Hundreds of participants took part in Hadassah's "March to Recovery" in Jerusalem at the new Gandel Rehabilitation Center at Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus on October 8.
"I am carrying with me today the admiration, love and support of nearly 300,000 Hadassah members and Associates, and men and women around the globe,” said Hadassah National President Carol Ann Schwartz, in Israel on a mission with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, who spoke at the march. "Standing here today in the Gandel Rehabilitation Center, I reiterate our pledge to complete this building and to strengthen the physical and emotional resilience of Israel.”
Participating in the ceremony in Israel were hospital administration including Hadassah Medical Organization Director General Prof. Yoram Weiss and Chairperson Dalia Itzik, staff and recovering war-wounded patients, a large delegation of Young Judaea Year Course students, the women’s basketball players from Hapoel Lev Jerusalem and the staff of the Hadassah Offices in Israel.
In solidarity with the 101 hostages still in captivity in Gaza, 101 yellow balloons were released into the sky.
Among the speakers was Lt. Col. Yonatan (Yonti) Bahat, who was hit by six bullets in a ferocious battle in Gaza. Bahat was operated on at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, and is still a patient at the rehabilitation center. He couldn't sit up when he began rehabilitation. Today he walks and swims and lifts his 1-year-old son.
The Gandel Rehabilitation Center includes the newest and most advanced rehabilitation devices and equipment in the world. Since October 7, approximately 1,000 wounded have been treated by the Hadassah Medical Organization and approximately 200 war-wounded patients have been treated at the Gandel Rehabilitation Center since the first floors opened in January.
"It's almost unimaginable, but when the war broke out, this entire building was still a construction site,” said Suzanne Patt Benvenisti, executive director of the Hadassah Offices in Israel. “Hadassah leadership took a brave and unusual step to speed up the construction. The workers worked non-stop, turning this bare structure into one of the world's leading rehabilitation centers.”
The march was held in coordination with Hadassah International events in Paris, London, Melbourne, Sydney, Beijing, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Santiago and Mexico City.
“People around the world came together with us today to highlight our solidarity and resilience,” said Jorge Diener, executive director of Hadassah International. “Doing this on October 8, following the painful remembrance of October 7, gave us an opportunity to act beyond the pain and, together, to stress the importance of the recovery of our beloved nation.”
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