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Ammunition Hill – National
Memorial Site
In the early 1930s, the British
mandatory authorities built a police academy in northern Jerusalem. The
ammunition was stored on the nearby hill, which became known as Ammunition Hill.
The Jordanians captured parts of northern Jerusalem in the 1948 War, and the
police academy and Ammunition Hill became outposts to help prevent Israel from
connecting to its Mt. Scopus enclave. On the morning of June 7, 1967, during the
Six Day War, a bloody battle was waged on Ammunition Hill, which was ultimately
taken by Israeli soldiers and opened the way to Israel’s capture of the Old
City.In 1975, at the initiative of
the grieving families and comrades-in-arms of the fallen soldiers, a memorial
site and museum was dedicated on Ammunition Hill, and 182 olive trees were
planted – the number of the fallen in the battles for Jerusalem in the Six Day
War. In 1987, Ammunition Hill was declared a National Memorial Site.
Visitors can tour the battle
site; view the museum’s permanent exhibit, devoted to battles fought for
Jerusalem in the Six Day War; see an audiovisual presentation; and commune with
the fallen soldiers at the Golden Wall, on which the soldiers’ names are
inscribed.
Address: 5 Shragai, Jerusalem Tel. (02) 582-8442, (02)
582-9392
Anna Ticho House Museum
This is the house of Dr.
Avraham Albert Ticho, a renowned ophthalmologist, and his wife, the artist Anna
Ticho, who moved there in 1912. Its first floor serves as a gallery and library,
as well as a museum shop and restaurant. On the second floor, the works of Anna
Ticho are displayed; the second floor also includes the office of Dr. Ticho with
his collection of Hanukkah lamps.
The house, which was one of the
first built outside the Old City walls, is architecturally impressive and it
includes a lovely courtyard that serves as part of the restaurant. The museum,
which is operated by the Israel Museum, also hosts cultural activities.
Address: 9 Harav Kook,
Jerusalem Tel. (02) 624-5068
Ariel - Center for Jerusalem
in the First Temple Period, Yad Ben-Zvi
The story of Jerusalem in the
days of the great biblical kings is presented in a three-dimensional audiovisual
production, screened on a large topographical model of the city. Visitors can
also see an exhibit with models, illustrations, and copies of archaeological
finds. The story of the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem, which took place about
2,600 years ago, is presented in the exhibition “Like a Bird in a Cage.” A new
model reconstructs the city’s appearance with its houses and Temple and an
audiovisual presentation focuses on the spirit of the period.
At the site there is active
guiding that enables visitors to experience the moments of tension of the First
Temple period and get to know the residents of the city and their way of life.The center is closed for
renovations until Rosh Hashanah.
Address: Bonei Hahoma, corner
of Plugat Hakotel, Jewish Quarter, Jerusalem Tel. (02) 628-6288
Rabbi Kook House
The house in which Rabbi
Abraham Isaac Kook, the first chief rabbi of the Land of Israel, lived until his
death was renovated and reconstructed with an eye to preserving its original
character. In the southern section of the house is the rabbi’s room with its
original furnishings. The room that served as the library of the yeshiva and as
the women’s prayer gallery contains a permanent exhibition focusing on the
rabbi’s life and work. The house also contains the synagogue, in which the
Merkaz Harav Yeshiva operated in its early days.The northern section, which
served as the family’s residence, features a reading room, documentation center,
and pedagogical center. Torah lessons and study days are held at the site.
Groups can watch an audiovisual
presentation about the life of Rabbi Kook, have a lesson in one of the subjects
of his teachings, and tour various parts of Jerusalem in the footsteps of the
rabbi.
Address: 9 Rav Kook St.,
Jerusalem Tel. (02) 623-2560
Beit Shai Agnon
This is the two-story house
where Nobel prize-winning author S.Y. Agnon resided. On the ground floor, the
living room has been preserved. Its character teaches us about the modesty and
simplicity that typified Agnon’s family life. The other rooms in the house
feature exhibits of photographs, paintings, and other items.
Agnon’s study, with its
extensive and unique library containing thousands of books, is on the second
floor. Various items that belonged to Agnon are also exhibited here, including
the typewriter on which his wife Esther typed his stories from his handwriting.
The room beside the library
contains, among other things, Agnon’s Nobel Prize and Israel Prize certificates.
Study days, lectures, and workshops are held in the reading room, and tours in
Jerusalem on the theme of Agnon and his works are organized.
Address: 16 Klausner, Talpiot,
Jerusalem Tel. (02) 671-6498
Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem
The Bible Lands Museum
Jerusalem presents the cultures of the peoples mentioned in the Bible, such as
the Hittites, Philistine, Arameans, and Phoenicians, covering areas ranging from
ancient Egypt to the Fertile Crescent, to Afghanistan, and from Nubia to the
Caucusus Mountains.
The museum also hosts temporary
exhibitions and cultural events -lectures, concerts, and activities for
children.
Address: Shderot Hamuze’onim,
25 Granot, Jerusalem
Tel. (02) 561-1066
Bloomfield - Science Museum
This museum plans, exhibits,
and produces interactive exhibitions in the fields of science and technology.
People of all ages can have a hands-on experience here. Science is presented to the
public in a simple and attractive way. A staff of guides – students in the
sciences – helps enrich the visit.
Address: The Hebrew University
of Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Jerusalem Tel. (02) 654-4888
Castel National Park
Castel National Park is located
on the ruins of a Crusader castle and an Arab village. In the War of
Independence, the site was an important army post, which overlooked the main
road to Jerusalem, and bloody battles were fought for control of the Castel.
Reconstructed bunkers and trenches can be seen at the site, complete with
explanatory signs. From the top of the hill there
is a breathtaking view of the Judean Mountains.
Address: Castel National Park
in Mevasseret Zion
Tel. (02) 533-0476
Herzl Museum
The Herzl Museum is located on
Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem, beside the graves of the leaders of the nation. The museum, which was founded
in 1960, a century after the birth of Theodor Herzl, has been renovated and
updated, and now uses state-of-the-art simulations to take the visitor back in time to the various periods
in Herzl’s life. Another section of the museum presents a re-creation of Herzl’s
study with some of the actual furnishings and papers it contained.
Address: Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem Tel. (02) 643-3266
Israel Museum, Jerusalem
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, is home to an encyclopedic collection of Israeli,
Jewish, and general art and archaeology, ranging from the Dead Sea Scrolls to
contemporary works of art. Its archaeology, Judaica and Jewish ethnography, art,
and youth wings contain a wealth of treasures. The museum offers tours daily in
a variety of languages as well as educational and cultural programs for visitors
of all ages.
Address: Rupin Blvd., Jerusalem Tel. (02) 670-8811,
website: www.imj.org.il
Jerusalem
Archaeological Park. Davidson Center
This archaeological park
contains remains from the Second Temple period, such as the stairway up to the
Hulda Gates, which led to the Temple, and huge stones from the Western Wall,
which remained after the destruction of the Temple on the floor of the “Herodian
Street.” Among the other features of the site are Robinson’s Arch – an enormous
stairway via which Second Temple-period pilgrims climbed up to the Temple Mount;
buildings from the Hasmonean and Byzantine periods; and remains of Umayyad
palaces.
The Davidson Center is located
within the archaeological garden, and its sophisticated displays recount 2,000
years of Jerusalem’s history. There is also an interactive virtual model of the
Temple Mount, as it looked it in the Second Temple period.
Address: The foot of the
southern wall in the Old City
Tel. (02) 627-7550
Kfar Etzion – House of Testimony
of the Heritage of the Etzion Bloc
This museum features exhibits
on such themes as settlement in the Etzion Bloc and land and water problems.
There are depictions of the siege of the Etzion Bloc in Israel’s War of
Independence; attempts to break through to the bloc; evacuation of mothers and
children and the battles until the fall of the bloc. A relief map shows the
bloc’s structure, communities, army posts, and battles in the War of
Independence. The concluding panel is devoted
to “Lonely Tree,” the symbol of the Etzion Bloc in the years of being cut off
from it and the days of the return to the bloc after the Six Day War.
In the garden, visitors can
commune with the memory of the 240 who fell in battles for the bloc, and an
audiovisual presentation tells the story of the area.
Address: Kibbutz Kfar Etzion Tel. (02) 993-5160, (02)
993-8308
L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art
This museum presents a
collection of Islamic art from the seventh century until today in the geographic
expanse that extends from Spain to India, providing a showcase for the
achievements of the people of the Islamic culture. It also hosts temporary
exhibitions on Islam-related themes and possesses a collection of clocks.
Address: 2 Hapalmah, Jerusalem Tel. (02) 566-1291, (02)
566-1292
Motza
Visitors to Motza, just outside
of Jerusalem, can view the old synagogue and remains of the early houses of the
colony, which was founded in the late 1800s. The synagogue is in a Crusader
building, constructed on remains of a Byzantine building. A guided tour of the
site tells the story of the colony.
Tel. (02) 534-3467
Museum on the Seam (Tourjeman
House)
This museum is located on the
seam between religious and secular neighborhoods, between the eastern and
western sides of the city. The building served as a battle position, as attested
by its facade, scarred with bullet holes. This is an activist museum that
makes use of artistic tools to ease tension between various groups in the
country and convey the importance of communication.
Address: 4 Hel Handasa,
Jerusalem Tel. (02) 628-1278
Old Yishuv Court Museum
This museum preserves the
memory of the Old Yishuv, the Jewish population that lived in the Old City of
Jerusalem until Israel’s War of Independence (1948). The exhibition reconstructs
residential rooms from three periods: the Ottoman period, the late nineteenth
century, and the British Mandate period. The Ari Synagogue, which is
reconstructed in one of the rooms according to the tradition of the Sephardic
community, is the place in which Rabbi Yitzhak Luria (Ha’ari) was born. Another
synagogue within the confines of the museum is the Ashkenazi Or Hahaim
Synagogue. A special emphasis has been
placed on crafts practiced in the Old Yishuv and enterprises, such as the Berman
Bakery and Efrat Wineries, that took their first steps in the Jewish Quarter.
Address: 6 Or Hahayim St.,
Jerusalem
Tel. (02) 627-6319, (02)
628-4636
Sergei Courtyard
The Sergei courtyard was
created at the end of the nineteenth century as part of a hostel for affluent
pilgrims from Russia. Today the site houses the offices of the Society for the
Protection of Nature in Israel and the Ministry of Agriculture. The compound
serves as a cultural center for acquaintance with Jerusalem.
Address: 13 Heleni Hamalka,
Jerusalem
Tel. (02) 625-7682, (02)
625-2357
Underground Prisoners Museum
This is a reconstruction of the
prison in which activists in the Jewish underground were held by the British
during the mandate period. Visitors can see an exhibition
about the history of the British Mandate, the Haganah, the IZL and Lehi
underground organizations, and life in the prison. They can watch a short film
and tour the prison, including the solitary confinement area and the gallows
room.In the course of the tour,
guides describe life in the prison. The story of the struggle for a national
home is told, as are stories of the fighters and the deeds that caused them to
be sent to prison or the gallows. The museum is operated by the
Ministry of Defense.
Address: 1 Mishol Hagevora,
Russian Compound, Jerusalem
Tel. (02) 623-3166
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