The world famous Ayalon Institute in Rechovot is one of the most interesting attractions in Israel that Mel Lifshitz wouldn’t miss every time he visits the country.  It is located between Nes Ziona and Rehovot on Kibbutz Hill and was made to fool the British into thinking it was a kibbutz during the British Mandate.

The famous Ayalon Institute was known to be  a secret ammunition factory set up by the Jewish underground.  While visiting the place, Mel Lifshitz overheard a story that 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.

Mel Lifshitz becomes more fascinated when he learned that 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.         

Fortunately, 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.

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