History
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Shaare Zedek’s history is rich and varied and is inextricably linked with that of Jerusalem. The hospital is a landmark building, but more than that, thanks to the world-class medical care provided by its doctors, nurses and surgeons, Shaare Zedek has grown to become one of Jerusalem’s most vital resources.
Although the hospital was opened in 1902, the real story starts 29 years earlier. In 1873, a committee was established, comprising prominent Rabbis and philanthropists from Germany and Holland to raise funds for a hospital. Today, it continues to be written
thanks largely to the support and commitment
of its loyal friends around the world.
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1892 – Dr. Moshe Wallach, a skilled, Torah-committed physician arrives to begin a 60-year period of pioneering medical leadership as Shaare Zedek’s first Medical Director.
1902 – The hospital – the most modern facility in the Middle East – is completed. The ‘Gates of Righteousness’ on Jaffa Road are opened to Jerusalem’s sick and needy.
1910 – Jerusalem’s first (and at the time, only) isolation ward is opened, saving hundreds of lives as it defeats epidemics of typhoid and diphtheria.
1916 – Schwester (literally ‘sister’) Selma Mayer arrives from Hamburg in Germany to become Head Nurse. She is a legendary figure whose life story is woven into the very fabric of Shaare Zedek. She is the first nurse in Palestine to hold a nursing diploma.
Schwester Selma was Head Nurse from 1916 – 1964 and established the School of Nursing in 1934.
1921 – Shaare Zedek serves as the main casualty centre during the Jaffa riots (commonly known as Me'oraot Tarpa).
1929 – Shaare Zedek treats the wounded of the Hebron and Motza massacres (also known as the Western Wall Uprising).
1933 – As the Nazi regime takes hold, Shaare Zedek loses its main source of support, namely Europe’s Jewish community. Despite overwhelming financial and emotional difficulties, the hospital’s medical work is extended to care for the influx of European refugees.
1936 – Schwester Selma’s School of Nursing opens.
1947 – On the eve of the establishment of the State of Israel, Dr. Falk Schlesinger becomes Shaare Zedek’s Director and Chief Physician.
1948 – Shaare Zedek serves as a military hospital during the War of Independence and the Siege of Jerusalem. Its wards and corridors are crowded to capacity with casualties and wounded soldiers.
1950 – Mass immigration continues to pour into Israel by air and sea. In the newly-formed State’s first 18 months, 340,000 men, women and children arrive.
1952 – A polio epidemic hits Israel and Shaare Zedek serves the entire city and its corridor towns and villages as the city’s only isolation department.
1948 – 1958 – With the help of the newly-formed committees around the world, the hospital building is modernised. Facilities are added and departments are opened including state-of-the-art operating theatres and x-ray facilities, clinical and research laboratories, modern delivery rooms, an enlarged outpatient clinic and a building for the School of Nursing.
1960 – The Paediatric Neurology Unit is established. Over the years, it has grown into a nationwide referral centre for children with a wide spectrum of neurological disorders.
1967 – During the Six Day War, Shaare Zedek is transformed into a front-line military hospital treating 450 wounded in 70 hours and performing over 200 operations. Doctors, nurses and volunteers worked around the clock and saved hundreds of lives. The hospital is lauded by both military and civilian authorities for its outstanding achievements.
1968 – After the death of Dr. Falk Schlesinger, Professor David M. Maeir is appointed Director-General.
1972 – The construction of the new hospital starts.
1973 – The centenary of the founding of the first Shaare Zedek committee is celebrated. During the Yom Kippur War, over 250 wounded soldiers are treated at Shaare Zedek.
1974 – The Day Hospital is opened for patients not requiring overnight hospitalisation.
1975 – Shaare Zedek wins the Katz prize for ‘application of Halacha to modern life’ and Schwester Selma is described by Time Magazine as “a living saint”.
1978 – Jerusalem’s first Total Body Scanner is installed and activated and Shaare Zedek is accredited as a university-affiliated teaching hospital.
1979 – Shaare Zedek moves into the ultra-modern Medical Centre opposite Mount Herzl. The Kaplan prize is awarded to the Emergency Room staff for their devoted care and treatment of injuries sustained during terror attacks in Jerusalem.
1980 – The inauguration of a programme for faculty and student exchanges and medical symposia between the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York and Shaare Zedek.
1982 – Operation “Peace for Galilee” – Shaare Zedek once again demonstrates its ability to treat wounded soldiers fighting in Lebanon.
1985 – Shaare Zedek treats the Ethiopian immigrants arriving on “Operation Moses” for tropical diseases.
1988 – Dr. Jonathan Halevy is appointed Director-General.
1991 – The Army and Ministry of Health select Shaare Zedek to be the only hospital in Jerusalem on 24-hour alert for the intake of victims of chemical warfare during the Gulf War.
1994 – The Cancer Pain and Palliative Medicine Unit opens. The new Jesselson Heart Centre provides comprehensive cardiac care and rehabilitation.
1995 – The Department of Cardiology transmits live satellite images of interventional cardiology procedures to an audience attending a symposium in Washington D.C.
1999 – The Harry, Judith and Leonard Wilf Woman and Infant Centre opens, consolidating all medical services for women on one floor.
2000 – Shaare Zedek becomes formally affiliated with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s Faculty of Health Sciences.
2002 – Shaare Zedek celebrates its 100th birthday.
2004 – Shaare Zedek receives the largest percentage of terror attack victims during the second Intifada and becomes an international authority in the treatment of mass casualty incidents. The Weinstock Department of Emergency Medicine is established.
2006 – In August, Shaare Zedek becomes the first hospital in Jerusalem to record over 1,000 births in a single month.
2007 – Construction begins on the new Wilf Children’s Hospital and the Wohl Surgical Operating Complex.
2009 – With the hospital experiencing close to 13,000 births for the year, the Hochstein Family Mother and Infant C Department opens.
The hospital carried out a major emergency preparedness drill with the IDF’s Homefront Command designed to simulate conditions in the wake of a large-scale chemical attack and it continues to serve as the on-call hospital for the Jerusalem area for the treatment of victims of chemical warfare.
2010 – The first phase of the Wohl Surgical Complex is opened, comprising 13 state-of-the-art operating theatres. Shaare Zedek is firmly established as Israel’s leading and most active maternity hospital, delivering 14,020 babies from 13,758 pregnancies.
2011 – The new Digestive Diseases Institute is established under the leadership of Professor Eran Goldin, one of Israel’s leading experts in this area.
