Hadassah

In February 1912 thirty-eight American Jewish women met at Temple Emanuel in New York and founded Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America. This has become the largest Zionist organization in the Diaspora and the largest and most active Jewish women’s organization ever. Its history is an inseparable part of the history of American Jewry and of the State of Israel, and the relationship between them. Hadassah is also part of the history of Jewish women in the United States and in the modern world more broadly. Its achievements are not only those of Zionism but, crucially, of women, and throughout this study Mira Katzburg-Yungman pays particular attention to the life stories of the individual women who played a role in them.

Based on historical documentation collected in the United States and Israel and on broad research, the book covers many aspects of the history of Hadassah and analyses significant aspects of the fascinating story of the organization. A wide-ranging introductory section describes the contexts and challenges of Hadassah’s history from its founding to the birth of the State of Israel. Subsequent sections explore in turn the organization’s ideology and its activity on the American scene after Israeli statehood; its political and ideological role in the World Zionist Organization; and its involvement in the new State of Israel in the twin fields of activity: in medicine and health care and in its work with children and young people. The final part of the book deals with topics that enrich our understanding of Hadassah in additional dimensions, such as gender issues, comparisons of Hadassah with other Zionist organizations, and the importance of people of the Yishuv and later of Israelis in Hadassah’s activities. The study concludes with an Epilogue that considers developments up to 2005, assessing whether the conclusions reached with regard to Hadassah as an organization remain valid. It considers developments within Hadassah in the 1980s and 1990s, years in which the organization was affected by the significant changes within the wider American Jewish community, specifically the enormous increase in intermarriage with non-Jews and the impact of the so-called ‘second wave’ of feminism.

This extensive, diverse, and balanced study offers a picture of Hadassah in both arenas of its activity: in the land that is now the State of Israel, and in the United States. In doing so it makes a contribution not only to Zionist history but also to the history of American Jewish women and of Jewish women more widely.

Prologue
Part I Hadassah, 1912–1948
1 Historical Background
Part II The American Scene—Ideology and Praxis
2 Leadership
3 The Jewish Elements—Ideology and Praxis
4 The American Elements—Ideology and Praxis
Part III The Arena of the World Zionist Organization
5 Coping Ideologically and Politically with the Establishment of the State of Israel, 1948-1950
6 Coping Ideologically and Politically with the State of Israel, 1951-1956

Part IV Hadassah and the State of Israel
7 Hadassah and Israel’s War of Independence, 1947-1949
8 Israel’s Formative Years, 1949–1956—Hadassah Prepares to Meet the Needs of the Fledgling State 9 Projects for Immigrant Youth
10 Education and Welfare Projects for Children and Youth
11 Comparative and Feminist Aspects 12 The Eretz Yisraeli Factor

Epilogue

FROM REVIEWS OF THE ENGLISH EDITION

‘Comprehensive . . . Richly detailed, making extensive use of Hadassah’s own archival materials, Katzburg-Yungman’s work is a significant contribution to the history of one of America’s largest and most important women’s organizations . . . highly informative and of use to anyone interested in the organization, Zionist ideology in the United States, and health and social welfare in the early years of the state of Israel.’
Mary McCune, American Jewish History

‘Comprehensive . . . uses extensive Hebrew and English archival materials and personal interviews to situate Hadassah activities within their American, Israeli, and Zionist ideological milieus . . . in no way resembles the hagiographic portrayals organizations sometimes commission for their significant anniversaries . . . Hadassah members can take pride in and learn a great deal about their organization’s achievements, both for American Jewish women and for Israel, from [this book].’
Roselyn Bell, Hadassah Magazine

FROM REVIEWS OF THE HEBREW EDITION

‘Katzburg-Yungman brings an innovative element into the analysis and integration of scholarly material, placing . . . Hadassah against the backdrop of the establishment of the State of Israel, not only as a Zionist organization but also as a women’s organization. She presents its unique contribution as a result of its dual identity: a combination of nationalism and gender . . . The three main parts of the book are brought together to present the history of Hadassah from its beginnings in a comprehensive and inclusive manner. This comprehensive and inclusive perspective is based on numerous primary sources that could also be relied on as points of support in other research . . . The book is the result of comprehensive, broad and extensive research on the history of Hadassah . . . This book will constitute the basis for all further research on the history of Zionism in the past hundred years.’
Shifrah Schwartz, Harefuah

‘An easy and enjoyable read despite the plethora of information . . . thanks to the author’s style and compelling presentation . . . she has managed to present her material from a number of different points of view and to integrate it with personal biographies . . . In this sense, Katzburg-Yungman represents a new trend in the social sciences whereby the areas of research are shifted from entire populations to individual lives, combining ethnography with biography . . . According to the author, the Zionism of Hadassah was shaped by the characteristics of secular American Jews who seek to preserve their Jewish identity—an identity that combines Jewish and American elements . . . To sum up: a book wholeheartedly recommended . . . informative, enriching, and entertaining.’
Rinah Ne’eman, Sotsiologiyah yisra’elit