Jerusalem, The Underground Museum

No, the museum isn't underground.

This is the Jerusalem museum about the Jewish Underground prisoners who fought the British Mandate for an independent Jewish State in the 1940's. I went there the other day with my mother, who is visiting.

There's now an exhibit, from the Van Leer Institute, of photos of Jerusalem in the early Twentieth Century.

We couldn't get over seeing that rug beater, displayed among the old household items. I had one just like it in the 1970's. I used to schlepp my rug to the merpeset (balcony) railing and beat out the dust and dirt. That was a the standard cleaning technique. Nobody in the neighborhood had vacuum cleaners in those days.

I hadn't been to the museum for decades, and it has been fixed up very nicely. They show a 15 minute movie, which we saw in English. It gives a good idea of the pre-State era. The only problem is that except for a few of the permanent signs, the only language is Hebrew. They were also out of their English brochure, though the girls working there insisted that they usually have one in English.

Admission is very reasonable, just ns10 for most and ns5 for seniors. That's $2.50 and $1.25 at today's rates. The photo exhibit is until December, if I'm not mistaken. The museum is between the Russian Compound Police & Courthouse and the Jerusalem Municipality.