Healing and Environmental Garden

Hadassah’s Healing and Environmental Garden on the slopes of Mt Scopus is an example of how lives can change for the better. The joint venture between Hadassah Australia and JNF Victoria is spread over 1.5 acres of prime natural bushland, adjacent to the main campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It represents a quantum leap in the way that we approach the treatment of young people with chronic illness.

Ours is the first of its kind in Israel with Australian donors leading the way. Principal support came from the families of Jack and Robert Smorgon, among the most generous Australian benefactors to Israel and local Jewish causes. The garden is beautifully landscaped with features including a boardwalk, maze, vegetable patch, flower arcade and play spaces. It was specifically designed to include elements that enhance feelings of peace and tranquillity and encourage activity, whilst promoting positive thoughts and stimulating the healing process.

Healing gardens are now being built by children’s hospitals around the globe, including Melbourne’s new Royal Children’s Hospital. Ours is the first of its kind in Israel with Australian donors leading the way. Principal support came from the families of Jack and Robert Smorgon, among the most generous benefactors to Israel and local Jewish causes. Dr. Shmuel Harris, a doctor at Hadassah Hospital and a member of the Smorgon family, said that the idea behind the garden combines many of the issues to which his family is committed, such as caring for children, promoting health services, protecting the environment and supporting the State of Israel.

Latest

Helping Ethiopian Israeli Find Careers in Nursing

With Ethiopian Israelis typically scoring 25 percent lower than the general Jewish population, Israel’s psychometric test is an impassable barrier for the majority of the youth of this community of 135,000. Only 11 percent of 22- to 35-year-old Ethiopian Israelis have an undergraduate degree, compared with 42 percent of all Israeli Jews of the same age.
2nd International Mental Health and Trauma Conference

Hadassah Australia will host the 2nd International Conference on Trauma and Mental Health 6 – 8 September, 2020. The 2017 inaugural conference, the first of its type, was hailed an outstanding success. Attracting many of the world’s leading mental health practitioners and researchers to Israel, it also resulted in the sharing of important information on issues around trauma, mental health and PTSD. The 2020 conference theme is "The Impacts of Trauma and Adversity: Challenged and Innovations"
Scholarships: "Nursing" our Ethiopian Brethren to a Better Life

The world marvelled at Israel’s daring as it brought thousands of Ethiopians stranded in their war-torn country to Israel. Operation Moses (1984) and Operation Solomon (1991) were emblematic of Israel’s commitment to Jews in distress. But recent events have overshadowed these achievements as Ron Finkel wrote in an Opinion Piece published in the Australian Jewish News. Hadassah Australia has created a nursing fellowship for young Ethiopians, raising funds for 20 scholarships.
From the President

Hadassah has been described as an “island of calm in a sea of chaos”. That has never been more apparent than in recent weeks as Israel confronts an Ethiopian community enraged by the tragic death of a 19-year-old teenager, shot by an off-duty policeman under controversial circumstances. It is tearing apart the social fabric of Israel, at a time when the country can least afford it.

Stem Neurological Disease

There is no cure, but there is hope. New research is showing positive results.
Capital Works Rehab Centre

Stay tuned! More information coming soon.
Trauma and Crisis Intervention

The Jerusalem Crisis Intervention Center (JCIC) is saving young lives in a city with the highest rate of youth trauma in Jerusalem, where many of the young clients who come to the JCIC have a time-critical need.