JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Jerusalem court ordered Hadassah Medical Center and the Israeli government to reach agreement on a recovery plan in 10 days.
District Court Justice David Mintz on Sunday also extended a stay of protection to the hospital from its creditors, even as it continues to operate at a deficit.
The medical center has run out of the combined $28 million provided by the Israeli government and Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, according to The Jerusalem Post, and is operating at a deficit of $489 million.
The next hearing, when a recovery plan is expected to be presented, is April 24.
“Anyone who was thinking he would be taking a vacation with the family during the intermediate days [of Passover] is mistaken because the next hearing will be April 24,” Mintz said. “This is truly a matter of saving lives.”
Last week, the Gabbay Committee, a public committee set up by Minister of Health Yael German, recommended that control of the hospital be taken away from the Hadassah organization, which would be left with one representative on the board of directors. The committee said in its findings that the women’s organization would “continue to make substantial donations to the hospital.”
But the Hadassah organization said in a motion filed with the court on Friday that it would halt donations to the hospital if control is taken away, and that it would have a ripple effect on philanthropy from the United States to all Israeli charities.
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