Benjamin specially requested a visit to the Latrun Armored Corps Museum, not too far from Jerusalem. Latrun was the site of a Crusader castle in the 12th Century. Fast forward eight centuries, and the castle is gone and the British have erected their own fortress in Latrun. When they leave in 1948, Jordanian soldiers take over the fortress, which is really more of a fortified police station. The Israelis attempt to capture the fortress multiple times and finally succeed in 1967. The building (pockmarked with bullet holes) still stands. It is now a memorial to the 142 Israeli soldiers who died trying to take the fortress. Its grounds, set on a lovely hilltop, are now filled with armored tanks the Israelis have used over the years, in the wars in 1948, 1967, and 1973. Here Steven and Samuel and Benjamin are looking at protoypes for modern IDF tanks.
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