Hadassah
Encyclopedia
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
270,000 members worldwide, mostly women.
initiatives, and the training of nurses in what was then the Palestine
region of the Ottoman Empire
. Szold served as the first president. Hadassah chapters soon opened in Baltimore, Cleveland, Chicago, and Boston. At the founders' meeting that coincided with the Jewish holiday of Purim
, the group took the name Hadassah, the Hebrew name
of the biblical heroine Esther
, central figure in the celebration of Purim.
Szold was the driving spirit behind the establishment of the first medical school in Palestine, as well as the country's first Tipat Halav mother and child clinics, the first hospital in Tel Aviv
and the two Hadassah hospitals in Jerusalem.
-Hadassah Medical School, the Henrietta Szold Hadassah-Hebrew University School of Nursing and Hadassah College Jerusalem. In 1967, Hadassah took over management of Young Judaea
, a Zionist youth movement, and merged it with Junior Hadassah under the Young Judaea name.
Hadassah runs the WUJS Arad Institute
, in Arad, which brings foreign students to Israel
. Hadassah took over the Youth Aliyah
program in 1934, which became identified with its founder Henrietta Szold, rescuing tens of thousands of children from the Holocaust
and subsequently becoming involved in rescue of Jewish youth around the world and their integration in Israeli society. Hadassah is a major supporter and partner of the Jewish National Fund
, which plants trees and implements other land reclamation
programs in Israel.
Hadassah advocates for progressive issues of importance to women and to the American Jewish community, including First Amendment issues, separation of church and state, support for Israel, and other causes. Hadassah supports The Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO), consisting of two hospital complexes at Ein Kerem
and Mount Scopus
in Jerusalem. . It has initiated and contributed to numerous medical aid projects in Israel and around the world, and built several hospitals and other facilities in Israel that were eventually turned over to state and municipal authorities. In the United States, Hadassah promotes health education, social action and advocacy, volunteerism, Jewish education and research, and connections with Israel. Hadassah has announced plans to establish Israel's first military medical school, scheduled to open in October 2009 as part of the Hebrew University School of Medicine.
. Promoting Israel's security and encouraging stem-cell research are other goals of the organization.
In July 2011, Marcie Natan was inaugurated as national president.
. The nomination asserted three areas in which HMO has promoted peace in Western Asia:
in East Jerusalem in 1939. During the Arab siege of 1948, the hospital and the adjacent Hebrew University held out against repeated attacks. On April 13, 1948 the Hadassah medical convoy massacre
took place: A convoy of doctors, nurses and patients, on its way to the hospital under a flag of truce, was attacked by local Arabs. Nearby British troops did not intervene. About 80 people, mostly medical personnel, were murdered including Haim Yasky, the Director General of the Hadassah Medical Organization. The hospital was evacauted shortly thereafter, and five emergency hospitals were established at temporary locations throughout Jerusalem.
The cease fire of 1949 left Hadassah Hospital and the university enclave cut off from the Israel
i sector of the city. A new hospital was built in Ein Kerem
(Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital) on the west side of the city, and opened its doors in 1960. The original hospital was retaken in the Six Day War and was reopened in 1975, serving the Arabs of East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
In 1988, at the invitation of United States Agency for International Development
(USAID), HMO medical staff members helped to plan, construct and open a hospital in Kinshasa
, Zaire
. In Kenya
, Haddassah surgeons cured blindness in hundreds of people in a two week program. Hadassah purchased a hundred tons of medical supplies for Bosnia in 1996. Young Hadassah International is Hadassah International's branch for 18-35 year-olds, active in 10 countries.
.
. The New York Times
originally reported that Hadassah had lost $90 million when Madoff's Ponzi scheme collapsed.
Hadassah was introduced to Bernard Madoff Securities in 1988 by a French donor, through a $7 million gift. In addition to the gift, between 1988 and 1996, Hadassah deposited $33 million in its Madoff accounts, and by April 2007 had withdrawn $137 million. The last account statement showed approximately $90 million at the time the fraud was discovered.
Hadassah faced a "clawback" for withdrawing more than it had invested. After many months, Hadassah negotiated an agreement, allowing it to continue its commitment to Israel. Hadassah agreed to repay $45 million.
American Jews
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
volunteer women's organization. Founded in 1912 by 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:...
, it is one of the largest international Jewish organizations, with around
270,000 members worldwide, mostly women.
History
Hadassah was established in 1912 in New York City by Henrietta Szold and the Daughters of Zion, a women's study group. The goal was to promote the Zionist ideal through education, public healthPublic health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
initiatives, and the training of nurses in what was then the Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
region of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Szold served as the first president. Hadassah chapters soon opened in Baltimore, Cleveland, Chicago, and Boston. At the founders' meeting that coincided with the Jewish holiday of Purim
Purim
Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther .Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th...
, the group took the name Hadassah, the Hebrew name
Hebrew name
Hebrew names are names that have a Hebrew language origin, classically from the Hebrew Bible. They are mostly used by people living in Jewish or Christian parts of the world, but some are also adapted to the Islamic world, particularly if a Hebrew name is mentioned in the Qur'an. When...
of the biblical heroine Esther
Esther
Esther , born Hadassah, is the eponymous heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther.According to the Bible, she was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus...
, central figure in the celebration of Purim.
Szold was the driving spirit behind the establishment of the first medical school in Palestine, as well as the country's first Tipat Halav mother and child clinics, the first hospital in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
and the two Hadassah hospitals in Jerusalem.
Health care, education and youth programs
Hadassah founded the Hebrew University of JerusalemHebrew 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...
-Hadassah Medical School, the Henrietta Szold Hadassah-Hebrew University School of Nursing and Hadassah College Jerusalem. In 1967, Hadassah took over management of Young Judaea
Young Judaea
Young Judaea is a peer-led Zionist youth movement that runs programs throughout the United States for Jewish youth in grades 2-12. In Hebrew, Young Judaea is called Yehudah Hatzair or is sometimes referred to as Hashachar, which means the dawn....
, a Zionist youth movement, and merged it with Junior Hadassah under the Young Judaea name.
Hadassah runs the WUJS Arad Institute
WUJS Arad Institute
The WUJS Arad Institute was a Jewish educational institute in Arad, Israel established in 1968. In 2006, WUJS Arad came under the sponsorship of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America...
, in Arad, which brings foreign students to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Hadassah took over the Youth Aliyah
Youth Aliyah
Szold was initially skeptical about the merits of Freier's proposal, as she believed that Germany offered better educational opportunities for Jewish children than Palestine. However, Hitler's rise to power convinced her otherwise. The Nuremberg Laws were enacted in 1935 and on 31 March 1936 German...
program in 1934, which became identified with its founder Henrietta Szold, rescuing tens of thousands of children from the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
and subsequently becoming involved in rescue of Jewish youth around the world and their integration in Israeli society. Hadassah is a major supporter and partner of the Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
, which plants trees and implements other land reclamation
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
programs in Israel.
Hadassah advocates for progressive issues of importance to women and to the American Jewish community, including First Amendment issues, separation of church and state, support for Israel, and other causes. Hadassah supports The Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO), consisting of two hospital complexes 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. . It has initiated and contributed to numerous medical aid projects in Israel and around the world, and built several hospitals and other facilities in Israel that were eventually turned over to state and municipal authorities. In the United States, Hadassah promotes health education, social action and advocacy, volunteerism, Jewish education and research, and connections with Israel. Hadassah has announced plans to establish Israel's first military medical school, scheduled to open in October 2009 as part of the Hebrew University School of Medicine.
Leadership
In July 2007, the organization inaugurated its 24th national president, Nancy K. Falchuk of Newton, Massachusetts. Apart from health and education, Falchuk says Hadassah is active in the fight against anti-SemitismAnti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
. Promoting Israel's security and encouraging stem-cell research are other goals of the organization.
In July 2011, Marcie Natan was inaugurated as national president.
Awards
In 2005, the two Jerusalem hospitals of the Hadassah Medical Organization were nominated for the Nobel Peace PrizeNobel 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...
. The nomination asserted three areas in which HMO has promoted peace in Western Asia:
- Maintaining equal treatment for all regardless of religion, ethnicity and nationality
- Setting an example of cooperation and coexistence by maintaining a mixed staff of people of all faiths
- Initiatives to create bridges for peace, even during periods of active conflict between Israel and one or more of its neighbors
Hadassah Hospital
Shortly after its foundation in 1912, Hadassah established a nursing station in Jerusalem. Following World War I, it sent doctors and nurses to found medical clinics in Palestine, eventually building the foremost hospital in Western Asia on Mount ScopusMount 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 East Jerusalem in 1939. During the Arab siege of 1948, the hospital and the adjacent Hebrew University held out against repeated attacks. On April 13, 1948 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....
took place: A convoy of doctors, nurses and patients, on its way to the hospital under a flag of truce, was attacked by local Arabs. Nearby British troops did not intervene. About 80 people, mostly medical personnel, were murdered including Haim Yasky, the Director General of the Hadassah Medical Organization. The hospital was evacauted shortly thereafter, and five emergency hospitals were established at temporary locations throughout Jerusalem.
The cease fire of 1949 left Hadassah Hospital and the university enclave cut off from the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i sector of the city. A new hospital 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....
(Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital) on the west side of the city, and opened its doors in 1960. The original hospital was retaken in the Six Day War and was reopened in 1975, serving the Arabs of East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
International programs
Hadassah International is a network of dedicated volunteers, men and women of all faiths and nationalities, founded on the principle that advancement and cooperation in medicine and science transcend politics, religion, and national boundaries. Established in 1984, Hadassah International currently spans the five continents of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australasia. Its mission is to:- Enhance the image of Israel through the work of the Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO).
- Provide support for HMO so that it remains an academic center of excellence for healing, teaching, and research.
- Serve as a bridge to nations through medicine.
In 1988, at the invitation of United States Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
(USAID), HMO medical staff members helped to plan, construct and open a hospital in Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
, Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
. In Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Haddassah surgeons cured blindness in hundreds of people in a two week program. Hadassah purchased a hundred tons of medical supplies for Bosnia in 1996. Young Hadassah International is Hadassah International's branch for 18-35 year-olds, active in 10 countries.
Magazine
The organization publishes Hadassah, a magazine. In 1993, it was nominated for a National Magazine AwardNational Magazine Award
The National Magazine Awards are a series of US awards that honor excellence in the magazine industry. They are administered by the American Society of Magazine Editors and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City...
.
Madoff scandal
In December 2008, it was claimed that Hadassah had lost a significant amount of money in the Madoff investment scandalMadoff investment scandal
The Madoff investment scandal broke in December 2008 when former NASDAQ chairman Bernard Madoff admitted that the wealth management arm of his business was an elaborate Ponzi scheme....
. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
originally reported that Hadassah had lost $90 million when Madoff's Ponzi scheme collapsed.
Hadassah was introduced to Bernard Madoff Securities in 1988 by a French donor, through a $7 million gift. In addition to the gift, between 1988 and 1996, Hadassah deposited $33 million in its Madoff accounts, and by April 2007 had withdrawn $137 million. The last account statement showed approximately $90 million at the time the fraud was discovered.
Hadassah faced a "clawback" for withdrawing more than it had invested. After many months, Hadassah negotiated an agreement, allowing it to continue its commitment to Israel. Hadassah agreed to repay $45 million.
External links
- Official website
- Hadassah Medical Center
- Hadassah International
- Hadassah magazine
- Labor of Thy Hands a short film produced by Hadassah in the mid-1950s