D

etroit native Dr. Donna 
Zfat-Zwas, 57, recalls 
that as a medical resi-
dent, if she saw a woman with 
chest pain in the ER, checking 
for a heart attack was one of the 
last things she did. 
“Heart diseases are 
traditionally considered to be 
men’s diseases,
” said Zfat-Zwas, 
now the director of the Linda 
Joy Pollin Cardiovascular 
Center for Women at the 
Hadassah Medical Center in 
Jerusalem. 
“In Israel, awareness of 
women’s heart problems is 
even lower than it is in the 
U.S.,
” she added. “Women 
differ metabolically and may 
have different symptoms of 
heart disease than men, and it’s 
important they know that.
”
The Pollin Center was 
established in 2013 with a 
donation by Irene Pollin, 
who died last July at age 
96. The Center works on 
several levels to prevent and 
treat cardiovascular disease 
in women: Every patient 
with a disease or several risk 
factors sees a cardiologist, a 
nutritionist, a physical therapist 

and a psychologist who help her 
create a personal program. 
The center also uses lectures 
and traditional and social 
media to increase awareness of 
women’s cardiovascular health, 
and trains HR managers and 
community leaders to create 
healthier environments. 
The Pollin Center dedicates 
many of its resources toward 
populations at risk. Israeli 
studies say that the risk of 
heart disease-related mortality 
in Israeli Arab women is 60% 
higher than in Israeli Jewish 
women. The center operates a 

Facebook page in Arabic, and 
many students and teachers 
participate in its women’s health 
program in eastern Jerusalem 
schools each year. There are also 
programs for haredi, disabled 
and disadvantaged women.
Like any organization, the 
Pollin Center had to adjust 
in the face of the pandemic, 
moving everything to Zoom, 
a difficult task, as the center 
normally conducts activities 
such as walking groups and 
group workshops.

PLANNING FOR ALIYAH
Zfat-Zwas made aliyah in 2007 
with her husband, Jonathan 
Huppert, a professor and 
former head of psychology 
at the Hebrew University 
of Jerusalem; and their four 
children, who were then 
between the ages of 1 and 7. 
Even before they met, both 
spouses knew they wanted to 
make aliyah one day. “We both 
considered it to be a first-date 
question,
” Huppert said.
The couple was aided by 
Nefesh B’Nefesh, a pro-aliyah 
organization supported by 
Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and 
Integration, the Jewish Agency 
for Israel, KKL (Jewish National 

Fund) and JNF-USA.
“My husband and I had 
visited Israel and we both 
had jobs lined up, so Nefesh 
B’Nefesh mostly helped us with 
the paperwork,
” Zfat-Zwas 
said. “They connected us with 
another family of new olim so 
we could help each other out.
”
As a Modern Orthodox, 
Zfat-Zwas has fond memories 
of Detroit’s Jewish community, 
where she often visits her 
parents and brother. “I miss the 
closeness and the cohesion of 
the community, which is like 
an extended family,
” she said. 
“In the U.S., being Jewish and 
religious is special and feels 
more cherished.
”
Her husband, who visits 
his family and colleagues in 
Philadelphia and New Jersey, 
added, “I miss Sundays. 
Saturday is Shabbat, but Sunday 
is like a real day off.
” (In Israel, 
Sundays are work days.)
Zfat-Zwas said she found 
parenting in Israel to be 
harder, as children are more 
independent. Huppert said 
that for almost three years, 
discussions around the family 
table have been revolving 
around the IDF service of their 
two eldest daughters.
Both spouses said they were 
proud to take part in building 
the Jewish state, and they were 
satisfied with the national 
influence they had gained by 
making aliyah, being able to work 
with national institutions such 
as Israel’s Ministry of Health.
Shortly after the aliyah, 
Huppert met a non-Jewish 
colleague at an international 
conference and told him that he 
had moved to Israel. “He asked 
me, ‘Why would you do that?’” 
Huppert said. “I told him that 
for a Jew, moving to Israel is like 
returning home.
” 

Olim Making a 
Difference

Detroit native leads charge for 
Detroit native leads charge for 
women’s heart health in Israel.
women’s heart health in Israel.

AMIR SHOAM CONTRIBUTING WRITER

PHOTO BY AVI HAYUN

PHOTO BY JONATHAN HUPPERT

TOP: Left to right: Dr. Donna Zfat-Zwas with her children Eliav (17), Yonah (20), 
Hadas (18) and Geffen (14) at Givat HaTurmusim (Lupine Hill), near Biet Shemesh.
ABOVE: Zfat-Zwas, (center in hat), visits a girls’ school in eastern Jerusalem as 
part of a program to incorporate health teaching into schools, with the emphasis 
on nutrition and physical activity.

ERETZ

 JANUARY 14 • 2021 | 29

