Latrun Monastery is the only Trappist monastery in Israel, and it is located midway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Some people also call it the Silent Monastery since the monks keep a vow of silence.
The name Latrun comes from the ruins of a medieval castle. There are two theories about the origin of the name. Firstly, it is a distortion of the old French Le toron des chevaliers (Castle of the Knights), called by the Crusaders. Secondly, it is from the Latin, Domus boni Latronis (House of the Good Thief), a name given by 14th century Christian pilgrims in honor of the repentant thief who was crucified by the Romans along with Jesus.