- Person
- Henrietta Szold
- Lived
- 1860–1945
- Field
- Activism
- From
- American-Israeli
The story
Henrietta Szold believed that health care should be practical, modern and available to everyone. When she visited Palestine in 1909 she was struck by disease and poverty that affected Jews and non-Jews alike. She persuaded her colleagues in Hadassah that programmes open to all the inhabitants of the land were essential to building a healthy society there.
Starting with a visiting nurse service in Jerusalem in 1913, Hadassah went on to fund hospitals, a medical school, dental facilities, X-ray clinics, infant welfare stations, soup kitchens and other services. In 1918 it sent the American Zionist Medical Unit, 45 doctors, nurses, dentists and sanitary engineers, which from the beginning set the principle that it would serve everyone with equal care, regardless of race, creed or nationality. During the riots of 1920, Hadassah nurses cared for the wounded on both sides, and its clinic in Hebron offered free care to Jews and Arabs.
In 1920 Szold moved to Palestine herself to take charge of the medical unit, soon renamed the Hadassah Medical Organization, applying the same meticulous organisation she had brought to publishing to the much harder task of building hospitals and clinics from limited resources. Her insistence on American standards was resisted at first, but colleagues and the public were gradually won over.
Outside observers took note. In its 1937 report, the British Peel Commission recorded that Hadassah's medical services were available to all the communities of Palestine, that many poorer Arabs received much help from them, and called this disinterested philanthropy a real step towards good feeling between the two peoples.
Her approach reflected her wider convictions. In the 1920s and 1930s she supported Brit Shalom, a small group devoted to Arab-Jewish understanding, and in 1942 she was among the co-founders of Ihud, which sought Arab-Jewish cooperation. Today the Hadassah Medical Center describes its mission as extending a hand to all, without regard for race, religion or ethnic origin, a principle that goes back to Szold's insistence on care open to all.
Why it matters
Szold's insistence on care open to all helped establish a tradition of treating every patient regardless of background, which Hadassah's hospitals still uphold.
About Henrietta Szold
Founder of Hadassah; through Youth Aliyah, rescued thousands of Jewish children from Nazi Europe.
More about Henrietta Szold
- Henrietta Szold laid the cornerstone of Hadassah's hospitalIn October 1934 Henrietta Szold laid the cornerstone of the Rothschild-Hadassah-University Hospital on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, a centre of medical care and training.
- Henrietta Szold founded Hadassah and saved childrenHenrietta Szold founded Hadassah in 1912 to bring modern health care to Palestine, then at 72 helped run Youth Aliyah, which rescued thousands of Jewish children from Nazi Europe.
- Henrietta Szold ran a pioneering night school for immigrantsIn Baltimore in the late 1880s, Henrietta Szold established a pioneering night school to teach English and job skills to Jewish immigrants fleeing Russia.
Sources
- Henrietta Szold Wikipedia
- Hadassah Medical Center Wikipedia
- Henrietta Szold Jewish Women's Archive
Another act of tikkun olam. This is part of tikkun olam, the Jewish idea of repairing the world, and every one of us can add to it.