Hadassah National President Spotlights The Gandel Rehabilitation Center
On Nov. 1, more than 200 members from the Hadassah Florida Atlantic Region’s 50 chapters gathered at the Wycliffe Golf & Country Club in Wellington to hear from Hadassah National President Carol Ann Schwartz.
Schwartz highlighted the transformative impact of The Gandel Rehabilitation Center, currently under construction at Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, Israel. The 323,000-square-foot center will offer physical and occupational therapy, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and respiratory and orthopedic rehabilitation. There will also be a PSTD (post traumatic stress disorder) center and rehabilitation for neurological problems caused by brain, spinal cord and nervous system injuries.
During her speech, Schwartz emphasized the center’s mission to provide hope and healing for soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), civilian casualties of terrorist attacks, as well as the elderly and those recovering from various medical conditions. She also urged attendees to donate funds for the completion of the center.
The crowd was later moved by two more guest speakers: Mordecai Samel — the subject of the 2022 award-winning film “iMordecai” — and his son, Marvin Samel, the writer, director and producer of the film. Mordechai, a Holocaust survivor, recounted his World War II experiences and life in Israel and the U.S. after the war.
The Hadassah Florida Atlantic Region, serving 23,000 members in Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie Counties, is a branch of Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America (HWZOA) — the nation’s largest Jewish women’s organization. HWZOA advocates on crucial issues, including Israel’s security, combating antisemitism and promoting women’s health. Through its two hospitals in Jerusalem, Hadassah provides advanced medical care to over a million people each year while supporting world-class medical research.
For more information, visit hadassah.org.
Photo by Mickey Schwartz
Hadassah Florida Atlantic Region President Susan Wakshul, Mordecai Samel, Marvin Samel, Hadassah President Carol Ann Schwartz and Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. Event Chair & VP Philanthropy Hadassah Florida Atlantic Region, Ilene Grayev.
