This is a sign published by doctors from Hadassah’s sanitary department announcing measures that Jerusalem residents should take in order to guarantee a healthy New Year. The announcement is written in the form of the Ten Commandments and includes washing fruits and vegetables before eating them, covering rubbish bins and removing them daily, drinking clean water, and covering water to prevent the spread of malaria by mosquitos who breed near water sources. The rules also mention the drinking of either boiled cistern water or fresh water provided by the government. The sign was posted before Rosh Hashanah, at a time when people are wishing each other a good and healthy year. It is written in black ink with a large, red Magen David on top of the text. Despite the fact that this poster was not dated, the precautions against malaria date it to the 1920s or 1930s when malaria and typhus were common in Jerusalem.
The rules in the poster provide an important insight on hygiene and the medical situation in Israel at the beginning of the twentieth century. Israel was at the time a very undeveloped country with poor infrastructures. In 1918, the Hadassah Women’s Zionist Organisation of America established its first initiative to build the Yishuv’s medical system. Their first goals were to educate the people in methods to promote hygiene and prevent the spread of diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and typhus.
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Malaria – Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease whose symptoms include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches and, in severe cases seizures, comas, and death. Malaria can be prevented by avoiding mosquito bites or by draining standing water, a breeding ground for the mosquitos. In a survey carried out in 1912 more than 20 percent of the population of Jerusalem were ill with malaria. Many measures were taken to eradicate the disease such as draining marshes, spraying larva-infested areas, improving treatment, improving housing conditions, and mounting a widespread community education initiative. The disease gradually became less common, and by 1962 it was officially eradicated in Israel.
Hadassah – Henrietta Szold founded the Hadassah movement, an America Jewish women’s volunteer organisation in 1912. Hadassah’s goal was promoting Zionist ideology through education, public health initiatives, and the training of nurses and to improve health levels in Israel. Hadassah established clinics, hospitals, medical and nursing schools, and youth aliyah villages. In 1921, a Hadassah nurse created the first postnatal clinic Tipat Chalav (the Hebrew for a drop of milk), and at the same time, school lunches for Israeli schoolchildren were also provided. Today, the Hadassah movement maintains two major Jerusalem hospitals, one on Mount Scopus and one in Ein Kerem.
Healthcare in Israel – During Turkish rule the medical and hygiene infrastructures in Israel were very poor and underdeveloped. Most medical institutions were run by the church which offered free care. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the Jewish community in Israel began developing its own health system. The first Jewish hospital, Sha’arei Tzedek, was established in 1902 in the Old City of Jerusalem and others followed. The first health fund, Kupat Cholim, was established in 1911. The First World War brought an end to these initiatives, but with the beginning of the British Mandate measures were taken to rebuild the health system in Israel. The American Hadassah organisation helped to reopen the Jewish hospitals, establish new ones, and organise medical training for doctors and nurses. Public hygiene also became a priority with the proper treatment of waste and eradication of malaria and smallpox. The health system continued to be developed after the establishment of the State of Israel, with the introduction of free compulsory medical insurance and the operation of Kupot Cholim throughout the country. Today Israel’s health system is one of the best in the world; international ranking from 2015 puts Israel at the sixth healthiest country in the world and the eighth in life expectancy.
