It was still dark and very early in Israel — 2 am to be exact — but that did not stop Israeli-American journalist Gil Hoffman from hopping on a recent Hadassah Associates event on Zoom. (It was 7 pm ET).
“Look, you don’t wake up at two o’clock in the morning except if it’s for love,” said Hoffman, executive director of Honest Reporting, which ensures truth and combats prejudice in media coverage of Israel. “That’s why I’m here with you tonight. I love Hadassah.”
On behalf of Hadassah, Judy Mann, chair of the Hadassah Medical Organization, told attendees at the Father’s Day event, “Combating Anti-Israel Media Bias” on June 10, about the incredible, lifesaving work of Hadassah hospital leadership at the war’s onset to not only help those with physical wounds, but also those in need of psychological or psychiatric services, as well as newborns, the hospitals’ tiniest and most vulnerable patients.
Hoffman provided participants with insights about the current climate in Israel, with updates on the war, including the most recent UN Security Council ceasefire resolution, but especially combating anti-Israel media bias. “The key is winning on the media battlefield,” said Hoffman, who served as The Jerusalem Post’s chief political correspondent and analyst for more than two decades.
Turning her focus specifically to the newly operational Gandel Rehabilitation Center at Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus, Mann shared images of the center’s sophisticated equipment, including two state-of-the-art hydrotherapy pools, which, according to Mann, are not only the most advanced in Israel, but in the Middle East, and an antigravity treadmill, a body- weight-supported system that allows patients who can’t stand on their own bearing to learn to walk, and even run, again. The beauty of this treadmill is its see-through sides, which give therapists the ability to watch and correct a patient’s biomechanics. This piece of equipment, according to Mann, was originally developed by NASA and was intended for astronauts to exercise in space.
Within the last couple of weeks, she continued, the center opened a simulation apartment to help patients practice the chores of daily living. Complete with a kitchen with a working refrigerator, oven, microwave and sink as well as a working washer and dryer and even dirty dishes to be cleaned, patients return home with the skills needed to live independently.
Mann concluded by telling the story of October 7 victim Michal Elon, a registered nurse who risked her life to save a soldier. Leaving the safety of a shelter while under Hamas attack to tend to the soldier, who had a severe head injury, she was shot in the arm, flank and abdomen by a terrorist wearing an IDF uniform. Successfully evacuated to one hospital, then another, and then to Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, she recovered from her flank and abdomen wounds and is in therapy at Hadassah Mount Scopus for her arm. She reunited with the soldier, who has recovered as well.
But you don’t need to take a bullet to make a difference. Hoffman told event attendees how important it is to keep writing letters to the editor, write talkbacks on biased or incorrect articles and even report misinformation to him at his team at Honest Reporting.
He continued, “Each and every one of you has been involved in the efforts to explain what’s going on in this war to your friends, and your family, and your neighbors and your colleagues at work. And that goes a long way. I know some of you have taken risks — maybe even lost friends — to do that for Israel. And it’s appreciated, and it matters.”
Hadassah Associates President Ken Bernstein opened the event, noting that the Associates have raised millions of dollars over the years for Hadassah, both individually and collectively. Dana Wexler, national Associates chair, added how this year, the Associates are focusing fundraising efforts on Hadassah’s 360 Degrees of Healing — Delivering Hope campaign for Israel’s children and their mothers.
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