Page 242 - קרובים רחוקים
P. 242
During this period, the Jewish community tried to establish separate and competing medical
services, and there were a number of initiatives over the years, but with a lack of resources
and with activities funded solely by the generosity of donors, it was not possible to continue
operations over any length of time. In 1899, representatives of Baron Rothschild even acquired
two plots designated for a Jewish hospital, but for many years the Baron declined to build a
hospital because of dissatisfaction with the conduct of a community opposed to modernity
and subsisting through the economic aid known as the halukah. He was also appalled by the
behavior of residents towards the doctor he sent them for treatment.
T he hospital designed by architect Ullman was finally inaugurated in 1910, situated diagonally
opposite that of the London Society. The Jewish hospital was not active as an inpatient facility
because of the inability of city leaders to mobilize resources for its upkeep (this in addition to
resources provided by the Rothschild family). The only time during this period that the hospital
opened its doors to treat the injured was in March 1911 when victims of the Lag B'Omer
disaster, caused by the collapse of a balcony, were admitted.
T he First World War and its consequences were disastrous for Safed and its inhabitants; the
number of Jewish residents declined to a mere 2500 and many inhabitants descended into
abject poverty. The war was also a turning point for the two hospitals. Rothschild Hospital was
declared out of bounds and every team member of the London Society's hospital bearing a
European passport was forced to leave the country in haste. The London Society's property
became a residential area and the Turks engaged in widespread destruction there, leaving
both buildings in a state of disintegration.
After the end of World War I, in 1918, Australians and British troops took control of the city. In the
same year a group of doctors arrived sent by the American Zionist Medical Unit (AZMU), and
shortly thereafter Hadassah, the American women's Zionist movement, took over the operation
and maintenance of the Rothschild hospital. Hadassah restored and equipped it, sent it medical
teams and renovated the building with the aid of the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association
(PICA), and it began operating under the auspices of the Hadassah medical organization. The
hospital began to function as a central hospital for Safed and the region.
In spite of the development of the Jewish Hospital, the London Society weighed reopening its
own hospital. The attempts of Dr. Anderson, who had returned to Safed after the war, and of
the London Society to rehabilitate the hospital, ended in failure. The success of the Rothschild-
Hadassah hospital made the London Society's hospital redundant and moreover there were
not enough resources to rehabilitate and operate the complex. All these factors as well as legal
entanglements led in 1922 to the London Society's selling of its Safed assets, principally the
hospital, to the Scottish mission.
In the hospital compound, the Scottish mission set up a college, a successful high school
whose students came from affluent areas all over the Middle East. There were students of
all nationalities and religions, including Jewish students, under the leadership and direction
of the Rev. S.H. Semple, B.D., whose aim was to foster tolerance and coexistence between
רחוקים קרובים240
services, and there were a number of initiatives over the years, but with a lack of resources
and with activities funded solely by the generosity of donors, it was not possible to continue
operations over any length of time. In 1899, representatives of Baron Rothschild even acquired
two plots designated for a Jewish hospital, but for many years the Baron declined to build a
hospital because of dissatisfaction with the conduct of a community opposed to modernity
and subsisting through the economic aid known as the halukah. He was also appalled by the
behavior of residents towards the doctor he sent them for treatment.
T he hospital designed by architect Ullman was finally inaugurated in 1910, situated diagonally
opposite that of the London Society. The Jewish hospital was not active as an inpatient facility
because of the inability of city leaders to mobilize resources for its upkeep (this in addition to
resources provided by the Rothschild family). The only time during this period that the hospital
opened its doors to treat the injured was in March 1911 when victims of the Lag B'Omer
disaster, caused by the collapse of a balcony, were admitted.
T he First World War and its consequences were disastrous for Safed and its inhabitants; the
number of Jewish residents declined to a mere 2500 and many inhabitants descended into
abject poverty. The war was also a turning point for the two hospitals. Rothschild Hospital was
declared out of bounds and every team member of the London Society's hospital bearing a
European passport was forced to leave the country in haste. The London Society's property
became a residential area and the Turks engaged in widespread destruction there, leaving
both buildings in a state of disintegration.
After the end of World War I, in 1918, Australians and British troops took control of the city. In the
same year a group of doctors arrived sent by the American Zionist Medical Unit (AZMU), and
shortly thereafter Hadassah, the American women's Zionist movement, took over the operation
and maintenance of the Rothschild hospital. Hadassah restored and equipped it, sent it medical
teams and renovated the building with the aid of the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association
(PICA), and it began operating under the auspices of the Hadassah medical organization. The
hospital began to function as a central hospital for Safed and the region.
In spite of the development of the Jewish Hospital, the London Society weighed reopening its
own hospital. The attempts of Dr. Anderson, who had returned to Safed after the war, and of
the London Society to rehabilitate the hospital, ended in failure. The success of the Rothschild-
Hadassah hospital made the London Society's hospital redundant and moreover there were
not enough resources to rehabilitate and operate the complex. All these factors as well as legal
entanglements led in 1922 to the London Society's selling of its Safed assets, principally the
hospital, to the Scottish mission.
In the hospital compound, the Scottish mission set up a college, a successful high school
whose students came from affluent areas all over the Middle East. There were students of
all nationalities and religions, including Jewish students, under the leadership and direction
of the Rev. S.H. Semple, B.D., whose aim was to foster tolerance and coexistence between
רחוקים קרובים240
