Celebrating Dr. Hillel Yaffe at Hillel Yaffe

Approximately 100 attendees filled the lecture hall at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center last Friday, when the Israel Society of the History of Medicine held its annual conference marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Hillel Yaffe, a physician who abandoned a promising career in Europe to advance the Zionist movement in Eretz Israel. In doing so, he combined working in medicine with initial medical and scientific observations, and the battle against malaria among the residents of Baron Edmond de Rothschild's settlements.

The descendants of Dr. Hillel Yaffe also attended the event, including Prof. Zvi Bentwich, who like his grandfather chose to be a physician and to specialize in hematological diseases, and shared recollections of his grandfather with the audience.

Prof. Avishay Golz, Chairman of the Israel Society of the History of Medicine and the organizer of the conference, said, "After we decided to hold the annual conference of the Israeli Association for Medical History in honor of the 150th anniversary of Dr. Hillel Yaffe's birth, we felt that it would be most fitting for the venue to be the hospital named after him. We were, therefore, very happy for the assistance we received and excellent cooperation with the administration and staff of the medical center. The lectures at the conference related to Dr. Hillel Yaffe's character and work along with the work of other physicians who lived and worked at the same time as he did and during the first half of the 20th century. They also gave us insight into how medicine was practiced, with a look at the politics involved in medicine at the time."

From right to left: Dr. Dudkiewicz, Prof. Golz, the children and grandchildren of Dr. Hillel Yaffe, Dean Prof. Eliezer Shalev and Prof. Ido Perlman.
Photo: Tzion Yechezkel

Physicians and researchers, nursing and medical professionals, Hillel Yaffee Medical Center staff and, of course, members of Dr. Yaffe's family along with family members of Dr. Rosenbusch, who was director of the private hospital, Hadera, at the time attended the conference. Also in attendance were Prof. Eliezer Shalev, Dean of the Technion's Faculty of Medicine in Haifa, and Prof. Ido Perlman who was the previous dean.

The conference was opened by Dr. Mickey Dudkiewicz, HYMC Deputy Director, who greeted the participants. Later, after Prof. Golz gave greetings, a certificate of appreciation was given to Prof. Nissim Levi for his outstanding contribution to the Israeli Society of the History of Medicine over the years.

Lectures were also given by Prof. Zvi Bentwich, Dr. Yaffe's grandson, who shared memories and recollections of his grandfather's work; Prof. Eran Dolev spoke about the activity of Arieh Rappaport, another physician who worked in Zichron Ya'akov, who transformed medical thinking on the use of the then controversial medication - thalidomide; Dr. Zalman Greenberg reviewed the work of Prof. Jacob Kliger, who like Dr. Hillel Yaffe, worked tirelessly to eliminate malaria in Eretz Israel; Itay Bahur, a writer who researched Dr. Yaffe's work, presented various aspects of his character and personality; Prof. Shifra Shvarts spoke about politics and medicine in the context of the war on malaria; Prof. Golz himself discussed the work of the private hospital, Hadera, which was led by Dr. Yitzchak Rosenbusch and Dr. Tzvi Hoffstein. The moderators of the conference were Prof. Shaul Shasha and Dr. Efraim Lev, members of the Israel Society of the History of Medicine.

Click here for video coverage of the conference