A Hopeful Month Hadassh Heroism October 2001 1 | 2 | 3 | HOME The third stamp for the month brings us to Israel. On October 14, 1975, the country issued a stamp (#576) to celebrate the return of the women's organization Hadassah to its hospital on Mt. Scopus in Jerusalem. The hospital began life in 1939 as part of Hebrew University, which had opened in Jerusalem in 1925.   Links You Might Find Useful About Hadassah Medical Organization, Hadassah Chagall Windows, Hadassah A month before Israel's independence in May 1948, 77 workers at the Hadassah hospital (including its director) were ambushed and murdered on their way to their duties at Mt. Scopus. The remainder of the staff and their nursing students and patients held out under siege conditions until they could be evacuated by Israeli forces on June 27. The buildings remained vacant while the territory was occupied by Jordan from 1948 until the area was liberated during the Seven Day War of June 1967. The hospital's synagogue, incidentally, is the site of the famous Chagall windows depicting the Twelve Tribes (see Israel #509-20). Although the history of the Jews has been marked by much tragedy, it has seen many triumphs. Although we must never forget the dark past, our survival also rests upon the actions arising from hopefulness. 1 | 2 | 3 | HOME © 2001, J-Stamps/Murray Frost. All Rights Reserved. froststamps@yahoo.com