On October 7, 2023, nurse Michal Elon saved a life. From December 9-15, she traveled from Israel to California to share how Hadassah saved hers.
Along with her identical twin sister, Yael Weismann, Hadassah National President Carol Ann Schwartz and a tightly packed schedule, Elon, a regional nurse and graduate of the Henrietta Szold Hadassah-Hebrew University School of Nursing, visited Hadassah Southern California to share her heroic story with about 1,000 Hadassah members in various settings as part of the Rebuilding Hope, Rebuilding Lives: A Life Changing Hadassah Story 2024 tour.
Elon said she was overwhelmed by the turnout. Yet the showing of support is no surprise, considering her brave actions and the area’s support for Hadassah and Israel.
Elon was helping a seriously injured IDF soldier when she took bullets to the stomach, chest and hand from a terrorist disguised as an IDF soldier. She has been in good spirits in spite of everything. Elon attributes this to the first-class care she received at Hadassah Ein Kerem that saved her life and the special services she’s undergoing at the new Gandel Rehabilitation Center at Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus that are helping her live the life she had before that infamous day.
Having Weismann, a Hadassah midwife, by her side made the journey even smoother.
Since October 7, 2023, there’s been a dramatic increase in the need for rehabilitative care in Israel. In January 2024, the Hadassah Medical Organization began an accelerated phased opening of the Gandel Rehabilitation Center to accommodate 72 soldiers and patients wounded in the war. When completed, the center will offer comprehensive, holistic care for 10,000 patients annually in four inpatient units with a total of 140 beds — a 250 percent increase across Hadassah hospital campuses — and an outpatient clinic able to serve 250 patients a day.
Events during the week of Elon’s visit, most named Rebuilding Hope, Rebuilding Lives: A Life Changing Hadassah Story 2024, included the Metro area’s champagne lunch, the Sharon Group’s intimate High Tea and Hanukkah celebration, Hatikvah and Shoshanah Hadassah’s community dessert reception, Sabra Hadassah of the Desert’s 2025 board installation and Long Beach-Orange County Chapter’s Latkes and Vodka. At the Haifa and Malka Chapters’ Boutique and Hanukkah Luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel, 450 members of the Persian community saw the Katherine Merage Humanitarian Award presented to Dr. Sheila Nazarian, a world-renowned plastic and reconstructive surgeon and founder of Nazarian Plastic Surgery, Spa 26 Medical Spa, The Skin Spot and the Nazarian Institute. The event raised about $130,000.
Schwartz visited the Hadassah West office, where she hung ceramic butterflies as part of the Butterfly Project, a nonprofit that teaches social justice through lessons of the Holocaust. The butterflies represent resilience and hope and symbolize the 1.5 million children killed during the Holocaust.
“Michal and Yael were surprised and delighted with the support that they felt everywhere they visited,” said Audrey Levine, president of Hadassah Southern California. “They were told repeatedly how much we care about Israel, pray for the release of the hostages and for the war to end. Michal declared, to much applause, that Israel is winning the war, because we must win the war.”
Michal said that she sang “Hatikvah” more times during her California visit than in the past two years in Israel. She made connections with the community’s members, which will continue — several will be visiting her during their upcoming travel to Israel.
For Hadassah Southern California members, meeting Elon, Weismann and Schwartz in person was a truly memorable experience. In fact, Levine said, “This was the first time that a national president traveled to many of these smaller communities, and it made a tremendous impact on the membership and the communities. I believe they more fully understand the impact that Hadassah makes in Israel and are more committed to supporting Hadassah. We have members who want to reengage with Hadassah and donors who want to increase their gifts and include Hadassah in their will. The positive impact of these visits will continue for quite a long time.”
“Hadassah Southern California is one region (out of 30), but its outpouring of support for Hadassah in Israel and our Hadassah heroes is plentiful,” said Schwartz. “What a thrill to be able to not just meet with dedicated members of the Hadassah family but to do so with the brave Michal, who helps tell our successful story of healing the world.”
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