An important part of our stay here in Israel revolves around our Zionist education. In increasing our understanding of the formation of the State of Israel we recently paid a visit to the Palmach Museum and the Ayalon Institute. By visitng these museums we remember the individual efforts and inspiring creativity that led to the formation of our State. The Palmach was the pre-state, underground, Jewish defense organization. The museum gives an interactive experience where we followed a group of fighters on their mission to free Israel. As an unsupported organization, these brave individuals had to work on Kibbutzim to make a living and in return they were given shelter and training time. For me, and many others, it was so interesting and unbelievable that men and women as young as 16 gathered together to become soldiers of their own force. It was not a government unit but boys and girls becoming men and women as they put their lives on the line as they fought next to each other on fronts in the North and the South. They held off Arab militants and the Egyptian army while hiding from the British. The museum commemorates the efforts and contributions of the many innovative youngsters that stepped up and took charge of the future of their nation. It is due to their unity, organization, and creativity that finally led to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1948. At the Ayalon Institute we learned that, at the same time, efforts to make weapons and produce bullets was taking place literally under the nose of the British mandate soldiers. Haganah members, a defense unit for Israel, were again creative in their measures in fighting. They built a bullet factory underground, on top of a hill, overlooking the British station in Rehovot and built a kibbutz on top of the factory. Most kibbutz members did not know about the bullet factory and assumed that the other members were just working in the fields. The Haganah was genius in their planning. They started spray-tanning the factory workers to make it believable that they were in the fields all day. They put a laundry room over the entrance so that workers never left with gunpowder residue and so that the machines muffled the noise of the bullet machines. They even built a bakery as an excuse to build a ventilation system underground. These individuals, soldiers, and freedom fighters took initiative and stood up for what they believed in. They teach us that every person can make a difference and that passion and spirit can prevail. |
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