European fundraising and medical needs in Jerusalem
Preparations for Shaare Zedek preceded its opening in 1902. A committee supporting medical services for Jerusalem’s Jewish residents formed in Frankfurt in 1873, with rabbis and philanthropists from Germany and the Netherlands among its participants. Initially supporting the existing Bikur Cholim Hospital, it later pursued a new hospital to improve access for poor residents and respond to Christian missionary institutions attracting Jewish patients through medical care.
Moshe Wallach, also known as Moritz Wallach, was a physician from Cologne who became central to realizing the project in Jerusalem. Alongside seeing patients and making visits, he organized a local committee, corresponded with European donors and coordinated land, materials and construction. Fundraising across regions became continuing construction and administrative work. The Frankfurt committee required him to report important matters and threatened to stop payments when reports were late. The hospital had to reconcile work on site with its funders’ accounting and oversight requirements.
Building a divided facility outside the walls
The new site was on Jaffa Road outside the Old City walls. Construction began in 1897, organized by Jacob Mann and others. Money, materials and construction accounts passed between Jerusalem and Frankfurt. The site was relatively distant from many Old City residents; Porush’s memoir recalled concerns about whether patients would pay the fare to travel there and back.
The main building had two stories. Outpatient services, a pharmacy, waiting areas, offices, kitchens and a synagogue occupied the ground floor, with wards above and storage in the basement. The grounds also had water-storage facilities. Isolation buildings, nurses’ accommodation, laundry facilities and other service spaces were gradually completed. The layout accommodated inpatient and outpatient care, logistics and religious life, supporting a clearer division of daily responsibilities.
Opening in 1902 and organizing daily work
The hospital opened in January 1902 with local officials, the German consul and Jewish community leaders attending the ceremony. Starting with twenty beds, the early hospital also operated an outpatient clinic and pharmacy, serving residents within and outside the city walls.
Wallach headed medical care and management, insisting on Jewish dietary rules and Sabbath observance. His deputy handled accounts and major purchases. Other staff registered patients, prepared statistics, kept clothing and supervised the kitchen. Porush also managed purchases of everyday supplies, workers, cleaning and stockroom accounts. Patient care depended on this whole organization as well as the physician’s clinical work.
The head nurse and organized nursing education
The early hospital struggled to recruit and retain trained nurses. After years at Hamburg’s Salomon Heine Hospital, Selma Mayer accepted Wallach’s invitation and arrived as head nurse in December 1916. Her memoir described how many young women initially had no professional preparation and learned on the job, while nurses from abroad often left because of difficult living and working conditions.
In the 1930s, the hospital established a nursing school. Mayer taught practical nursing, while pediatrician Karl Meyer and others provided classroom instruction. Students studied for three years and took examinations administered by British Mandatory authorities. Training also benefited other hospitals: limited funds prevented Shaare Zedek from retaining all its graduates, and some moved elsewhere or entered private nursing, extending its educational influence beyond its own wards.
References: [3]
Religious traditions and service across communities
The hospital maintained a distinct Jewish religious tradition while admitting Jews, Arabs and Christians. Wallach’s work also included helping poor immigrants find housing and employment and maintaining relationships with local officials and donors. The institution combined professional medicine, charitable assistance and community connections.
As population and demand for care grew, the Jaffa Road building became too small for the hospital’s needs. In 1979, it moved to a new building opposite Mount Herzl and continued expanding its medical services.