[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 25 (Friday, March 8, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1704-S1705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN HONOR OF HADASSAH'S 90TH ANNIVERSARY

 Mr. CORZINE. I rise today to pay tribute to Hadassah, the 
Women's Zionist Organization of America, on the occasion of their 90th 
anniversary. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold and a small study 
circle of American women, Hadassah was committed to bringing modern 
health care to the Holy Land. It has since grown to become the largest 
Jewish and largest women's membership organization in the nation.
  In 1913, this fledgling organization sent two public health nurses to 
Jerusalem to set up a maternity clinic and treatment center for women 
and children. A short 27 years later, Hadassah established the Hadassah 
Hospital on Mt. Scopus. Since that auspicious milestone, Hadassah has 
become a leading force in providing for Israel's medical needs, opening 
various clinics across the country and a new center of medical 
excellence, the world-renowned Ein Karem Hospital. I had the chance to 
personally visit the Hadassah facilities when I was in Israel last 
August, and to see first hand the care and compassion that are provided 
on a daily basis to anyone in need regardless of race, color, creed, or 
national origin. Hadassah hospitals, in addition to serving as a model 
of peaceful coexistence in the Middle East, provide state-of-the-art 
health services ranging from emergency attention to long-term care to 
more than 600,000 patients a year.
  As its first national domestic effort, Hadassah women sold $200 
million in World War II bonds--a remarkable accomplishment by any 
standard. After Pearl Harbor, Hadassah mobilized its members to aid the 
war effort by beginning a blood bank and donating supplies. Their work 
continues in the United States through voter registration drives, 
grassroots advocacy on United States-Israel relations, volunteering in 
domestic violence shelters, and numerous other humanitarian efforts.
  Another key component of Hadassah's mission is education. Through the 
College of Technology, the Career Counseling Institute, and Youth 
Villages, and in the United States through Young Judaca and the 
Hadassah Leadership Academy, they accomplish their goal to provide the 
people of Israel with quality educational programs and learning 
opportunities.
  Ninety years later, the Hadassah Foundation remains true to its 
original mission and is dedicated to--improving the status, health and 
well being of women and girls; bringing their contributions, issues and 
needs from the margins to the center of Jewish concern; and encouraging 
and facilitating active participation in decisionmaking and in 
leadership in all spheres of life. Their strength comes from action. 
And their actions bring to their sisters, to their homeland, and to our 
Nation the precious gifts of health, education, and the power of hope. 
As Hadassah looks toward the next century, they see continued 
pioneering, continued progress, and continued innovation in health care 
in Israel, while continuing to share their knowledge and experience for 
the benefit of mankind.
  For the services they have provided to Israel and across the globe, 
and for their dedication to the well-being of their community, I offer 
my sincere congratulations to Hadassah for 90 years of providing the 
adage that together we can make a difference and

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together we can change people's lives. Shalom!

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