Ayalon Institute

The best-kept secret of Israel's fight for independence might also be the most unbelievable.

This morning we visited the Ayalon Institute in Kibbutzim Hill, Rehovot, which is a museum in  rememberance of Israel's secret bullet factory. This factory, our guide explained, produced millions of bullets right under the noses -- literally -- of the British.

This clandestine operation, produced by youngsters mostly in their teens, turned out more than 2 million bullets for the Haganah within an underground tunnel. The tunnel was "hidden" by a kibbutz above ground that housed a laundry and bakery to help deflect attention from what was happening beneath them. Some 45 people worked in the underground factory, producing the bullets -- the Haganah's largest facility for manufacturing 9 millimeter bullets for the "Sten" machine gun.

Meanwhile, the British were fooled, thinking everything was above board with the laundry and bakery facilities.

After the end of the British Mandate of Palestine in 1948, the Haganah became the core of the Israel Defense Force (IDF).

We were all amazed by the story of these brave -- and innovative -- youngsters who were major contributors to Israel's fight for independence.