Hadassah and the Zionist Project

(Paperback)

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Founded to give women a frontline role in the Zionist struggle for statehood, Hadassah, the Womens Zionist Organization of America, first sent public health nurses to Palestine in 1913. Despite clashing with other Zionist organizations as it fought to keep control of its own projects, Hadassah grew to be the largest single American Zionist organization in the interwar period.

Using original historical documents, Simmons examines Hadassahs roots in the American Progressive movement, and assesses some of the American field-tested projects which Hadassah exported to Palestine including visiting nurses, school lunches, and playgrounds. Hadassah chose each project carefully with a view to developing an egalitarian, democratic Jewish state.

Simmons also traces Hadassahs involvement in the Youth Aliyah child rescue movement which saved thousands of youngsters from Nazi-occupied Europe, as well as from the beleaguered Jewish communities of the Middle East and North Africa. In the first decades of statehood, Youth Aliyah education tried to make Israelis out of young refugees from all over the world.

Simmons offers a fresh perspective on Hadassahs place in history and shows, for the first time, how American Jewish women played a leading role in achieving Zionist goals and shaping the Jewish state.

The book is distinguished by its historical approach, rooted in the analysis of original archival material including publicity brochures, newsletters and correspondence, as well as the contemporary Zionist and mainstream American press. It is intended for students, scholars, and anyone interested in American Jewish history, Israeli history, womens studies, Jewish women; the history of voluntarism, philanthropy, public health, social welfare, or child welfare; Progressivism, the history of Zionism and the development of the State of Israel; Diaspora-Israel relations; Jewish organizations; ethnic studies; emergence of the welfare state.

Reviews

Erica Simmons has written the compelling and largely unsung story of Hadassahs role in building Israels network of social services. From our towering leaders, like Henrietta Szold, to the individual dedicated member, we see how the women of Hadassah not only participated in the building of the Jewish State, but empowered themselves as effective organizers and leaders through 'the Zionist project.' It is essential reading for anyone interested in Hadassah, Jewish women and the American Zionist enterprise. -- June Walker, National President, Hadassah, the Womens Zionist Organization of America. To learn more about Hadassah, visit: http://www.hadas
I like the focus on the social welfare work, and the way it is woven into similar work ongoing elsewhere in the world in those years. For a general history of Hadassah's work in Palestine/Israel, it's a comprehensive study, and out of necessity it covers a lot of ground. -- Susan Woodland, Hadassah Archivist
This book can be read as a contribution to US Jewish history, women's history, and Zionist history. As an entry in the first and third categories, it offers perspective not commonly seennamely, an emphasis on the importance of a women's volunteer organization. Summing Up: Highly recommended. -- J. Sochen, professor emerita, Northeastern Illinois University * Choice Reviews *
A helpful text... * American Historical Review *
Simmons is to be congratulated for bringing Hadassah's maternalist Zionism into focus and for her substantive discussion of Hadassah's distinctive impact on the fabric of Israeli public culture. She lets us see both sides of Hadassah...which enriches our understanding of the processes involved... -- 2008 * Journal of Israeli History: Politics, Society, Culture *
An excellent book. It speaks to a wide readership and illuminates a historic relationship (US Jews and Zionism) that continues to exercise influence in both the American political arena as well as in Israeli life and politics today. -- Alex Orbach, director, Jewish Studies Program, University of Pittsburgh

Author Bio

Erica B. Simmons received her Ph.D. in history from the University of Toronto. She was awarded a Hannah Postdoctoral Fellowship in the History of Medicine for 2004-2006 at York University in Toronto, Canada.