Hadassah Stories
US Doctor Makes Aliyah After Volunteering at Hadassah
September 9, 2024
After spending two weeks volunteering at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, a cardiothoracic anesthesiologist from California is making Aliyah.
We believe we can and must do all we can to advance justice and healing.
We’ve been defying the odds for more than a century, creating new leadership roles for women, sustaining a vibrant Jewish state and paving the way for a pioneering health care system that saves lives every day. We are the power of women who do.
And we believe that each of us has the power to heal our world, to take action, to make an impact.
We hope you do, too. Join us.
Every day, Hadassah brings healing to the people who need it most.
Our chapters host health and wellness events in hundreds of communities around the United States, giving individuals tools to live longer, healthier lives. Hadassah’s hospitals in Israel bring care to a million patients a year, and advance cutting-edge research and treatments, including against COVID-19. And our advocates work to expand access to health care in the US and stronger US-Israel medical partnerships.
Hadassah is the address for women’s empowerment and for the empowerment of Zionist women.
At Hadassah, Israel is in our DNA. Our US programs advance a deeper understanding and connection to Israel – for adults and young Jews. Our advocacy supports Israel’s security and a strong US-Israel relationship. And our hospitals and youth programs in Israel create a better future, regardless of religion, ethnicity or race.
Hadassah believes that when we empower women, we can heal our world, together. As America’s largest Jewish women’s organization, we have members in every congressional district who – in conjunction with our national advocacy team and our Washington, DC, Government Relations Office – speak out on today’s most pressing issues, from advancing women’s health and economic security (including reproductive rights) to fighting antisemitism and hate, to speaking out for a strong, secure Israel.
COVID-19, conflict at the Gaza border and political uncertainty in Israel were on everyone’s mind when we caught up with Brenda Lazoff Menda. Brenda is known for her role in Hadassah’s Puerto Rico chapter: in particular, for her decade-plus commitment to chairing numerous events for the Hadassah Medical Organization, for her leadership as chapter president and for the generous gift made with her husband, Nelson, that enabled them to name the Menda Promenade.
“We made a long commitment, because it has our hearts in it. But we also did it as an example for our kids.”
You’ll need more than two hands to count how many times Jody Comins, 55, has been to Israel. With 25 years of being actively involved in the Boston Jewish community, she has the experience and expertise to thrive as Hadassah’s Evolve Israel Travel chair.
As chair, she oversees three Evolve Hadassah: The Next Generation programs: Momentum partnership trips, Evolve Israel Experience (EIE) and Evolve Leadership Fellows. Jody and her Hadassah volunteer and staff partners have been creating itineraries for EIE and Evolve Leadership Fellows, highly subsidized and curated trips for a select group of Hadassah women.
Dr. Shani Paluch-Shimon helps shape global standards for breast cancer treatments. In addition to her role as director of the Breast Oncology Program at the Hadassah Medical Organization, she is the first Israeli doctor to serve as editor for breast cancer guidelines for the Clinical Practice Committee of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO).
She's instituted a patient navigator system to help young women through the maze of breast cancer tests, appointments and treatments. “Issues of body image, sexuality and fertility used to be considered peripheral, but they aren’t. We are dedicated to ensuring the best quality of life."
Every action has an impact and every dollar brings us closer to fulfilling our promises to the medical, humanitarian and advocacy efforts we support here in the US, Israel and around the globe.
You want to make an impact? That's what we do. Come put your passion to work, side by side with like-minded women. We Got the Power.
Hadassah women turn Jewish values into action, working to build a healthier, safer and more equitable world. We advocate to advance the health and well-being of women and for Israel’s security and stronger US-Israel relations.
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Hadassah invites you to a free virtual event Sunday, October 6, at 6:30 pm ET to commemorate the anniversary of October 7.
Help others understand the very real ways — big and small — that women are facing antisemitism in our everyday lives. Share your personal experiences in our short Everyday Antisemitism: Women's Stories survey.
Using artificial intelligence, researchers at Hadassah have made a significant discovery in tailored cancer treatment.
After spending two weeks volunteering at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, a cardiothoracic anesthesiologist from California is making Aliyah.
For its volunteers and their corresponding departments, Hadassah Medical Organization received the Israeli Minister of Health's Shield for Volunteerism.
In this Washington Jewish Week interview, Dr. Ruth Elimelech, the head of psychological services at the Hadassah Medical Organization's Gandel Rehabilitation Center, describes her efforts to help soldiers reconcile their status as heroes with feelings of guilt and loss.
Women seeking pain relief in the ER wait longer for treatment and receive medication less often than men, according to a study co-written by Dr. Alex Gileles-Hillel of the Hadassah Medical Organization and reported on by the UK’s DailyMail.com, the world’s most popular website.
The Jewish Standard describes what happened on Oct. 7 through the story of Oded Cohen Arazi, a trauma surgeon at Hadassah’s medical center in Jerusalem. The soldiers “did everything for us,” says Cohen Arazi, “so we now are doing what we can to help them.”
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports on Hadassah National President Carol Ann Schwartz’s conversation with Gilad Erdan, Israel’s outgoing Ambassador to the UN. In an exchange often punctuated by applause, they discussed the war, Hamas, global antisemitism and US campus protests.