On June 6, 2011, Hadassah will commemorate 50 years since the opening of its University Hospital in Ein Kerem on June 6, 1961.
In the years following the 1948 War of Independence, when its original hospital on Mt. Scopus was cut off from Jerusalem, patients were treated in buildings scattered throughout the city. On June 6 1961, they were transferred to the newest and most advanced hospital in the Middle East – the Hadassah University Hospital-Ein Kerem. Assisted by the Israel Defense Forces, the transfer of patients took one only day.
Amid the celebrations in Jerusalem, this historical event was the source of great joy throughout the country and among the members of Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America.