About Beit Aba Archive

Beit Aba is the archive and commemoration site for the late Dr. Aba Ahimeir (1897-1962) in the apartment where he spent the last decade of his life.

Located in a neighborhood of long-time residents (Shikun Vatikim) of Ramat Gan, this apartment was the home of his widow Sonia until her death in January 2006. At that time their son Yossi,   the director-general of the Jabotinsky Institute and former member of the Knesset,  decided to convert the apartment into an historical site commemorating his father the writer, journalist, historian, and founder of the first anti-British underground movement during the Mandate time,  known as ‘Brit Habiryonim’.

The site is divided into two parts: the archive itself containing dozens of files holding Aba Ahimeir’s  literary and personal legacy comprising manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, correspondence, files about family members,  scores of prominent personalities with whom he was associated, foremost among these: Ze’ev Jabotinsky, Yosef Katznelson ,Menachem Begin, Iyzik Rembah, Uri Zvi Greenberg, Yehoshua Yeivin, Berl Katznelson, S.Y. Agnon, Yosef Klausner, Benzion Netanyahu, Yoseph Nedava, Gershon Handel, Zalman Levinberg, and many others; all of Ahimeir’s books; his rich library including Revisionist writings and research, and more.

The archive is a repository for preserving extensive material about the Brit Habiryonim underground, which was active in the 1930s and was the spark that lit the flame of rebellion later carried out by the Etzel and Lehi, and about Arlossoroff's murder, libel and trial. 

The archive contains a film made for Israeli television in 1986 about Aba Ahimeir – “After Love, After Hate” which can be viewed in one of two versions: the full length version (approx. 90 minutes) or the abridged version (24 minutes).  In addition, scholarly  academic events can also be held there.

Ahimeir’s workroom has been turned into a museum exhibit and contains, among other items, his writing desk, his library with books in many languages, as well as household articles such as an antiquated Westinghouse radio, a Hermes typewriter, and other period pieces.