Funeral services were held today for Prof. Harden Ashkenazy, a world renowned neuro-surgeon. He died last night at the age of 67 after a long illness. Dr. Ashkenazy was a professor of neuro-surgery at Beilinson Hospital and at Tel Aviv University’s Medical School. A native of Bucharest, he studied medicine in Paris and later did additional studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore; the Lahey Clinic, Boston, and at the universities of Chicago, Oxford and Stockholm.
During World War II, Dr. Ashkenazy was sent to treat Jewish forced laborers in the Ukraine. In 1947, he was among the illegal immigrants who tried unsuccessfully to reach Palestine aboard the ship Pan York. He and the other immigrants were sent to Cyprus where the Hagana, having learned of his presence, smuggled him off the island into Palestine.
By 1948, Dr. Ashkenazy was working at Beilinson Hospital where he set up the neuro-surgery department. He helped save the lives of hundreds of soldiers during Israel’s wars. He also trained a generation of neuro-surgeons who now head departments in hospitals throughout Israel.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
