After two and a half years of being limited to only Zoom gatherings, we are ready to get back to being with each other— in person— whenever possible.  I’ve heard a lot of you saying, “I miss seeing you” and some of you even saying, “I want to get more involved in Hadassah”.  With the Annual Giving event moved to the summer, we have the opportunity to come together outdoors for a celebration of Youth Aliyah.  No one is more excited to be with us than our keynote speaker, Marcie Natan, who currently serves as the Youth Aliyah Chair and is a Past National President of Hadassah.  She can hardly wait to tell new stories about the teens in the Youth Aliyah villages.  Beyond her passion for Youth Aliyah, I would like to help you visualize a little bit of who Marcie is with a gas mask, shovel and ice bucket.

When Marcie joined Hadassah's national board as a region president, she returned to Israel countless times. A turning point for her was in January 1991, the start of the Gulf War.  "When we landed, they handed us gas masks," Marcie recalls. She prepared to call her family to tell them she was safe. When the operator picked up, Marcie began apologizing for her poor Hebrew—but the operator interrupted her and said, "Thank you, thank you. Thank you for being here with us." Marcie remembers thinking, "I understood for the first time that being a Diaspora Jew gave me an extremely important role in helping to protect Israel." Shortly thereafter, she left her day job, spending the next two decades working full time for Hadassah.  Natan volunteered in Hadassah for 50 years prior to being elected National President.

While Hadassah gives its members—American Diaspora Jews— the opportunity to support Israel, Hadassah also supports us in so many ways. There are two instances about Marcie that readily come to mind. First, when there was that horrific school shooting in Newtown, MA, seeing Marcie plant the first trees near Beersheba, in a commemorative forest for the victims of Sandy Hook school, was a powerful healing image.  (Two hundred and thirty Hadassah members live in Newtown.)  Second, in  the summer of 2014, just before Marcie does the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, she proudly shares that back in 2011, Hadassah hospitals began medical trials on a drug that may have been the first to CURE an ALS patient. 

WATCH:   ALS Ice Bucket Challenge: National President Marcie Natan

We are honored to have Marcie Natan join us in person on Sunday, July 31st.  Hope to see you there.

With the joy of gathering in person this year, our celebration will focus on Youth Aliyah, one of the areas of Annual Giving.  Having a focus for your charitable giving makes it that much more meaningful.    

If you’re not yet an Annual Giver, find out more: call Ettie Davis 425-467-9099 (ext 1). Or feel free to contact Ian Merles, our very personable West Coast Annual Giving Officer, with questions or to set up a plan. imerles@hadassah.org  or 619-884-1475. 

Hadassah Statement in Response to Supreme Court Decision Overturning Roe v. Wade

In response to the recent decision issued by the Supreme Court of the United States in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health overturning the precedent of Roe v. Wade, Hadassah National President Rhoda Smolow and CEO Naomi Adler today made the following statement:

“The Supreme Court’s decision is an attack on American women and their rights to health care, privacy and autonomy. Without federal protection for their rights, women across the country could now be barred from making their own health decisions under a patchwork of inconsistent state laws. Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, reaffirms its unwavering support for full and complete access to reproductive health services and the right to make decisions based on each woman’s religious, moral and ethical values. Hadassah will continue to fight for federal and state legislation affirming and protecting reproductive rights.”

Discussion with Julia Haart of ‘My Unorthodox Life'

News You Can Use
Stories of interest from inside Hadassah and around the world

American Yoga Teacher’s Nightmare Ends, Thanks to Hadassah Surgeon
Prof. Yoram Weiss Named Hadassah Medical Organization Director General
[Hadassah On Call] Diabetes. A word, not a sentence. 
Swiss Doctor and Hadassah Leader Joins Medical Team Helping Refugees
With But Minutes to Spare, Hadassah’s ER Saves Baby in Septic Shock

• Leslie Cohn

• Marlene Marks

We Mourn the Passing of

• Ruth Levinson, mother of Linda (Alan) Freyd and David Levinson.
• Michel Stern, husband of Bobbie Stern, father of Dana (Jay) Azose, Abby Stern (Tom Phillips) and David (Tara) Stern, grandfather of seven, brother of John z"l and Phyllis Stern, brother-in-law of Patti Newby and Eric Meltzer.
• Irene Epstein, mother of Larry (Rosie) Epstein, Ron (Olga) Epstein & David (Lorena) Epstein.
• Joel Amkraut, brother of Robert (Polly) Amkraut.