Page 241 - קרובים רחוקים
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religions. However, the 1929 riots (during which Semple sheltered Jewish families affected by
the violence) and the bloody clashes of 1936 led the Scottish mission to decide, despite the
success of the college, to leave Safed and move to Haifa.
In June 1942, the complex was purchased from the Scottish mission by two entrepreneurs
from Safed, Ze'ev Mattityahu Pearl and Yehuda Meiberg. Having paid a deposit, they paid
out the purchase price in full and immediately thereafter sold the rights and the land to the
Jewish National Fund, which bought it for health fund employees in Israel. About a year later,
on June 20, 1943, the health fund (kupat holim) established an R and R home in the complex.
At the suggestion of Avraham Herzfeld, the complex was named after Yossef Bussel, a much-
admired leader, who was one of the founders of Kinneret Farm (1908) and of Kibbutz Degania
(1909). He unfortunately drowned in the Sea of Galilee in August 1919, at the height of his
public activities, which were centered on ministering to the needs of refugees and orphans
arriving in the Galilee after expulsion from the center of the Land of Israel.
D uring this period, the Rothschild-Hadassah hospital was taking shape on the other side of
the road. The hospital received and treated victims of the 1921, 1929 and 1936 riots and took
in patients from all areas of the north. One famous patient was the poetess Rachel, who was
hospitalized twice for tuberculosis, in 1921 and in 1925. The hospital management had to deal
with attempts to steal sections of its property and to maintain the physical infrastructure of an
otherwise dilapidated building. It underwent renovation several times, funded mainly by the
Jewish Colonial Organization (JCA) and the Rothschild family. In 1934, with the transfer of part
of the medical services to the government hospital in the city, Hadassah was designated as a
hospital for the treatment of patients with tuberculosis.
The two compounds, the Rothschild-Hadassah hospital and Beith Bussel, played an important
role in the Jewish conquest of Safed and its aftermath. The Bussel compound was a defensive
outpost of the Jewish Quarter and it housed the Palmach platoon that came to Safed at the
end of 1947. After the occupation of Safed and the establishment of the state, the compound
served for several months as the main military convalescent home. Rothschild-Hadassah
also played an important role in the War of Independence and the battles for Safed, treating
the wounded and sheltering fugitives by disguising them as patients. Many wounded died in
hospital in the absence of appropriate conditions for treatment (equipment and electricity). In
May 1948, the hospital was designated military hospital No. 7 and was used in this capacity
until December 1948.
After the War of Independence, Bussel House was again used for R and R, and it was
successful and highly sought after. Over the years, the building was refurbished, and with the
rising demand for recreation in the country in general and Safed in particular, mainly due to
the "Annual Leave Act" passed by the Knesset in 1951, the health fund running it decided to
employ the architecture office of Rechter-Zrachi to expand the site. In 1963, a modern dining
room was inaugurated, as well as a colonnaded open auditorium, and later, in 1968/9 the
Rechter architecture office built an annex of 30 rooms, similar to the rooms built at the same
time at the 'Mivtachim' R and R facility in Zichron Ya'akov.
239
the violence) and the bloody clashes of 1936 led the Scottish mission to decide, despite the
success of the college, to leave Safed and move to Haifa.
In June 1942, the complex was purchased from the Scottish mission by two entrepreneurs
from Safed, Ze'ev Mattityahu Pearl and Yehuda Meiberg. Having paid a deposit, they paid
out the purchase price in full and immediately thereafter sold the rights and the land to the
Jewish National Fund, which bought it for health fund employees in Israel. About a year later,
on June 20, 1943, the health fund (kupat holim) established an R and R home in the complex.
At the suggestion of Avraham Herzfeld, the complex was named after Yossef Bussel, a much-
admired leader, who was one of the founders of Kinneret Farm (1908) and of Kibbutz Degania
(1909). He unfortunately drowned in the Sea of Galilee in August 1919, at the height of his
public activities, which were centered on ministering to the needs of refugees and orphans
arriving in the Galilee after expulsion from the center of the Land of Israel.
D uring this period, the Rothschild-Hadassah hospital was taking shape on the other side of
the road. The hospital received and treated victims of the 1921, 1929 and 1936 riots and took
in patients from all areas of the north. One famous patient was the poetess Rachel, who was
hospitalized twice for tuberculosis, in 1921 and in 1925. The hospital management had to deal
with attempts to steal sections of its property and to maintain the physical infrastructure of an
otherwise dilapidated building. It underwent renovation several times, funded mainly by the
Jewish Colonial Organization (JCA) and the Rothschild family. In 1934, with the transfer of part
of the medical services to the government hospital in the city, Hadassah was designated as a
hospital for the treatment of patients with tuberculosis.
The two compounds, the Rothschild-Hadassah hospital and Beith Bussel, played an important
role in the Jewish conquest of Safed and its aftermath. The Bussel compound was a defensive
outpost of the Jewish Quarter and it housed the Palmach platoon that came to Safed at the
end of 1947. After the occupation of Safed and the establishment of the state, the compound
served for several months as the main military convalescent home. Rothschild-Hadassah
also played an important role in the War of Independence and the battles for Safed, treating
the wounded and sheltering fugitives by disguising them as patients. Many wounded died in
hospital in the absence of appropriate conditions for treatment (equipment and electricity). In
May 1948, the hospital was designated military hospital No. 7 and was used in this capacity
until December 1948.
After the War of Independence, Bussel House was again used for R and R, and it was
successful and highly sought after. Over the years, the building was refurbished, and with the
rising demand for recreation in the country in general and Safed in particular, mainly due to
the "Annual Leave Act" passed by the Knesset in 1951, the health fund running it decided to
employ the architecture office of Rechter-Zrachi to expand the site. In 1963, a modern dining
room was inaugurated, as well as a colonnaded open auditorium, and later, in 1968/9 the
Rechter architecture office built an annex of 30 rooms, similar to the rooms built at the same
time at the 'Mivtachim' R and R facility in Zichron Ya'akov.
239
