the British, who had a nearby base. The site was a place where pioneers
would go for training in kibbutz life before moving on to establish
cooperatives around the country. Under the code name "the Ayalon
Institute," a group of pioneers from the Hatzofim Aleph movement
and members of the Haganah (and, later, joined by members of the Palmach)
dug a large underground chamber 300 square yards 13 feet underground
with nearly 2-foot-thick walls and ceiling. The entire project was completed
in 22 days. To conceal the clandestine project, the Jews built housing,
a dining hall, chicken coop, cow barn, workshops, a laundry a bakery,
and a vegetable garden to give the outward appearance of an ordinary
kibbutz.
The laundry was built directly over the factory to
provide pipes to discharge some of the polluted air from below. To conceal
the sound of the machinery in the factory, the laundry was kept running
24 hours a day. An entrance to the factory was also built below the
main drum of the washer, which could be swung open and shut. The laundry
did such a good job cleaning clothes that British officials used to
bring their uniforms to be laundered at the kibbutz. To keep the soldiers
away, the kibbutz members provided a pick up and delivery service to
their enemies.
At the other end of the factory was a bakery which
provided clean air through pipes that were attached to the bakery furnace.
The 10-ton baking oven also concealed a secret entrance to the factory,
which was revealed only after the several ton oven was moved along a
set of metal runners. Visitors today can go down the secret ladder in
the laundry or use a circular staircase installed for tourists inside
the bakery.
One of the components needed for the factory was copper.
To conceal the purpose of the purchases, the Jews applied to import
copper for what they said were cases for Kosher lipstick. The British
accepted this explanation, which was reinforced by gifts from the Jews
of lipstick cases to British officials.
Forty-five people worked below ground in two shifts.
The work was difficult, in a relatively dark, dusty, claustrophobic
place. It was also dangerous because the penalty for engaging in such
illegal activities during the mandate period was death. The kibbutz
was constantly watched and often visited by soldiers. At one point,
a group of British soldiers came to the kibbutz and were given beers.
The soldiers complained that they were warm, so the kibbutz members
said that if the soldiers would give them advance notice of their visits,
they would be sure the beer was properly chilled. The British fell for
the ruse and this allowed the kibbutz to prepare for the visits.
Since the workers were underground so long, the Jews
quickly realized that they would look suspiciously pale from being out
of the sun. A doctor was brought in who came up with a way to use radiation,
essentially a kind of sun lamp, to allow the workers to tan their skin.
After the ammunition was produced, the Jews still
had to find a way to smuggle it to the fighters. At first they were
put in milk cans, but these were too heavy. Later, secret compartments
were built in fuel trucks to hide them. Since the British didn't expect
anything as explosive as bullets to be hidden in fuel trucks, the Jews
were able to distribute the bullets around the country without detection.
The factory was kept secret even from some members
of the kibbutz, who were referred to as “Giraffes.” It was
only after they were considered trustworthy, that members were informed
of the operation.
At its peak, the factory produced 40,000 bullets a
day. The bullets were embossed with the letters EA, E for Eretz Israel
and A for Ayalon. Between 1945 and 1948, the factory produced more than
two million 9 mm bullets. This ammunition was crucial to the early success
of Jewish fighters.
Shortly after independence, Israel no longer had to
conceal its operations and moved them above ground. All of the Haganah's
weapons manufacturing was centralized in what became Israel Military
Industries. Meanwhile, the pioneer group from the Ayalon Institute decided
to stay together and established a new kibbutz, Ma'agan Micha'el, by
the sea near Zichron
Ya'acov in 1949.
Though it ceased operation in 1948, it only became
known to the public in 1975. In 1987, the factory was restored and turned
into a museum.
A tour requires booking in advance and there are admission fees.
Tel 08-9406552, 08-9300585
Fax. 08-9407534
Email: [email protected]
Sources: Jewish SF,
(April 27, 2001); Gems
in Israel; Jason's
Trip to Israel. |