Hadassah Medical Center
Encyclopedia
Hadassah Medical Center is a medical organization that operates two University hospital
s at Ein Kerem
and Mount Scopus
in Jerusalem, Israel
, as well as schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacology affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
.
The hospital was founded by Hadassah
, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, which continues to underwrite a large part of its budget today. The Medical Center ranks as the sixth-largest hospital complex in Israel.
In 2005, Hadassah was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
in acknowledgment of its equal treatment of all patients, regardless of ethnic and religious differences, and efforts to build bridges to peace. In 2008 Prime Minister John Key
of New Zealand
made a substantial donation to the hospital.
, a dreaded eye disease rampant in the Middle East.
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. 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 L. 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 British Royal Commission, known as the Peel Commission
, praised the work of Hadassah in its report:
for the Hadassah hospital on Mount Scopus
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
, 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
.
Under the 1949 armistice agreement with Jordan
, 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 Kerem
.
After the unification of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War
, Hadassah Mount Scopus underwent extensive renovations, reopening in 1975. With over 300 beds and 30 departments and clinics, the hospital serves all populations in Jerusalem without distinction.
Today the hospital accommodates 700 beds. It contains 130 departments and clinics in 22 buildings. The hospital complex also includes the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, public health, and pharmacology, as well as many modern research laboratories.
The campus synagogue
is famous for its stained glass
windows depicting the twelve tribes of Israel, created and donated in 1960 by Marc Chagall
.
Hadassah's director is Professor Yuval Weiss. Prominent physicians include Avraham Rivkind
, 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
donated $75 million dollars 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.
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...
s at Ein Kerem
Ein Kerem
Ein Kerem , lit. “Spring of the Vineyard”, and - ‘Ein Kārem), is an ancient village of the Jerusalem District and now a neighbourhood in southwest of Jerusalem. According to Christian tradition, John the Baptist was born in Ein Kerem, leading to the establishment of many churches and monasteries....
and Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus , جبل المشهد , جبل الصوانة) is a mountain in northeast Jerusalem. In the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Mount Scopus became a UN protected Jewish exclave within Jordanian-occupied territory until the Six-Day War in 1967...
in Jerusalem, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, as well as schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacology affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
.
The hospital was founded by Hadassah
Hadassah
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 around...
, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, which continues to underwrite a large part of its budget today. The Medical Center ranks as the sixth-largest hospital complex in Israel.
In 2005, Hadassah was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
in acknowledgment of its equal treatment of all patients, regardless of ethnic and religious differences, and efforts to build bridges to peace. In 2008 Prime Minister John Key
John Key
John Phillip Key is the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand, in office since 2008. He has led the New Zealand National Party since 2006....
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
made a substantial donation to the hospital.
History
The Hadassah organization was established in 1912 in New York City to provide health care in Ottoman-occupied 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 trachomaTrachoma
Trachoma is an infectious disease causing a characteristic roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. Also called granular conjunctivitis and Egyptian ophthalmia, it is the leading cause of infectious blindness in the world...
, a dreaded eye disease rampant in the Middle East.
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. 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
Henrietta Szold
Henrietta Szold was a U.S. Jewish Zionist leader and founder of the Hadassah Women's Organization. In 1942, she co-founded Ihud, a political party in Mandate Palestine dedicated to a binational solution.-Biography:...
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
Street of the Prophets
Street of the Prophets is an east-west axis road in Jerusalem beginning outside Damascus Gate and ending at Davidka Square. Located to the north of Jaffa Road, it bisects the neighborhood of Musrara....
, Jerusalem. Rose L. 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 British Royal Commission, known as the Peel Commission
Peel Commission
The Peel Commission of 1936-1937, formally known as the Palestine Royal Commission, was a British Royal Commission of Inquiry set out to propose changes to the British Mandate of Palestine following the outbreak of the 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine...
, praised the work of Hadassah in its report:
Mount Scopus campus
The cornerstoneCornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
for the Hadassah hospital on Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus , جبل المشهد , جبل الصوانة) is a mountain in northeast Jerusalem. In the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Mount Scopus became a UN protected Jewish exclave within Jordanian-occupied territory until the Six-Day War in 1967...
was laid in 1934. After five years of construction, the complex, designed by architect Erich Mendelsohn
Erich Mendelsohn
Erich Mendelsohn was a Jewish German architect, known for his expressionist architecture in the 1920s, as well as for developing a dynamic functionalism in his projects for department stores and cinemas.-Early life:...
, opened its doors in 1939.
In March 1947, the leader of the Arab Forces
Army of the Holy War
The Army of the Holy War or Holy War Army was a force of Palestinian Arab irregulars in the 1947-48 Palestinian civil war led by Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni and Hasan Salama. The force has been described as Husayni's "personal" army...
in Jerusalem, Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni
Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni
Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and fighter who in late 1933 founded the secret militant group known as the Organization for Holy Struggle, , which he and Hasan Salama commanded as the Army of the Holy War during the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt and during the 1948...
, 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
Hadassah medical convoy massacre
The Hadassah medical convoy massacre took place on April 13, 1948, when a convoy, escorted by Haganah militia, bringing medical and fortification supplies and personnel to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus was ambushed by Arab forces....
.
Under the 1949 armistice agreement with Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Mount Scopus was declared a demilitarized enclave
Enclave and exclave
In political geography, an enclave is a territory whose geographical boundaries lie entirely within the boundaries of another territory.An exclave, on the other hand, is a territory legally or politically attached to another territory with which it is not physically contiguous.These are two...
and operation of the hospital became impossible. The staff moved to temporary quarters in Jerusalem and eventually a new campus was built in Ein Kerem
Ein Kerem
Ein Kerem , lit. “Spring of the Vineyard”, and - ‘Ein Kārem), is an ancient village of the Jerusalem District and now a neighbourhood in southwest of Jerusalem. According to Christian tradition, John the Baptist was born in Ein Kerem, leading to the establishment of many churches and monasteries....
.
After the unification of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
, Hadassah Mount Scopus underwent extensive renovations, reopening in 1975. With over 300 beds and 30 departments and clinics, the hospital serves all populations in Jerusalem without distinction.
Ein Kerem campus
From 1948-1962, Hadassah hospital operated in rented quarters, in 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. 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 Kerem.Today the hospital accommodates 700 beds. It contains 130 departments and clinics in 22 buildings. The hospital complex also includes the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, public health, and pharmacology, as well as many modern research laboratories.
The campus synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
is famous for its stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows depicting the twelve tribes of Israel, created and donated in 1960 by Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
.
Hadassah's director is Professor Yuval Weiss. Prominent physicians include Avraham Rivkind
Avraham Rivkind
Avraham "Avi" Rivkind is an Israeli doctor. He is head of the department of general surgery and trauma unit of Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Karem, Jerusalem.-Biography:...
, founder and director of the hospital's trauma center, Ahmed Eid, head of the liver and kidney transplant unit, and Arie Eldad
Arie Eldad
Prof. Aryeh Eldad, M.D. is an Israeli physician and politician, and a member of the Knesset for the National Union, within which he heads the Hatikva faction.-Biography:...
, head of the department of plastic surgery and burns unit.
In March 2007, Jewish American billionaire William Davidson
William Davidson
William Morse "Bill" Davidson, J. D. was an American businessman who was President, Chairman and CEO of Guardian Industries, one of the world's largest manufacturers of architectural and automotive glass...
donated $75 million dollars to the hospital.
In April 2009, following an initiative of the Puah Institute
Puah Institute
The PUAH Institute is an Israel-based, international organization that works with Jewish couples with fertility problems...
, the hospital opened a fertility clinic for AIDS patients, the first such clinic in Israel. Prof. Shlomo Ma'ayan heads the clinic.
Notable alumni
- Rivka CarmiRivka CarmiProf. Rivka Carmi is an Israeli pediatrician and geneticist who, since May 2006, has served as President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev...
(born 1948), pediatrician, geneticist, President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev - Aaron CiechanoverAaron CiechanoverAaron Ciechanover is an Israeli biologist, and Nobel laureate in Chemistry.- Biography :Ciechanover was born in Haifa, British mandate of Palestine, a year before the establishment of the State of Israel...
(born 1947), biologist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry - Avram HershkoAvram HershkoAvram Hershko is a Hungarian-Israeli biochemist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry.-Biography:Born Herskó Ferenc in Karcag, Hungary, Hershko emigrated to Israel in 1950. Received his M.D. in 1965 and his Ph.D in 1969 from the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel...
(born 1937), Hungarian-born Israeli biochemist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry - Emanuel MargoliashEmanuel MargoliashEmanuel Margoliash 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 method for constructing evolutionary trees based on protein sequences.He was a member of the...
(1920–2008), biochemist