Jewry throughout the world will honor Henrietta Szold, founder of Hadassah, on her seventieth birthday, Sunday, December 21. Throughout this month her birthday is being made the subject of addresses from the pulpit and platform. The 296 chapters of Hadassah are all preparing extensive programs in celebration of the event. The New York and Brooklyn chapters will unite in a joint celebration on the day of her birthday at the Isaac M. Wise Memorial Auditorium of Temple Emanu-El.
Non-Zionists as well as Zionists will unite to voice their appreciation of the work of Miss Szold, who is considered the foremost Jewess of today.
CONSTRUCTIVE SOCIAL WORKER
By nature a scholar, she found herself as far back as 1886 projected into important constructive social effort. At that time the May Laws of Russia which relegated Jews to settlement in the Pale had been passed. As a result, thousands of Russian Jews emigrated to America, part of the vanguard settling in Baltimore. There were no public evening schools in Baltimore at that time. Henrietta Szold organized classes to teach these immigrants English and to help them in their Americanization.
After a visit to Palestine in 1911, she gathered together a few handfuls of women, placed the problems of the Jew in Palestine before them and founded Hadassah. Later as a result of the activities of Hadassah, Junior Hadassah was formed. These organizations have now grown to a membership of 50,00, who raise $670,000 for the work of the Hadassah Medical Organization and other activities in Palestine. This organization which Henrietta Szold founded now maintains five hospitals, five dispensaries, 32 rural dispensaries, 22 infant welfare stations, supplies hot luncheons for school children and supports other vitally important health projects in Palestine.
For twenty-five years, Miss Szold served as secretary to the Jewish Publication Society. The position demanded that she correspond with writers in other countries. She translated books from French, German and Hebrew and the Year Book was largely compiled and edited by her.
During her work for Palestine, she supervised at one time, the entire Hadassah Medical Organization. In August, 1927, she was elected to the Palestine Zionist Executive, the highest Zionist tribunal and the greatest tribute ever paid a Jewish woman. This past October she came from Palestine to attend the 16th annual convention of the organization which she founded.
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.
