The Etzel Museum, or the Museum of Jaffa’s Liberators, was founded to tell the story of the Ezel. It is also a memorial for the 41 Etzel fighters who fell at the Battle of Jaffa.
Located in restored ruins of is housed in a restored 19th century Jewish home overlooking the beach, it tells the history of the Etzel who believed in Ze’ev Jabotinsky philosophies.
The Etzel was an underground organization which fought for the realization of the idea of establishing a Jewish state in the Land of Israel.
The Etzel, the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, otherwise known as the Irgun, was born from the Platoon of The Wall.
It was established in 1931, following the secession of senior commanders from the Haganah, due to difference in opinion concerning the appropriate reaction to Arab terror.
This was similar to how to was created Lehi out of the Etzel.
It also, retaliated against the anti-Jewish terrorist attacks by the Arabs and rebelled again the British’s policy that prevented Jewish immigration.
The museum focuses on the Etzel’s acts for the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, starting with the UN’s resolution on the division of the land.
The museum display describes the exit from the underground and the transition to an open out war.
The museum also exhibits photographs of Etzel members, historic documents, films, newspaper clippings, maps, models, weapons, and information on the many Etzel missions.
A major display presents the group’s battle for Jaffa in April 1948 and commemorates the 41 Etzel fighters who fell in that battle.
During Israel’s War of Independence, Jaffa threatened to become a naval and land base for Arab armies.
So, Etzel forces set out on Passover in 1948, to remove the danger it represented to the city of Tel Aviv and its residents.
After three days of hard fighting, they secured the port city.
On 22 September 1948, the Etzel officially with the Hagana, creating the Israel Defense Forces.