Hadassah Women's Organization
Henrietta Szold toured Palestine in 1909 and saw severe infant mortality and a need for nursing services. She came up with the idea to form an organization that would operate in these areas. In 1912, a group of American Zionist women gathered in New York and founded an organization that would act to achieve these purposes: to promote institutions and enterprises in Palestine and to promote Zionism in the United States. Henrietta Szold was elected as president. The establishing meeting was held on Purim, and so the second name of queen Esther, “Hadassah”, was chosen as its name.
“Hadassah” was very active in establishing health and medical institutions in Palestine, such as hospitals, clinics, nursing schools, medical institutes, and more. In 1913 Hadassah opened a welfare station in Jerusalem. Subsequently, in 1918, hospitals were opened in Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Safed and Tiberias, marking the inauguration in Palestine of a comprehensive health program that was a major factor in providing the country with the highest health standards in the Middle East. In addition, stations for infant welfare were established all over the country and in this way the rate of infant mortality was lowered. The Hadassah nursing school trained many nurses. In 1939, Hadassah’s first medical center was opened on Mount Scopus. Over the years, some of the institutions Hadassah had initiated and operated were turned over to the authorities.
In additions to Hadassah’s activity in the health sector, it helped in the absorption of children who immigrated to Palestine as part of Youth Aliya, and for many years was the single largest contributor to the Youth Aliya budget.