Hadassah Medical Center
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Hadassah Medical Center ( he, הָמֶרְכָּז הָרְפוּאִי הֲדַסָּה) is an Israeli medical organization established in 1934 that operates two
university hospital A university hospital is an institution which combines the services of a hospital with the education of medical students and with medical research. These hospitals are typically affiliated with a medical school or university. The following i ...
s in
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
– one in Ein Karem and one in
Mount Scopus Mount Scopus ( he, הַר הַצּוֹפִים ', "Mount of the Watchmen/ Sentinels"; ar, جبل المشارف ', lit. "Mount Lookout", or ' "Mount of the Scene/Burial Site", or ) is a mountain (elevation: above sea level) in northeast Je ...
–, as well as schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacology affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Its declared mission is to extend a "hand to all, without regard for race, religion or ethnic origin." The hospital was founded by the
Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America is an American Jewish volunteer women's organization. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, it is one of the largest international Jewish organizations, with nearly 300,000 members in the Uni ...
, which continues to underwrite a large part of its budget today. The Medical Center ranks as the sixth-largest hospital complex in Israel. Across its two campuses, Hadassah Medical Center has over 1,300 beds, 31 operating theaters and nine special intensive care units, and runs five schools of medical professions.


History


Late Ottoman period (1912–1915)

The Hadassah organization was established in 1912 in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to provide health care in Ottoman-ruled Jerusalem. In 1913, Hadassah sent two nurses to Palestine. They set up a small public health station in Jerusalem to provide maternity care and treat
trachoma Trachoma is an infectious disease caused by bacterium '' Chlamydia trachomatis''. The infection causes a roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. This roughening can lead to pain in the eyes, breakdown of the outer surface or cornea of ...
, a dreaded eye disease rampant in the Middle East. During the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the Ottoman authorities suspected Jews of sympathies with the enemy and in 1915 the Hadassah Nurses station had to closed down due to official pressure.


Activities throughout Mandate Palestine (1918–1948)

In 1918, Hadassah established the American Zionist Medical Unit (AZMU), manned by 45 medical health professionals. The AZMU helped to establish six hospitals in Palestine which were then turned over to municipal authorities. The Meir Rothschild Hospital opened in Jerusalem in 1918. That year, Hadassah also founded a nursing school to train local personnel and create a cadre of nurses. In 1919, Hadassah organized the first School Hygiene Department in Palestine to give routine health examinations to Jerusalem school children. During the Arab riots of 1920, Hadassah nurses cared for the wounded on both sides. Henrietta Szold moved to Jerusalem that year to develop community health and preventive care programs. In 1921, a Hadassah nurse, Bertha Landsman, set up the first Tipat Halav perinatal care center in Jerusalem, and Hadassah opened a hospital in Tel Aviv. The following year, it established a hospital in Haifa. In 1926, Hadassah established the first tuberculosis treatment center in Safed. In 1929, Hadassah opened the Nathan and Lina Straus Health Center in Jerusalem. In the 1930s, planning began for a new hospital to replace the Rothschild hospital founded in 1888 on Street of the Prophets, Jerusalem. Rose Halprin, Hadassah's sixth national president, moved to Jerusalem to serve as liaison between the American office and Hadassah in Palestine. The Rothschild-Hadassah University Hospital, the first teaching hospital and medical center in Palestine, opened on May 9, 1939. The Hadassah Medical Organization operated an infirmary in
Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
. The ''Beit Hadassah'' clinic had three floors with the infirmary, the pharmacy and the synagogue on the top floor. Free care was provided to Jews and Arabs. The building dates back to 1893 and was originally called the Chesed L'Avraham clinic. In 1929 it was the site of some of the worst of the Hebron massacre. The British Royal Commission, known as the
Peel Commission The Peel Commission, formally known as the Palestine Royal Commission, was a British Royal Commission of Inquiry, headed by Lord Peel, appointed in 1936 to investigate the causes of unrest in Mandatory Palestine, which was administered by Gre ...
, praised the work of Hadassah in its 1937 report: The Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus opened in 1939 and had to be closed down in 1948.


1948–1967

As a result of the 1948 war, Mount Scopus with the Hadassah Hospital were left as an Israeli exclave, guarded by a small number of Israeli armed personnel, and all the activities at the medical campus had to be abandoned. An alternative set of locations in West Jerusalem were adopted by the evacuated medical staff for continuing their activity. In 1961 a new medical complex was built in Ein Karem on the outskirts of Jerusalem.


After 1967

During the
Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...
, Israel conquered the entire area around Mount Scopus and the old medical campus was eventually reactivated. Both campuses are currently active, with the Ein Karem facilities being by far the larger and more important of the two.


Since 2005

In 2005, Hadassah was nominated for the
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...
in acknowledgment of its equal treatment of all patients, regardless of ethnic and religious differences, and efforts to build bridges to peace. French baritone David Serero has performed several concerts at the hospital in 2011, 2012 and 2013 for Israelis and Palestinians children. He is the young president of the organization in France. Due to an accumulated deficit of over 1 billion NIS, at the request of the medical center's management, the Israeli court declared 3 months of suspension of proceedings starting February 2014. Beginning in 2018, the Hadassah Medical Center, in agreement with the Mayor of Moscow, is opening a branch in Skolkovo. The Hadassah project was estimated at $40.2 million, of which about $26.4 million will go to equip the center with equipment. In addition, $3.2 million will be spent on educational activities. It is planned that 10% of the income generated by Israel's Hadassah medical center in Skolkovo will be directed to research activities in the field of oncology. On July 11, 2021, , who served as Hadassah Medical Center CEO since 2015, tendered his resignation prior to facing possible disciplinary action by the board of directors. He was replaced by Professor . In November 2022, Hadassah fired Dr. Ahmed Mahajana, a Palestinian-Israeli cardiologist, after media reports said he had given food to a hospitalised terrorist and called him “shahid,” or martyr. The report originated from police officers in the ward who “didn’t like Mahajana’s attitude.” Mahajana himself denied the reports, staff members said it was them who had distributed the food. Another doctor in the ward maintained Mahajana had not used the word “shahid”. The journalists who had reported the story retracted it and apologised for the false information they had spread, the
Israel Medical Association Israel Medical Association (IMA), is a professional association of physicians in Israel. History The association traces its origins to the ''Hebrew Medicinal Society for Jaffa and the Jaffa District'', founded in 1912, which later became the ''Heb ...
said Mahajana should not have been fired, but the hospital refused to reinstate Mahajana.


Mount Scopus campus

The
cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...
for the Hadassah hospital on
Mount Scopus Mount Scopus ( he, הַר הַצּוֹפִים ', "Mount of the Watchmen/ Sentinels"; ar, جبل المشارف ', lit. "Mount Lookout", or ' "Mount of the Scene/Burial Site", or ) is a mountain (elevation: above sea level) in northeast Je ...
was laid in 1934. After five years of construction, the complex, designed by architect Erich Mendelsohn, opened its doors in 1939. In March 1947, the leader of the Arab Forces in Jerusalem,
Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni ( ar, عبد القادر الحسيني), also spelled Abd al-Qader al-Husseini (1907 – 8 April 1948) was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and fighter who in late 1933 founded the secret militant group known as the Orga ...
, threatened to blow up the hospital. He did not do so, but attacks were carried out on traffic to and from the hospital. On April 13, 1948, an armoured convoy of doctors, nurses, medical students, and other staff made its way to the hospital. The group was ambushed, and 78 people were killed in what became known as the
Hadassah medical convoy massacre The Hadassah convoy massacre took place on April 13, 1948, when a convoy, escorted by Haganah militia, bringing medical and military supplies and personnel to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, was ambushed by Arab forces. Seventy ...
. Under the 1949 armistice agreement with
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, Mount Scopus was declared a demilitarized enclave and operation of the hospital became impossible. The staff moved to temporary quarters in Jerusalem and eventually a new campus was built in Ein Karem. Following the
Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...
, Hadassah Mount Scopus underwent extensive renovations, reopening in 1975. With over 300 beds and 30 departments and clinics, including a
rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...
building and a hospice, the hospital serves all populations in Jerusalem without distinction. Over one-third of the patients are
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
. In 2011, the Israeli-American actress
Natalie Portman Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...
, who was born at Hadassah Mount Scopus, starred in a fundraising campaign for the hospital. Hadassah Mount-Scopus is currently headed by Dr. Tamar Elram with a staff of 1,200 employs.


Ein Karem campus

From 1948 to 1962, Hadassah hospital operated in rented quarters in five different locations in Jerusalem, including what is now the Anglican International School on Street of the Prophets in Jerusalem. In 1961, a new medical complex was built in Ein Karem in southwest Jerusalem under the direction of then-director general
Kalman Mann Kalman Jacob Mann ( he, קלמן יעקב מן) (5 July 1912 – 14 March 1997) was an Israeli physician specializing in pulmonology, and the eighth and longest-serving director general of the Hadassah Medical Organization. During his three decad ...
. The Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America again assisted with funding, and the somewhat out-of-the-way location was chosen in part because an appropriate site was difficult to obtain in the city-center, and Hadassah owned a large plot in Ein Karem. The hospital was designed by Joseph Neufeld, a pioneer of International Style architecture in Israel. Prior to the opening of a 19-story hospital tower in 2012, Hadassah Ein Karem had 700 inpatient beds. The hospital complex consists of 22 buildings, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, public health and pharmacology. Hadassah's director is Professor . Notable physicians include
Avraham Rivkind Avraham "Avi" Rivkind (born 1949) is an Israeli physician and surgeon. He is head of the department of general surgery and the trauma unit of Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Karem, Jerusalem. Biography Avraham Rivkind was born in 1949 and served ...
, founder and director of the hospital's trauma center, Ahmed Eid, head of the liver and kidney transplant unit, and Arie Eldad, head of the department of plastic surgery and burns unit. In March 2007, Jewish American billionaire
William Davidson William or Bill Davidson may refer to: Businessmen * Bill Davidson (businessman) (1922–2009), Michigan businessman and sports team owner ** William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan, named in honor of Bill Davidson * William Davidson ...
donated $75 million to the hospital. In 2012, the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Hospital Tower opened with 500 beds and 20 operating theaters. In 2008 Prime Minister
John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to 2016. After resigning from bo ...
of
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
made a donation to the hospital. In April 2009, following an initiative of the Puah Institute, the hospital opened a fertility clinic for AIDS patients, the first such clinic in Israel. Prof. Shlomo Ma'ayan heads the clinic.


Chagall windows

The Ein Karem campus
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
is illuminated by stained glass windows depicting the
twelve tribes of Israel The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( he, שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל, translit=Šīḇṭēy Yīsrāʾēl, lit=Tribes of Israel) are, according to Hebrew scriptures, the descendants of the biblical patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel, thro ...
, created by Marc Chagall. Chagall envisaged the synagogue as "a crown offered to the Jewish Queen," and the windows as "jewels of translucent fire." The windows were installed February 1962. At the dedication ceremony, Chagall said: "A stained glass window is a transparent partition between my heart and the heart of the world...To read the Bible is to perceive a certain light, and the window has to make this obvious through its simplicity and grace... The thoughts have nested in me for many years, since the time when my feet walked on the Holy Land, when I prepared myself to create engravings of the Bible. They strengthened me and encouraged me to bring my modest gift to the Jewish people, that people that lived here thousands of years ago."Chagall, Marc. ''Marc Chagall on Art and Culture'', editor: Benjamin Harshav. Stanford Univ. Press (2003)


New entrance pavilion

In 2012, a new glassed-in entrance pavilion opened at the foot of the Davidson Tower which funnels all traffic entering the hospital. Alongside the building are four "healing gardens" planned by
Shlomo Aronson Shlomo Aronson may refer to: * (1864–1935), first Ashkhenazi rabbi of Tel Aviv, grandfather of the historian * Shlomo Aronson (landscape architect) (1936–2018), Israeli landscape architect * Shlomo Aronson (historian) Shlomo Aronson (1936 – ...
employing the principles of
biophilic The biophilia hypothesis (also called BET) suggests that humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life. Edward O. Wilson introduced and popularized the hypothesis in his book, ''Biophilia'' (1984). He d ...
design, which posits that nature and vegetation impact positively on human health.


Bio-park

Below the medical center is the Jerusalem Bio Park (JBP), home to several biotechnology companies , including ''Hadasit'' the technology transfer company of Hadassah Medical Center.


Notable alumni

* Arie S. Belldegrun (born 1949), director of the
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
Institute of
Urologic Urology (from Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:οὖρον, οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of t ...
Oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος ('' ...
and is
Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
and Chief of Urologic Oncology at the
David Geffen School of Medicine The University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine—known as the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (DGSOM)—is an accredited medical school located in Los Angeles, California, United States. The school was renamed in 2001 in h ...
*
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(born 1948), pediatrician, geneticist, President of
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...
*
Aaron Ciechanover Aaron Ciechanover ( ; he, אהרן צ'חנובר; born October 1, 1947) is an Israeli biologist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for characterizing the method that cells use to degrade and recycle proteins using ubiquitin. Biography Earl ...
(born 1947), biologist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry *
Yehuda Danon Yehuda Danon (יהודה דנון; born 1940) is an Israeli doctor who has been the Surgeon General of the Israel Defense Forces, the Director General of Beilinson Medical Center, and - since 2012 - the President of Ariel University. Biography ...
(born 1940), doctor, Surgeon General of the Israel Defense Forces, Director General of Beilinson Medical Center, and President of
Ariel University Ariel University ( he, אוניברסיטת אריאל), previously a public college known as the Ariel University Center of Samaria, is an Israeli university located in the urban Israeli settlement of Ariel in the West Bank. The college preced ...
* Raul Geller (born 1936), Peruvian-Israeli footballer and orthopedic surgeon *
Avram Hershko Avram Hershko ( he, אברהם הרשקו, Avraham Hershko, hu, Herskó Ferenc Ábrahám; born December 31, 1937) is a Hungarian-Israeli biochemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2004. Biography He was born Herskó Ferenc in Karc ...
(born 1937), Hungarian-born Israeli biochemist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry *
Emanuel Margoliash Emanuel Margoliash (February 10, 1920 – April 10, 2008) was a biochemist who spent much of his career studying the protein cytochrome c. He is best known for his work on molecular evolution; with Walter Fitch, he devised Fitch-Margoliash met ...
(1920–2008), biochemist * Avraham Steinberg (born 1947) Professor of Medical Ethics, Director of Hadassah Medical Ethics Center, and Pediatric Neurologist


Notable patients

* Saeb Erekat


Branches

Строительство терапевтического корпуса «Хадасса» в медкластере в Сколково (август 2020) (21).jpeg, Hadassah Medical Center in Skolkovo,
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
.


See also

*
Health care in Israel Healthcare in Israel is universal and participation in a medical insurance plan is compulsory. All Israeli residents are entitled to basic health care as a fundamental right. The Israeli healthcare system is based on the National Health Insurance ...
*
Medical tourism in Israel Medical tourism in Israel is medical tourism in which people travel to Israel for medical treatment, which is emerging as an important destination for medical tourists.
* List of hospitals in Israel *
Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America is an American Jewish volunteer women's organization. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, it is one of the largest international Jewish organizations, with nearly 300,000 members in the Uni ...


References


Further reading

*


External links


Guide to the Hadassah Archives on Long-term Deposit
at the
American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation an ...
at the
Center for Jewish History The Center for Jewish History is a partnership of five Jewish history, scholarship, and art organizations in New York City: American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute New York, Yeshiva University Museu ...

Guide to the Hadassah Medical Organization Records in the Hadassah Archives, 1918–2011 on Long-term Deposit
at the
American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation an ...
at the
Center for Jewish History The Center for Jewish History is a partnership of five Jewish history, scholarship, and art organizations in New York City: American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute New York, Yeshiva University Museu ...

Guide to the Architectural Records in the Hadassah Archives on Long-term Deposit
at the
American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation an ...
at the
Center for Jewish History The Center for Jewish History is a partnership of five Jewish history, scholarship, and art organizations in New York City: American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute New York, Yeshiva University Museu ...

Hadassah Medical Center
{{authority control 1939 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Erich Mendelsohn buildings Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America Hebrew University of Jerusalem Hospital buildings completed in 1939 Hospitals established in 1939 Hospitals in Jerusalem Mount Scopus Hospitals in Israel Medical education in Israel Teaching hospitals