Negotiations are to be concluded for the transfer to the West German City Government of the 300 bed Berlin Jewish Hospital on a rental basis. The board of trustees of the Berlin Jewish community has authorized the community executive, which has been negotiating with the city authorities, to conclude arrangements for the transfer.
The community decided on the move, after heated debate, entirely on financial grounds. Heinz Galinski, president of the community, pointed out that the deficit incurred by the hospital can no longer be borne by the community which now numbers only 4,500 members.
The city’s subvention to the hospital, which covered the greater part of the deficit, was discontinued after the community received a “bulk settlement” of its indemnification claims. In recent years, the Jewish occupancy rate of the hospital has rarely been in excess of five per cent.
The name, “Jewish Hospital” will be retained when it is taken over by the municipality and a kosher kitchen will be continued for observant Jews. The present staff will remain with the hospital.
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.
