MEDIA CONTACT:
Frank Tobin
Hadassah National Public Relations
publicrelations@hadassah.org
323.661.3720
June 3, 2020 - NEW YORK, NY - Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. (HWZOA), has released a video of the haunting Israeli song El Na Refa Na La (“Let Us Be Healed”).
Singer Yair Levi composed the song during the COVID-19 pandemic as a prayer for his grandmother after she fell ill. It’s based on Moses’ biblical prayer in the Book of Numbers. HWZOA invited Levi and co-singer Shai Sol to sing the song with patients and staff at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem.
The clip was filmed in a number of Hadassah Hospital departments, including Maternity and Pediatrics. Appearing in it are doctors, nurses, technical staff, and patients speaking one of its key phrases, “We must be strong and we must be healed,” in their own languages: English, Russian, Amharic, Spanish, Arabic, Persian, Nepali, and Nigeria’s C’lela.
Hadassah National President Rhoda Smolow states, “Hadassah Hospital is a microcosm of the world that needs healing. El Na Refa Na La is the first prayer for healing in the Bible. It’s the prayer Moses delivers for the healing of his sister, Miriam. We decided to adopt this moving prayer as an anthem to give us strength, particularly at this time and especially for the patients and for the medical staff who stand by them 24/7. We want to say a huge thank you to our Hadassah Hospital staff as we continue to deal with COVID-19 patients and conduct as many as 16 clinical trials. We want to be ready to receive all patients and give them the most advanced health care possible. All this is thanks to the generosity of donors, who are our true partners.”
ABOUT HADASSAH:
Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. (HWZOA) is the largest Jewish women’s organization in the United States. With 300,000 members, Associates and supporters Hadassah brings Jewish women together to effect change and advocate on critical issues such as medical care and research and women's empowerment. Through the Hadassah Medical Organization's two hospitals, the world-renowned trauma center and the leading research facility in Jerusalem, Hadassah supports the delivery of exemplary patient care to over a million people every year. HMO serves without regard to race, religion or nationality and earned a Nobel Peace Prize Nomination in 2005 for building “bridges to peace” through equality in medical treatment. For more information, visit www.hadassah.org.