The "Underground Museum," Jerusalem

Cross-posted on Shiloh Musings. For the entire article please click here.

A couple of weeks ago, the senior citizen "vattimkim," program I attend every week had a field trip to Jerusalem. I already blogged about our visit to the Jerusalem Municipality complex at Safra Square where we saw their amazing scale model of some of the city.

Just behind Safra Square is what's known as Migrash Harusim, the Russian Compound, in which there's a police station, jail and the jail that the British used when they were occupying the Land of Israel, during the Mandate.

There has been a museum there dedicated to the Jewish prisoners who had been arrested, held and executed by the British before the declaration of Independence of the State of Israel.

For the entire article please click here.

Vacationing Up North

Cross-posted on Shiloh Musings

Last week I posted a few pictures from our A Bissel Vacation up north taken and posted on my phone. Yes, a smartphone is very much like a mini laptop computer. I don't see the need for a tablet, even though my Samsung J7 isn't the most powerful of phones. But typing on a tiny/mini-keyboard and saying really interesting isn't for the phone. So now I'll tell you more about our vacation.

My husband works for the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, and they had joined with the Kinar-Galilee Hotel for a truly interesting program that began Thursday evening, then a tour Friday morning and a Shabbat full of activities. As an employee of the Begin Center Education Department, my husband was needed to guide one of the buses. As a result we had a wonderful weekend and finally made it to the Kinar, which is really a great hotel.

As the sun set, I took some amazing photos of the hotel grounds and Lake Kinneret:

Dr. Udi Lebel, PhD

Here are more of the photos I took. Thursday night we heard a lecture by Dr. Udi Lebel, PhD, "Beyond the Pantheon": Bereavement, Memory and the Strategy of De-Legitimization Against Herut, which was totally fascinating. He talked about the enduring hatred Ben-Gurion had for anyone who had been associated with the Etzel and Lechi. For example the two men on the screen behind Lebel were twin brothers who had both been killed during the War for Independence. The difference was that one had been with the Haganah and the other Etzel, so the family only got bereavement benefits for the son killed while in the Haganah. They were told they'd lose those benefits if they made a joint memorial for their two sons.

After that we watched the excellent one-man show, "Mr. Begin," which was totally amazing. If you have the opportunity to see it, go. It was in Hebrew.

The following morning we were off to tour to Shlomo Ben-Yosef memorial and grave in the old cemetery in Rosh Pinna, the Memorial for Mishmar HaYarden and Tel Chai.

There were two busloads of people, and we heard very positive reactions. On Shabbat there were two more lectures,  "From Ben Gurion to Levi Eshkol" by Muki Tzur and Herzi Makov, Director of the Begin Center spoke about From Menachem Begin to Yitzchak Shamir.  The veteran singing duo Tzemed Re'im were also there to entertain and act as part of the choir at the Ashkenaz synagogue.

All and all it was a really excellent program which ended after Shabbat. If they repeat the program, try to attend if you can.

Washington didn't sleep here!

One of the points I mentioned here, in my list of twelve things I love about Israel, is that there's history all over.

This old building in Nachla'ot has some history, too. Can you read the sign?

It tells the story of a "love affair." Rachel Kramer, a Lechi freedom-fighter yes there were women who fought, had lived in the building with her parents and was engaged to marry Meir Feinstein, an Etzel freedom-fighter. Meir was arrested, tried and the British were preparing to hang him and his partner, Barazani. Instead Feinstein and Barazani killed themselves.

Later on, Rachel, in that very building, married Efraim Rechman.

There's a multiple Shiloh connection with that building, too, but that's another story.