Independence Hall Museum in the Shalom Mayer Tower
Independence Hall Museum in the Shalom Mayer Tower
Independence Hall Museum in the Shalom Mayer Tower
4.5
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Independence Hall- the birthplace of the State of Israel and the birthplace of the first Hebrew speaking city, Tel-Aviv. As one of the forerunners to the Historical Sites of the State of Israel, this house (cornerstone 1910) tells the story of the beginnings of the City of Tel-Aviv, Meir Dizengoff - the first Mayor of Tel-Aviv, and the famous ceremony which took place on May 14, 1948, as David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel. Through audio-visual mediums come take part in the exciting moment in the birth of the State of Israel.
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Neighbourhood: Newe Ẕedeq
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
809 reviews
Excellent
526
Very good
202
Average
56
Poor
16
Terrible
9
Ipexher
London22 contributions
I visited this museum the last time I went to Israel - and looking back I must say I am glad I went. On arriving the staff there are very helpful and friendly, and were rather keen that I join the guided tour so that I would get the most out of my visit. As I was travelling on my own, I was joined onto a larger group of American High School Students from some sort of Jewish youth association (I deduced this from their sweatshirts and bags, it was called something like the Birthright Foundation). I am not Jewish and was making my trip to Israel only as tourist.
The tour began with a rather overly long, but certainly informative film about the events leading up to Israel's Independence - followed by a short speech by the tour guide. I must say that this did marr my experience somewhat. The tour guide did seem to give an overly nationalist interpretation to the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence, stating for example the rather over-simplistic reason that the Israelis had founded Tel Aviv "...because they did not feel persecution in Europe to live with the Arabs in Jaffa". As someone who was visiting Israel only as a touristm with no particular religious or zionist connection to the land, this was rather uncomfortable for me. As the tour progressed, his tone did become increasingly nationalistic and I did increasingly resent some of his statements, and the way in which his anti-Arab and anti-British statements were offered as some sort of in-joke between him and the American High School Students.. The tour ended in the hall where the declaration was made, at which point the guide announced "We are all Jews here, we are all going to sing Tikvah".
As a non-Jew, I on the one hand did not feel comfortable singing a song when I did not know what it was, what it could be about or come to think of it, the words and on the other hand, I took this as an invitation that the song was only for Jewish people to sing. I remained sitting down. I honestly did not know that it was the national anthem, otherwise I would have stood up, I am not that disrespectful! This did lead to a forty-odd angry young American Jewish eyes staring at me, and rather a frightening command of "Stand and show respect" shouted at me from the tour-guide. I was glared at for the rest of the song!
I do have to say that this really was quite an uncomfortable feeling at this Museum - which was a shame because it was very interesting and well worth a visit. I suppose one cannot blame a tour guide at the Museum of Indepence for being a nationalist!, but I did when in Israel begin to resent the constant assumption that I must be Jewish and therefore know certain things, and that secondly as an English speaker (well, Englishman actually), I must be American.
That said, I would definitely recommend a visit , it is very interesting and does set a lot of things into context - just remember to stand for Tikvah!
The tour began with a rather overly long, but certainly informative film about the events leading up to Israel's Independence - followed by a short speech by the tour guide. I must say that this did marr my experience somewhat. The tour guide did seem to give an overly nationalist interpretation to the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence, stating for example the rather over-simplistic reason that the Israelis had founded Tel Aviv "...because they did not feel persecution in Europe to live with the Arabs in Jaffa". As someone who was visiting Israel only as a touristm with no particular religious or zionist connection to the land, this was rather uncomfortable for me. As the tour progressed, his tone did become increasingly nationalistic and I did increasingly resent some of his statements, and the way in which his anti-Arab and anti-British statements were offered as some sort of in-joke between him and the American High School Students.. The tour ended in the hall where the declaration was made, at which point the guide announced "We are all Jews here, we are all going to sing Tikvah".
As a non-Jew, I on the one hand did not feel comfortable singing a song when I did not know what it was, what it could be about or come to think of it, the words and on the other hand, I took this as an invitation that the song was only for Jewish people to sing. I remained sitting down. I honestly did not know that it was the national anthem, otherwise I would have stood up, I am not that disrespectful! This did lead to a forty-odd angry young American Jewish eyes staring at me, and rather a frightening command of "Stand and show respect" shouted at me from the tour-guide. I was glared at for the rest of the song!
I do have to say that this really was quite an uncomfortable feeling at this Museum - which was a shame because it was very interesting and well worth a visit. I suppose one cannot blame a tour guide at the Museum of Indepence for being a nationalist!, but I did when in Israel begin to resent the constant assumption that I must be Jewish and therefore know certain things, and that secondly as an English speaker (well, Englishman actually), I must be American.
That said, I would definitely recommend a visit , it is very interesting and does set a lot of things into context - just remember to stand for Tikvah!
Written 18 April 2007
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alexandra Salomon
Washington DC, DC54 contributions
May 2018
I thought I'd do a quick tour before heading to lunch and only found out after paying that the visits are only guided tours. The info was interesting but more than I was looking for and not very easy to leave mid presentation.
Written 18 May 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BMK45
Chicago, IL17 contributions
Jul 2013 • Friends
This is a very interesting small museum that you visit with a tour guide from the Museum. Our tour guide was excellent and provided a wonderful background. Our visit consisted on a tour with a guide and we watched a video. I highly recommend.
Written 3 September 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
B T
London, UK1,214 contributions
Dec 2021
As of late 2021, Independence Hall is undergoing renovations, and by the looks of it this will take a long time (it is currently just a concrete shell of a building). In the meantime there are some exhibits in the nearby Shalom Mayer Tower. While these are free I wouldn't bother. There are no signposts, no information they are hard to find as the tower seems to have two entrances, one was shut. When inside you had to go up an elevator and then in the corridor there were some random exhibitions.
Written 31 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Keep-travelling
Toronto, Canada210 contributions
Aug 2019 • Friends
We strongly recommend avoiding this so-called "tour" until the actual Independence Hall (Rothschild 16 Blvd) re-opens in a few years. They are currently closed for renovations and the Independence Hall "museum" in the meantime is operating from a visitors' center in the Shalom Mayer Tower at 4 Ahuzat Bait, Tel-Aviv.
Five of us paid full price for a "tour" where a "guide" just showed us and talked about what was written on display boards that were in the lobby of the building that we could have easily read ourselves (it is free to enter the Shalom Mayer Tower building). We were then taken into a room where we watched a short film on what was already covered on the display boards.
Save your money and time and wait until the building on Rothschild Boulevard re-opens so you can see the actual building and the room where Jewish independence was declared.
Five of us paid full price for a "tour" where a "guide" just showed us and talked about what was written on display boards that were in the lobby of the building that we could have easily read ourselves (it is free to enter the Shalom Mayer Tower building). We were then taken into a room where we watched a short film on what was already covered on the display boards.
Save your money and time and wait until the building on Rothschild Boulevard re-opens so you can see the actual building and the room where Jewish independence was declared.
Written 21 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dianclair
Seattle, WA337 contributions
Jan 2019 • Friends
Interesting video in English and not much more...then someone told me that this was the exact spot of the Independence declaration with the original furniture. Yes it was moving to be on the spot! This hall (we were told) is about to undergo a renovation which should make for a more impressive experience.
Written 28 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi!
I'm happy you were able to visit our museum before the historical restoration. We home you will come back in a few years when re re-open to the public.
Written 31 March 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Eninaj1881
London73 contributions
Dec 2018 • Couples
The website says this has relocated to the Shalom Meier Tower but it has not - yet! A bit of a wild goose chase was had (although the mosaics in the Tower lobby were worth a look).
It was only by chance walking back down Rothschild that we spotted people going in a building that was Independence Hall!
You sit in the room where the Declaration of Independence was made and a guide told us how it all came about and helped to set the scene for us. The room is exactly as it was in 1948. Very good and very moving if it's your heritage
We then saw a short film that covered it in a bit more depth.
So glad we didn't miss it, worth a visit
It was only by chance walking back down Rothschild that we spotted people going in a building that was Independence Hall!
You sit in the room where the Declaration of Independence was made and a guide told us how it all came about and helped to set the scene for us. The room is exactly as it was in 1948. Very good and very moving if it's your heritage
We then saw a short film that covered it in a bit more depth.
So glad we didn't miss it, worth a visit
Written 27 December 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
njdoc204
Atlantic City, NJ15 contributions
Jun 2018 • Family
Going into Independence Hall, I didn't expect much. I was very pleasantly surprised. It starts with a very well done video, then a presentation by a live speaker who takes you through the Israeli declaration of independence. The speaker was great and the whole experience was very moving.
Heads up, our guide told us they will likely be closing soon for renovations.
Heads up, our guide told us they will likely be closing soon for renovations.
Written 10 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jake23
New Jersey6,846 contributions
Jun 2018 • Couples
Independence Hall is just a couple rooms but loaded with history. We saw an excellent presentation on the founding of Israel and the wat that ensued. Worth a visit.
Written 27 June 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kjzrsz
San Diego, California145 contributions
Apr 2018 • Couples
We were very fortunate to meet the grandson of David Ben Gurion. He made the visit GREAT. The history of the Independence is an important part of a visit to Israel.
Written 3 May 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
estamos en israel entre el 14 y 25 de enero. queremos concurrir al salon de la independencia con guia en español. puedes informarme que dias y horarios podriamos ir. hay que reservar con anticipacion?? desde ya gracias por la info
Written 2 December 2018
Es gibt einen Film auf Englisch. Eine Führung gibt es glaube ich nicht, ist auch kaum notwendig. Eine Voranmeldung ist nicht notwendig.
Written 3 January 2019
האם יש מדריך להיכל העצמאות ומה המחיר לקבוצה של 7 נשים
Written 9 July 2018
Will you be open Friday October 6.? 2nd day of Shavuot.
I am traveling with 8 Christian women. We leave next day for the north.
Thank you
Ellen Shevitz.
Written 16 June 2017
Hi Ellen S,
We are scheduled to be open on October 6th.
Please call us a few days prior to your arrival to check with us guided times.
Written 8 August 2019
How long do people typically visit for, about two hours? Working on creating an itinerary for the day. Thank you!
Written 20 March 2017
About 1 1/2 hr should be sufficient.
Written 28 June 2017
Hi Arthur W,
We are open Sunday-Friday.
Looking forward to your future visit.
Written 8 August 2019
Does one need to make a reservation for a Sunday in late March?
Written 17 December 2016
It's good to get in touch with them if you want to know what time is the confirmed English tour. Would highly recommend joining a tour as they explain all the significance and more details
Written 30 December 2016
בית ה
Tel Aviv, Israel
Hi!
Thank you for contacting the musuem. The entrance fee is
Adult 24NIS
Student (with ID Card) 18NIS
Child (5-18years old) 16NIS
Looking forward to your visit
Written 9 March 2016
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