This is a photograph of the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital. The medical complex is situated on the top of a hill. A few buildings can be seen in the distance, but there are no other buildings in close proximity to the hospital. A road can be seen leading up to the hospital. The photograph seems to have been taken in the 1960s, since the entire area is undeveloped except for the hospital.
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Hadassah - Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America (HWZO), was founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold. Szold called for “practical Zionism,” by which she meant providing direct aid to Jews living in pre-state Israel. She called on women to raise money to help support the health needs of the people. The Hadassah Medical Center was established in 1934. The Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus opened in 1939 but had to be closed down in 1948. As a result of the 1948 war, Mount Scopus, along with the Hadassah Hospital, was left as an Israeli enclave, guarded by a small number of Israeli armed personnel, and all activities at the medical campus had to be abandoned. In the years following the 1948 War of Independence, when the original Hadassah hospital on Mt. Scopus was cut off from Jerusalem, patients were treated in buildings scattered throughout the city. On June 6, 1961, all these patients were transferred to the newest and most advanced hospital in the Middle East: the Hadassah University Hospital – Ein Kerem. Assisted by the army, the transfer of patients took only one day. An alternative set of locations in West Jerusalem were adopted by the evacuated medical staff in order to continue their activities. In 1961 a new medical complex was built in Ein Kerem, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. After the Six-Day War, Hadassah Mount Scopus became accessible once again. The hospital reopened in 1975 after extensive renovations. HWZO currently operates hospitals in both locations. Hadassah is a modern university hospital of international renown, operating five schools for different medical professions. Across the two locations it has more than 1,000 beds, 31 operating theatres, and nine intensive care units. The Hadassah hospitals serve all population groups and were nominated a Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 as an institution that serves as a bridge to peace by providing equal services to all.
