Hadassah: A Crucial Light in a Dark World

As we leave behind our celebration of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, and enter 2025, I am feeling that we are in a world that is upside down. We are living in a time where people believe that black is white and white is black and nothing that was accepted as good in the past is seen as good, while acts that were seen as horrific in the past, are seen as positive in the present. How did we get to this point?

You may wonder what I’m talking about, so I’ll give you some examples. Only in this mixed-up world can the international organization responsible for maintaining peace on earth condemn Israel for defending itself against constant rockets and drone attacks.

When the Secretary General of the United Nations condemns Israel for “escalating” attacks in Yemen against the Houthis and doesn’t mention that the Houthis have been shooting rockets and drones at Israel unprovoked since Oct. 8, 2023, something is seriously turned upside down.

When the global media accepts the numbers provided by Hamas – a recognized terrorist group – of those who have been killed in the war with Israel but doesn’t give any credence to the reliable figures from the Israel Defense Forces, we’re in a terrible state of affairs.

When protestors around the world are calling for a global intifada but claiming simultaneously that Israel is intent on genocide, where is the reality?

I’m trying to find the light in this darkness. Very difficult to do when at least two terrifying attacks occurred in the US over the New Year’s holiday.

In New Orleans, La., a US veteran, who had converted to Islam and pledged allegiance to ISIS, murdered at least 14 people and seriously injured over 30 others. Terror.

In Las Vegas, Nev., a US veteran rented a Tesla, filled it with explosives and fireworks and detonated it in front of the Trump Hotel. His messages said it was a warning.

When American veterans are committing terrorist crimes in our nation, we are seeing the results of terrorist propaganda unleashed. We are witnessing terrorist groups successfully building a terrorist hunting ground in America.

I need to search for the good every morning when I wake up. Sometimes I can find it, sometimes I can’t. We all need to search for good, otherwise we will go down a rabbit hole of nightmares.

When I seek to do good in the world, I look to the philanthropic organizations to which I belong. Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, whose mission is tikkun olam (repairing the world), makes me proud to be a member of its National Board.

I just have to read my Hadassah emails and check out Hadassah’s website to learn about the amazing accomplishments of the Hadassah Medical Organization and our Youth Aliyah villages. Just reading about the incredible treatments for rehabilitating the victims of October 7, and the many soldiers wounded on that day and the 460+ days that have followed, makes me cry.

Did you know that Hadassah’s hospitals use dog therapy in rehabilitating soldiers and providing emotional support to sick children and adults? Did you know that Hadassah’s hospitals use AI to personalize cancer treatment for our patients and 3D technology to rebuild soldiers’ joints?

I just learned that Hadassah has begun a study to determine whether a drug developed over 100 years ago to treat tuberculosis may help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s’ disease. When I read about these miracles, I find a light in this terrible season of darkness.

What Hadassah does to support its Youth Aliyah villages is also remarkable. This past November, after a five-year hiatus, Hadassah Youth Aliyah students went on their Jewish heritage trip to Poland to visit the concentration camps and see firsthand what our people went through during the Holocaust. These students experienced life- changing moments as they learned what it meant to survive the Holocaust and how important Israel is to the Jewish people.

Students in our youth villages have also been supported with psychotherapy since October 7, because many of them have been directly affected by the trauma of that day. A psychological therapy center was opened at Hadassah Meir Shfeya Youth Village near Haifa, and more updated shelters were built at Hadassah Neurim, near Netanya.

We Hadassah members see these children as our own. We want them to thrive in a safe environment, just like our founder Henrietta Szold did when she first provided a home to orphaned Jewish girls at Meir Shfeya in 1923; just as she did when she rescued Jewish youth from the Nazi regime in 1933 and brought them to pre-state youth villages. Since 1934, over 300,000 young people from 80 lands have graduated from the Hadassah-supported youth villages.

When I visited Hadassah’s youth villages, I saw how these children are growing, learning and developing positive social and leadership skills. I am so proud of the work that is done with Hadassah as a sponsor.

I’m proud also that, in the US, Hadassah does amazing advocacy work for women, children, Israel, immigrants, refugees and college students. Hadassah was a sponsor of the Never Again Education Act, which I am happy to say has recently been renewed for additional resources to teach the Holocaust to public school students.

Hadassah trains our women to be advocates for Israel and to stand up for justice. We work to build bridges with various coalitions to help educate the American public about our past history, our present experiences and our hopes for the future. Hadassah women are proud to stand up for what we believe and I am so proud to be a part of this organization founded in 1912.

Just recently, Hadassah completed a national survey of Jewish women, “From Fear to Resilience”, to learn how they have been personally impacted by antisemitism in the past few years. Of the women who responded, 64 percent reported they had experienced antisemitism. Of those, 62 percent said they felt unsafe, 52 percent have hidden their Jewish identity, 33 percent have experienced hate speech and 22 percent were excluded from groups. Download the full report.

When the darkness seems to overwhelm, I look to Hadassah for the light. Our “End The Silence” campaign brought attention to the sexual violence experienced by Israeli women on October 7. It also focused attention on the sexual violence experienced by the released hostages and continues to demand accountability from the international community for what is happening at this very moment to the hostages still in captivity.

We are 15 months into this war, and we still have 100 people being held in barbaric conditions with no end in sight. Hadassah provides us with a platform to call on world leaders to do everything in their power to bring our hostages home.

In these difficult days, when the days are short and the nights are long, we need to find places of light. Hadassah is that place. Whether in our hospitals healing the bodies and souls of our patients; or in our youth villages, building the future of our Jewish homeland; or in America, providing a path to advocate for what is right in this world, I know I can always look to Hadassah to shine that light.

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Stephanie is a member of the Hadassah Writers’ Circle, a dynamic and diverse writing group for leaders and members to express their thoughts and feelings about all the things Hadassah does to make the world a better place, to celebrate their personal Hadassah journeys and to share their Jewish values, family traditions and interpretations of Jewish texts. Since 2019, the Hadassah Writers’ Circle has published nearly 450 columns in the Times of Israel Blog and other Jewish media outlets. Interested? Please contact hwc@hadassah.org.