Beit Ha'atzmaut
Visit to Beit Ha'atzmaut (Independence Hall)
On 14th May 1948, 5th Iyar 5708, the Tel Aviv Museum, formerly the home of Mayor Meir Dizengoff, was chosen to host the ceremony of the declaration of Israel's independence. Now the site, under the name Beit Ha'atzmaut, serves as a museum for the history of that declaration. The visit is divided into two parts, the first of which is dedicated to the founding of Tel Aviv and Dizengoff's work and includes an explanation together with pictures and a 15- minute movie, and the second part takes place in Declaration Hall. There, time has frozen since that day in 1948. The furniture, the head table with the names of the dignitaries, and even the pictures on the wall have been reproduced or been left as they were. Against that backdrop, the guide relates the events of those days and takes his listeners back in time to the suspense surrounding the peak moment of the Zionist endeavor. The presentation ends with the original, moving recording of the Declaration, spoken by Ben Gurion, with additions that you have probably never heard before anywhere else. A guided tour of the site can be booked by prior arrangement.
The House of Zina and Meir Dizengoff
In 1909, 66 families gathered on the sand dunes and began to establish the first Hebrew city in Israel. Members of the Ahuzat Bayit neighborhood – Akiva Aryeh Weiss, Dizengoff, Sheinkin, Gutmann, Shlush, Abulafia and others – held a lottery, using shells, for the purpose of allocating plots. Dizengoff, the head of the committee and later, the legendary mayor, was the first to build his house on Sderot Rothschild. The country-style house looked totally different then than it does nowadays. When Zina Dizengoff died in 1930, Dizengoff wished to turn the house they had shared into an art museum and so fulfil an old dream – to provide a home for the city's artists. At that time, when the international style (commonly known as Bauhaus) had become very popular in Tel Aviv, the building was restructured from its foundations. This is how the house stands to this very day, faithful to the concepts that characterized its architectural style: smooth lines, unembellished, simple on the exterior, but with an interior that is rich in content, meaning and strength.
Smartphone Activities
Bet Ha'atzmaut may be a place of history and nostalgia but it is definitely not a place where time has stood still. In 2015, two activities based on interactive games for the smartphone were launched here.
"Racing toward a state" is an activity that focuses on the preparations for the Declaration of Independence, including a race between the historic sites of Tel Aviv, a tour and a short movie in Bet Ha'atzmaut and a visit to Declaration Hall. The game takes about 1½ hours and the entire program lasts about 3 hours.
"From legend to a state" is an experiential game that focuses on the founding of the first Hebrew city and lasts about 50 minutes.
Accessibility for disabled and blind people
Declaration Hall is accessible to disabled people, and entry to guide dogs is permitted.
The tour lasts about an hour. Additional activities are available to expand the visit.
For details and reservations, please contact us at:
Tel: 03-517-3942
e-mail: reservations@ihi.org.il
website: http://ihi.org.il/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndependenceHallofIsrael
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