The Museum for the Jewish Resistance Prisoners in Acre

The Museum for the Jewish Resistance Prisoners is located in the citadel of Acre which was built in the Ottoman period in the northern part of the Old City. At the time of the British Mandate in this country, the citadel of Acre served as the main prison for the North of the country. Many of the prisoners here were Jews who were imprisoned for their fight for the protection of the Jewish settlements in this country and for their struggle against the British Mandate. Among them were hundreds of the members of the various resistance organizations, such as "HaHagana” ("The Defense"), "Etzel" (the Hebrew acronym for "National Military Organization”) and "Lehi” (the Hebrew acronym for "Fighters for the Freedom of Israel"). The first prisoners here at the time of the British Mandate were Ze'ev Jabotinsky, the leader of the Jewish defense of Jerusalem, and 19 others of the city’s defenders in the 1920 riots. Jabotinsky’s cell is open these days for the museum’s visitors. In May 1947, "Etzel” fighters broke into the Acre Prison and freed 41 of their friends who were held in it. The visit to the museum goes through the prisoners’ cells, the Jabotinsky Wing, solitary confinement cells, the prison’s break-in point, the gallows where 8 of the prisoners were hanged (referred to in Hebrew as "Olei Hagardom”) and the Memorial Floor. One can also watch a short film here describing the Acre Prison at the British Mandate period and its historical importance. The Museum for the Jewish Resistance Prisoners belongs to the Museums Unit of the Israeli Ministry of Defense. The tour in the Museum for the Jewish Resistance Prisoners requires advance coordination and takes about 90 minutes.