health & wellness
Hadassah Ein Kerem Director Dr. Yuval Weiss,
Dorothy Gerson of Franklin, Karen Davidson of
Bloomfield Hills and former HMO Director General
Prof.
f. Shlomo Mor-Yosef as the women uncover the
:tower nameplate.
Hadassah's new hospital tower stands as a symbol of a lasting partnership.
t%
Davidson family members Ralph Gerson, Dorothy Gerson, Erica Gerson, Karen
Davidson, Emily Reaser and Gretchen Davidson with Hadassahrs Dr. Yuval Weiss,
second from left, and Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, second from right.
Shoshana London Sappir
Special to the Jewish News
Jerusalem
T
he state-of-the-art Sarah Wetsman
Davidson Hospital Tower was
dedicated Oct. 14 at Hadassah
Hospital's Ein Kerem campus with a tribute
to the late Bill Davidson and his widow,
Karen of Bloomfield Hills, for their seminal
contribution to the $360 million, 19-story
building.
At a luncheon for Hadassah's Society of
Major Donors in the entrance atrium of the
new building, whose glass walls overlook
the Judean Hills on Jerusalem's western out-
skirts, the heads of Hadassah, the Women's
Zionist Organization of America, and the
Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO)
thanked the Davidsons for their generos-
ity and vision that made construction of
the tower possible "both on time and on
budget:' in the words of Prof. Ehud Kokia,
HMO's director general.
Marcie Natan, Hadassah national presi-
dent, commended the Davidsons who, she
said, embody the Jewish tradition of trans-
mitting values, faith and identity "from gen-
eration to generation!'
62 October 25 • 2012
The tower is named for Bill's mother, the
late Sarah Wetsman Davidson, who was a
leading figure in Hadassah since 1916, when
she hosted Hadassah founder Henrietta
Szold in Detroit. Sarah went on to found the
Detroit chapter of Hadassah.
"Sarah passed her love of Zion and of
service through the generations," Natan said.
"This tower began with the love of a mother
for her children and that love was returned":
Sarah Davidson's grandson, Ralph Gerson,
spoke at the ceremony. "As a small child, my
grandmother Sarah told us we had an obli-
gation and privilege to support Israel and
Hadassah. She passed that on to my mother
[Dorothy Gerson of Franklin] and late Uncle
Bill. It was an easy decision for Bill and
Karen to support the tower. He was a man
of vision and knew the importance of the
medical center for research and healing!'
Bill and Karen Davidson donated the $75
million cornerstone of the hospital tower,
and the family later added another $12.5
million to complete the project.
"The hospital [tower] is another gift to the
State of Israel from Bill and in remembrance
of his mother, Sarah, a devoted Zionist:'
Karen Davidson said. "It's also a confirma-
tion from Bill of his belief that the Jewish
people have been in this land for more than
Karen Davidson and her late husband,
Bill, in Israel
Karen Davidson unveils a donor plaque
as Dorothy Gerson looks on.
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The Sarah Wetsman Davidson Tower dominates the Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital
campus outside Jerusalem.
3,000 years."
Bill's sister, Dorothy Gerson, said, "I was
thrilled and very moved at the dedication.
It's a dream come true. The building is won-
derfully put together — there's something
outstanding and wonderful about it."
While in Israel, the Gersons went to Beit
She'an, an excavation they had visited at
least 30 years ago. So excited by the amazing
progress over the years, Dorothy and her
husband, Byron, decided to memorialize
the stage at the amphitheater there in honor
of her grandparents, Joseph and Bessie
Wetsman, who were early Zionists. Joseph
had owned theaters in Detroit.
The tower opening coincided with the
centennial celebration in Israel of the found-
ing of Hadassah in New York in 1912 as a
women's organization devoted to supporting
Zionism through medical relief and educa-
tion.
The new building, designed to house all
of the hospital departments and operating
rooms, incorporates cutting-edge techno-
logical infrastructures with a new standard
of patient care, including private and semi-
private rooms, menus on demand, indoor
healing gardens, balconies and the hospital's
first intermediate care center.
JN Story Development Editor Keri Guten Cohen
contributed to this story.