Summary
The American Zionist women’s organization whose medical work in Palestine the Peel Commission Report describes: it undertook, primarily, to send the American Zionist Medical Unit of 1918, and its Medical Organization maintained a widespread system of clinics, hospitals, school medical and infant welfare services, open to all communities in Palestine (Report of the Palestine Royal Commission, PDF p.322-323 / printed p.311-312).
Details
- In response to an urgent appeal of the World Zionist Centre in London, the American Zionists, primarily the Hadassah Organization, undertook to send to Palestine a medical expedition, the American Zionist Medical Unit, composed of doctors, nurses, bacteriologists and sanitary engineers, which entered Palestine in August 1918 and organized medical services on a country-wide scale; side by side with the Government Department of Health there grew up the Jewish Medical Service (PDF p.322 / printed p.311).
- The Jewish health system includes services maintained by Hadassah, services maintained by local communities, health insurance organizations, and bodies including the Anti-Tuberculosis League and the Women’s Zionist Organisation of America (PDF p.322 / printed p.311).
- The Hadassah Medical Organization developed a widespread system of clinics in Jewish centres and hospitals in the principal towns and, in parallel with the Government, a school medical service including an ophthalmological service and a widespread infant welfare service; its services were available to all the communities, and many of the poorer classes amongst the Arabs received much assistance; as the rift widened, the Arabs’ attendance at Jewish hospitals and clinics became less and less (PDF p.323 / printed p.312).
- In recent years certain Hadassah activities have been taken over by the health insurance organizations, Kupat-Cholim and the Rural Sick Benefit Fund (PDF p.323 / printed p.312).
- Of the Jewish health undertakings’ 1935 maintenance budget of about £350,000, £50,000 was borne by Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organisation of America and other outside bodies (PDF p.323 / printed p.312, read in the original).
Related pages
Report of the Palestine Royal Commission, Kupat-Cholim, Histadrut, Peel Commission