Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America
Professional services
UnclaimedAn American Jewish volunteer women's organization supporting health care, education, community programs and Israel-focused advocacy.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Hadassah, formally Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, is a major American Jewish volunteer organization founded in New York in 1912 by Henrietta Szold and other members of a Zionist women's study circle. Its original purpose was to translate Zionist ideals into practical public-health work in Ottoman Palestine while educating American Jewish women about Zionism. The organization developed a distinctive model in which American members raised funds and built institutional support, while professional staff and local partners delivered services in Palestine and, after 1948, Israel. Hadassah's earliest work concentrated on maternal and child health, nursing, sanitation and disease prevention. In 1913 it sent nurses Rose Kaplan and Rae Landy to Jerusalem, where they operated a small public-health station addressing maternity care and trachoma. During and after the First World War, the organization expanded these efforts through the American Zionist Medical Unit, which brought doctors, nurses, dentists, engineers, medicines and equipment to Palestine. The unit helped establish hospitals, clinics, school-health services and nursing education, and became the Hadassah Medical Organization in 1924. Its policy was to provide medical care without regard to religion, ethnicity or nationality. The organization's health network grew through infant-welfare stations, school hygiene, nutrition, tuberculosis treatment, playgrounds and hospital construction. Major institutions included the Rothschild-Hadassah University Hospital on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, opened in 1939, and later Hadassah hospitals at Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus operated by the Hadassah Medical Organization. Hadassah also supported the Henrietta Szold Hadassah-Hebrew University School of Nursing and a broad range of medical research, education and preventive-care programs. Hadassah's social mission widened during the interwar period and the Second World War. It became the principal American sponsor of Youth Aliyah, assisting Jewish children and adolescents fleeing persecution and war. It supported vocational education for girls and young women, youth villages, career guidance, child welfare and educational programs. In the United States, chapters combined fundraising with civic education, Jewish cultural activity and public advocacy. The organization has also been active in American public affairs. Its advocacy has addressed women's rights, religious freedom and pluralism, Jewish communal concerns, democratic values and U.S.–Israel relations. Hadassah has historically maintained a strong connection to Zionism and has supported Israel-oriented policy initiatives while operating as a volunteer-led American membership organization. Its Israel programs include medical care, health education, research, women's initiatives, schools, youth services and support for disadvantaged communities. It is also identified as a partner of the Israel Coalition for Trauma. Hadassah is not a conventional consumer brand: its principal offerings are membership, philanthropy, volunteer engagement, advocacy and institution-building rather than commercial products. Its identity is associated with women-led Jewish communal action, health care and the long-term development of Israeli social and medical infrastructure. The organization remains active in the United States and Israel, although the scale and form of its programs have changed over time as projects have been transferred to municipal or governmental bodies or incorporated into independent institutions.
History
Hadassah began on February 24, 1912, at a meeting at Temple Emanu-El in New York City. Henrietta Szold and fellow members of the Daughters of Zion study circle proposed redirecting their activities toward practical health work in Palestine and systematic Zionist education in America. The name referred to Queen Esther, whose Hebrew name was Hadassah. Szold became the first president, and the organization soon expanded from New York to chapters in Baltimore, Cleveland, Chicago and Boston. The first major overseas initiative came in 1913, when Hadassah sent Rose Kaplan and Rae Landy to Jerusalem. They established a public-health station providing maternity care and treating trachoma. Although the two nurses returned to the United States in 1915, local physicians, midwives and trainees continued the work. Hadassah also developed educational infrastructure. In 1915 Jessie Sampter founded the Hadassah School of Zionism in New York, training chapter leaders and distributing instructional material through correspondence and local study programs. In 1916 the organization created a supplies department to purchase and ship materials unavailable in the Jewish community of Palestine. In 1918 Hadassah organized the American Zionist Medical Unit, a group of doctors, nurses, dentists and sanitary engineers sent to address the severe health conditions that followed the First World War. The unit established or supported hospitals and clinics, nursing education, sanitation programs and campaigns against malaria, cholera, trachoma and scalp diseases. Hadassah's medical policy emphasized service to all communities. The organization introduced school-health examinations in 1919 and, after the Arab riots of 1920, nurses treated wounded people on both sides. That year Szold moved to Jerusalem, where she directed the developing health and welfare work until her death in 1945. The 1920s brought a large expansion of preventive and child-health programs. In 1921 Bertha Landsman opened the first permanent infant-welfare station in Jerusalem, known as Tipat Halav or Drop of Milk. Hadassah expanded the model into a network and provided milk to needy families. It opened a hospital in Tel Aviv, initiated school lunches, established tuberculosis services in Safed and developed the Nathan and Lina Straus Health Center in Jerusalem. The organization often followed a policy of devolution: it created a service, demonstrated its value and later transferred administration to a municipality or public authority. Hadassah's social and educational work grew during the 1930s. Junior Hadassah supported the Meir Shfeyah children's village, while Hadassah became the American sponsor of Youth Aliyah, the rescue and resettlement movement for Jewish children. The organization also created social-service programs, vocational training and youth services. The Rothschild-Hadassah University Hospital on Mount Scopus opened in 1939, together with new facilities for the nursing school. During the Second World War, Hadassah shipped medicines, equipment, clothing and food to Palestine and mobilized American members for blood drives, war-bond sales and community volunteering. After the war and the establishment of Israel, Hadassah continued to develop medical, educational and welfare institutions while transferring some mature programs to Israeli ministries and municipalities. The Hadassah Medical Organization became one of the organization's central long-term institutions, operating hospitals in Jerusalem and supporting medical education and research. Hadassah also maintained Youth Aliyah, vocational education, career counseling, child welfare, schools, health education and initiatives for women and disadvantaged youth. In the United States, the organization developed a continuing public-affairs role alongside its philanthropic work. Its advocacy has addressed women's rights, religious autonomy, democracy, Jewish communal interests and U.S.–Israel relations. The modern organization combines a national volunteer membership structure with fundraising, education, policy advocacy and partnerships in Israel. Its contemporary Israel-related activities include medical care and research, trauma support, health promotion, women's initiatives and educational and social programs. The organization remains active, with its historical legacy centered on women-led institution building and public-health development.
- 1942
Wartime mobilization expands
[1]Hadassah supports the American war effort and increases medical and relief shipments to Palestine.
- 1939
Mount Scopus hospital opens
[1]The Rothschild-Hadassah University Hospital begins operation as a teaching hospital in Jerusalem.
- 1935
Youth Aliyah becomes an official Hadassah project
[1]Hadassah assumes the role of principal American sponsor for Youth Aliyah.
- 1924
Medical unit becomes Hadassah Medical Organization
[1]The medical program receives its enduring institutional name.
- 1921
First Tipat Halav infant-welfare station
[1]Hadassah opens Jerusalem's first permanent infant-welfare station and begins expanding the model.
- 1918
American Zionist Medical Unit established
[1]Hadassah organizes a professional medical mission for postwar Palestine.
- 1915
School of Zionism begins
[1]Jessie Sampter establishes an educational program for Hadassah leaders and chapters.
- 1913
First nurses sent to Jerusalem
[1]Hadassah dispatches Rose Kaplan and Rae Landy to begin public-health and maternity services.
- 1912
Hadassah is founded
[1]Henrietta Szold and other Zionist women establish Hadassah in New York to combine Zionist education with practical health work in Palestine.
Products and positioning
A women-led Jewish volunteer and philanthropic organization combining Zionist education, health-care institution building, social welfare, community service and public advocacy.
Healthcare and medical research · 1924
Hadassah Medical Organization
Hadassah's principal medical institution, developing hospitals, clinical services, medical education and research in Jerusalem. Its historical work grew from early public-health stations, nursing programs and hospitals established in Palestine and later Israel. The organization has emphasized preventive medicine, professional training and care for patients from diverse communities.
Youth welfare and education · 1935
Youth Aliyah
A youth-rescue and educational program that Hadassah adopted as its official American project in the 1930s. It supported Jewish children and adolescents displaced by persecution and war, providing housing, education, vocational preparation and integration into life in Palestine and Israel.
Community health and social services · 1913
Hadassah health and welfare programs
A broad family of initiatives including infant-welfare stations, school hygiene, nutrition, sanitation, tuberculosis services, nursing education, vocational training, career guidance and programs for disadvantaged youth. Many projects were later transferred to Israeli public authorities under Hadassah's devolution model.
Advocacy and civic education · 1940
Hadassah advocacy and American Affairs
Hadassah's U.S.-based public-affairs work addresses women's rights, religious autonomy, democratic values, Jewish communal concerns and U.S.–Israel relations. It combines member education, lobbying, public statements and coalition activity.
Brand decisions
1940
Expand organized American public-affairs workStrategyBackground
The organization increasingly connected its Zionist mission with questions of democracy, freedom, justice and American civic life.
Action taken
Hadassah formed an American Affairs Committee and participated with the Zionist Organization of America in the American Zionist Youth Commission.
Aftermath
Advocacy and civic education became continuing elements of Hadassah's U.S. activities alongside fundraising and service programs.
1935
Adopt Youth Aliyah as an official projectStrategyBackground
Youth Aliyah was seeking support for the relocation and care of Jewish children facing persecution and displacement in Europe.
Action taken
Hadassah's convention delegates made Youth Aliyah an official project and accepted responsibility as its sole American sponsor.
Aftermath
Youth Aliyah became a major component of Hadassah's social mission and wartime rescue work.
1924
Institutionalize the medical program as Hadassah Medical OrganizationStrategyBackground
Hadassah's medical mission had expanded beyond temporary relief into hospitals, clinics, nursing education and public-health infrastructure.
Action taken
The American Zionist Medical Unit was renamed the Hadassah Medical Organization, creating a durable institutional framework for the work.
Aftermath
The medical organization became the central vehicle for Hadassah's long-term health-care, medical-education and research activities in Israel.
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