July 2018 Launching our Stem Neurological Disease Campaign! Expand NSW Committee meets waste guru Ronni Kahn What a privilege it was for the Hadassah Australia NSW Committee to share time at their June meeting with OzHarvest founder and food waste warrior Ronni Kahn. Ronni shared some of her insights about how to get what you need for the cause. As documentary maker Dan Goldberg notes in his Plus61J article: “Ronni is no shrinking violet, admitting in the film that she has ‘an enormous amount of chutzpah’ that she’s prepared to use ‘to the nth degree’. . . She unashamedly requests donations, reprimands food wasters and riles government and big business in her bid to drag them towards a waste-free world”. Ronni’s humour, integrity and willingness to share her experiences are fantastic and will certainly inspire Hadassah Australia’s fund raising initiatives. Thank you Ronnie! Read more about Ronni, OzHarvest and the food waste documentary Food Fighter at Plus 61J. Perth Telethon raises money for JCIC Our community in Perth has achieved a milestone with its current Telethon in support of the Jerusalem Crisis Intervention Center (JCIC). The Telethon drive will continue till the end of July so there is still time to make your donation! Through the leadership of our tireless and passionate WA Committee, over $32,000 has already been raised towards this vital service that is supporting vulnerable young people in Jerusalem. Hadassah Australia was the first organisation to support the JCIC and its founding director, Dr Esti Galili-Weisstub, after it opened in 2006. We remain the largest non-government funder and a shining example of how a community can change the paradigm for children affected by terror, sexual assault, bullying and family dysfunction. Many members of the community have met Esti during her visits to Australia. The results from this latest telethon demonstrate that Esti and the JCIC continue to enjoy a high level of support for their vital work. Esti has always maintained that the health of a society rests as much on the emotional and psychological well-being of its people, as on any other marker. As a result of the money raised, the JCIC can now employ additional therapists to deal with the ever-increasing demand for its services. We would like to thank everyone who has already donated and especially thank the WA Committee who are driving the Telethon – Shirley Atlas, Lionel and Vicki King, Charmaine Ryan and Linton and Bronia Sharp, whose untiring efforts are greatly appreciated. STEM Neurological Disease Campaign We are on the way to reaching our target of $500,000 towards funding the final trials of MS research at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. But we’re not there yet! Why is it so important that Hadassah completes these trials? Because the results of the earlier trials initiated by Professor Dimitrios Karussis and his team at Hadassah suggest that we’re closer than ever to eradicating this insidious disease. MS has prematurely robbed people of their quality of life and resulted in the premature death of many. Prof. Karussis has advised us that results from the current trial should be known shortly. He believes the collated results will show that his stem replacement therapy is successful, and he will move to the third and final trial stage. Hadassah Australia, together with MS Research Australia (MSRA) are cautiously confident that Australia may be included as a centre for this final stage of the trials. We need your support to make this happen. Together we can raise the funds to enable Professor Karussis to complete the third set of trials and make this groundbreaking treatment available to all MS suffers. We invite you to be a part of making a real difference. Your support is vital if we want to end MS in our lifetime. Quick work by Hadassah surgeons saves leg of toddler injured by chemical burn Hadassah Medical Center emergency room staff recognised that the little girl was suffering from a severe chemical burn, caused by leaked chemicals from the fruit processing factory, the girl and her family had been visiting. They consulted the head of the Plastic Surgery Department Alex Margolis and senior surgeon Max Sirota. “After many days of worry, the important thing is that our child is fine. We hope that the healing will continue and that she will return to running around with her friends,” said the father. “The medical treatment and care we received at Hadassah were excellent, and it is clear that the team did their absolute best for our daughter.”
September 2018 Rosh Hashanah edition! Expand We hope you enjoy our special Rosh Hashana edition. On behalf of the board, committee, staff and volunteers of Hadassah Australia, I would like to extend a Shana tova u’metukah to you and your family. Let me take this opportunity to thank you for your generous and continued support of Hadassah Australia and Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. May you have a good and sweet new year. Ron Finkel AM, President, Hadassah Australia. BE A STAR THIS TOM YOV “We learnt that more than 3,500 patients are in the care of Hadassah Hospital on any given day. It seemed that with the Yom Tov period almost upon us, there was a wonderful opportunity to reach out to each and every one of them.”“The cards will be delivered by Hadassah’s medical clowns. There is no cost involved to the sender and this is not a fundraising campaign. It is, however, an awareness-building opportunity and, at its heart, a fitting way to tell patients at Hadassah that we are thinking of them during what is often a challenging time.”As a result, we created the ‘Be A Star’ program which creates an opportunity for the community here to connect with patients by sending them a card in celebration of the New Year. NEW BOARD MEMBER FOR HADASSAH AUSTRALIA We welcome Lynda Brest, newly-appointed member of the Hadassah Australia Board. Lynda is a strategic thinker and a creative problem-solver who brings extensive experience working with large, complex organisations internationally and in Australia to our organisation. Lynda says… “I have long admired Hadassah Australia and its work on behalf of one of Israel’s oldest and most internationally-recognised hospitals. What appeals to me is the way that Hadassah Hospital has embedded itself in the life of Israeli society, without prioritising anything other than the health status of its patients or the skill-set of its staff and management.” Lynda notes that since its birth early in the 20th century… “Hadassah has continued to lead in the key healthcare areas of treatment, training and research. Not only in Israel, but throughout the Middle East.” MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: THANK YOU!ADVOCATE FOR SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT COMPLETES TOUR DOWNUNDER Her visit was short, intensive and decisive. Thanks to you, our donors, we have reached the target for the purchase of the new colposcopy equipment for the Bat Ami Center at Hadassah. Dr Mushira Aboo Dia, senior obstetrician and gynaecologist at Hadassah Hospital spoke to audiences in Melbourne and Sydney about her work with Hadassah’s Bat Ami Center for Victims of Sexual Abuse. Her presentation was empowering and graphic and provided insights into the human landscape of Jerusalem, one of the most conflicted cities in Israel. Nearly $40,000 was raised during her week in Australia for the purchase an Israeli-made colposcoscope to provide photo and video documentation for cases involving adolescent and adult sexual abuse victims. This state-of-the-art equipment will speed up the process of evaluation and lessen trauma for victims. It will replace current equipment which is more than 15 years old. “Mushira Aboo Dia is an exemplar of the best medical traditions of Hadassah and Israel’s first world health system more generally,” says Ruth Ramone Rosen, Director Operations with Hadassah Australia. “She commits a significant amount of her time volunteering with marginalised people, in the area of sexual health and wellbeing as well among communities in the West Bank and Gaza who lack access to quality medical care.” Sincere thanks to NCJWA–Vic and NCJWA NSW Mum for Mum for hosting events and to all who made generous donations for the colposcopy system which can now be purchased. Dr Dvora Bauman, Head of the Bat Ami Center is thrilled with the response and sends her warmest greetings to Hadassah Australia and each donor! HADASSAH BECOMES FIRST ISRAELI HOSPITAL TO JOIN GLOBAL RESEARCH NETWORK Another Wow! Prof. Eyal Mishani, head of the Research & Development Division at Hadassah Hospital told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that the TriNetX network platform promises to optimize the nature and efficiency of clinical research and medical discoveries. It will, he says, prove beneficial for both Hadassah’s patients and medical staff because Hadassah will gain access to large quantities of data from other hospitals and medical companies. Learn more about TriNetX by reading the full article in The Jerusalem Post. A MODERN STATE WITHIN A STATE: A TALE OF TWO PEOPLE Hadassah Hospital is recognised internationally for its state-of-the-art medical care. It is also home to more than 50% of all hospital-based research in Israel, eclipsing all other hospitals combined. A lesser-known aspect of Hadassah is the social impact that results from the interaction between professional staff from different backgrounds. While this is consistent with the philosophy of Hadassah – which insists on providing the best possible medical and therapeutic care regardless of a person’s background – it’s only in recent years that the engagement between Jewish, Christian and Muslim staff, be they Israelis or Palestinians, has been widely acknowledged. Hadassah Hospital is quite literally a modern state within a state: people from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds living and working together for a common outcome. An example is Víctor Kukali, a nurse from Bethlehem. In order for him to be able to work at Hadassah in Jerusalem, the Israeli Ministry of Health offers him a work permit once a year. He says that when he got to know Jewish doctors who worked in his region, he wanted to work in Israel because conditions are better than in the Palestinian Territories and it allowed him to improve and extend his professional skills. Dr. Merhav, a transplantation specialist who works alongside Victor Kukali says… “That doesn’t mean that there aren’t issues the hospital has to deal with. Currently, Arab-Muslim society doesn’t have the infrastructure or education necessary for the treatment of their people, so they benefit from what Israel can provide through hospitals like Hadassah. Nevertheless, this is a two-sided achievement because bridges to understanding can only be built with the support and understanding of the Palestinians who are involved in the medical care and professional work that is made possible at Hadassah.” Nurse Kukali and Dr Merhav are examples of two highly-skilled people who work together for the betterment of their patients. As far as possible, all other issues are left at the front door of the hospital, which has fostered its empowering philosophy for well over a century. Ron Finkel AM, President of Hadassah Australia, says… “This close engagement has withstood the test of time. Even in the worst days, from the siege of Jerusalem during the War of Independence to the Intifadas of the late 1980s and the early 2000s, Hadassah has been an island of calm in a sea of chaos.”
December 2018 Celebrating the fabulous year at Hadassah Australia! Expand Welcome to Hadassah Australia’s December Newsletter. As we count down the days until we take a well-earned break, I’d like to update you with highlights from one of our most successful years on record. That success is not only counted in the amount that we raised, but in building awareness to the mission of Hadassah Hospital. More Australians than ever before are learning about the iconic Jerusalem-based hospital, which is the standard by which all other hospitals in Israel are judged. Not only has it delivered exceptional healthcare in one of the most conflicted cities in Israel, it has become a giant in hospital-based research, outstripping all other hospitals combined. Hadassah is also celebrated for its outreach to the wider Israeli community and beyond. Many of our programs, including those initiated in 2018, attest to that. These include: Our Purim Campaign, which raised money to send Mishloach Manot to children at Hadassah in Jerusalem and to children’s hospitals in Melbourne and Sydney. A big shout out to the Australian Multicultural Foundation and the Starlight Children’s Foundation for their wonderful support. Be A Star initiative: an opportunity launched in September encouraging Australians to send a message of love and support to more than 3,500 patients who are in the care of Hadassah on any given day. This inter-communal connection was a powerful opportunity for Hadassah to promote its brand to a wide audience. The STEM Neurological Disease campaign, which helped to raise funds for the pioneering work of Prof Dimitrios Karussis, who is closing in on a cure for diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis. Support for the Bat Ami Center for Victims of Sexual Abuse at Hadassah. We learned about its remarkable work through Dr Mushira Aboo Dia, a senior obstetrician and gynaecologist at the centre who addressed public and private events Melbourne and Sydney during August. Spark of Life, our last major campaign for 2018, raised more than $500,000 for the Jerusalem Crisis Intervention Center thanks to your support and incredibly generous donor matchers who quadrupled public donations. Underpinning our achievements are you – our donors. Without your passionate and considered support, we could not have reached the heights that we did. Thank you. On behalf of our Board, management and staff, please accept our best wishes for a safe, healthy and relaxed festive season. We look forward to re-engaging with you in 2019. Ruth Ramone Rosen,Executive Director, Hadassah Australia A BEAUTIFUL BEQUEST Dr. Cyril Aarons was described as a ‘quintessential English gentleman’ whose philanthropy was driven by a life-long love of Israel and Jewish causes. In life, he was a generous benefactor and following his death earlier this year, he ensured that projects closest to his heart continued to benefit via his Estate. Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem is a major beneficiary of his largesse. Born in 1928 in London, he served in the British forces in Israel, Egypt and Cyprus during World War Two, achieving the rank of major. Cyril was a medical doctor when he migrated to Australia with his parents. From the beginning of his working life, he supported a range of Jewish and medical causes, in Israel and Australia. He directed that his bequest be deployed to specific programs that Hadassah Australia supports at Hadassah Hospital. These include collaborative medical research, medical clowns and improving services to traumatised children in Jerusalem. Ron Finkel AM, President of Hadassah Australia says… “Cyril Aarons was a major supporter of other health-related projects as well, including Magen David Adom which was able to purchase an ambulance and a medicycle. Cyril understood how important a well-resourced healthcare system is to the proper functioning of society. As a medical doctor working at the coalface, he lived this experience and made sure that children in particular were given every opportunity to live full and productive lives.” Hadassah also pays tribute to the executors of Cyril’s estate, Asher Smith and Dr George Bognar. SPARK OF LIFE IGNITES A COMMUNITY We did it! Thanks to our generous matching donors and our wonderful community, Hadassah Australia raised more than $500,000 via its Spark of Life Campaign to support the Jerusalem Crisis Intervention Center (JCIC). Funds raised will enable the JCIC to provide critically needed services for another 12 months. The founding director of the JCIC, Dr Esti Galili-Weisstub, paid tribute to Australia’s continued and fundamental support. She said that support, which began with the opening of the JCIC in 2006, has ensured that vital, immediate and free counselling and treatment for children and their families will continue. Funds raised in this campaign will enable more children to heal and thrive in these difficult times. The work of Dr Galili-Weisstub and her professional team operates in a specific context. Jerusalem is the focus of the vast majority of random incidents of terror, and children grow up in an environment which exposes them to psychological trauma and stress. Over the past 10 years, more than 2,500 Jerusalem families have had the needs of at least one of their children successfully addressed through the services of the JCIC. Liberating a child from psychological stress liberates the parents and siblings and has a positive effect on society. Hadassah Australia felt it was important to run the crowd-funding campaign over Chanukah. Ruth Ramone Rosen, Executive Director of Hadassah Australia, says… “Chanukah beautifully captures the elements of hope, sparking life and igniting possibilities, the elements which link the story of Chanukah and its miracle of lights, with the story of creating a modern-day miracle for traumatised children in Jerusalem.” We extend our sincere thanks to all those who supported this amazing campaign, including the matching donors who quadrupled each donation which allowed us to achieve this outstanding result. Our thanks also to Tania Burstin and the My Cause team. A special message from Dr Esti Galli-Weisstub: MUSHIRA THE MAGNIFICENT After Dr Mushira Abu Dia’s very powerful testimony to audiences in Melbourne and Sydney about the work of Hadassah’s Bat Ami Center for Victims of Sexual Abuse in Jerusalem, we gained a better understanding of the centre’s role in supporting victims and their families. We also learned that beyond her work as a senior obstetrician and gynaecologist at Hadassah and as an on-call doctor at Bat Ami, Mushira is actively involved in humanitarian work in her capacity as a clinician and as co-chair of Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI). We were thrilled to learn that she was recently awarded the prestigious New Israel Fund’s Gallanter Prize for Emerging Israeli Social Justice Leaders, in recognition of her volunteer work for PHRI.