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for the dispossessed are practical
translations of her instincts of
compassionate motherhood. The
imposing Medical Center struc
ture or the program of Youth
Aliyah, therefore, not only "come
naturally", but bring with them
an insistence, born from her
American environment, that the
best material methods and train
ing be made available to the land
and the people of Israel.
The "Look" undertaking in
spired us to make our own in
troverted appraisal. Just who is
the Hadassah member? Why does
she join? In grandmother’s day.
motivation for embracing Had
assah rested on the Weltschmerz
of Jewish homelessness. It was
a mit/.vah to work for the cause
of Jewish restoration in Pales
tine. However, for the next gen
eration. often called the “lost gen
eration”. emotion was replaced by
logic and reason. The appeal was
based chiefly on the need to im
prove medical and sanitary con
ditions prevalent in the Palestine
of the ’20's and '30's. Today, the
dream of a homeland realized,
and with knowledge that work
for Israel strengthens American
efforts to spread the democratic
ideal, our young woman, possess
ing more leisure than her prede
cessors ever did and more free
dom to decide what to do with
it, joins to keep up with the
times.
The motivation is not always
on such a high level: the social
pressures of friends, the need to
find companionship and status in
a new community, often serve to
attract the new member. But
frequently becoming engrossed in
Hadassah’s program, she re
mains to do an effective job.
From which stratum of society
and age level does this com
posite modern woman emerge in
to Hadassah 0
Hadassah’s towfold credo —
support of the State of Israel,
especially in the medical and
social fields, and work on the
American scene, especially in the
sphere of political awareness, is
adopted by the active workers of
all age levels and from all eco
nomic groupings. In 15.000 groups
and chapters within 28 geo
graphic regions these pay dues,
attend m e e ti n g s , listen to
speeches, knock on neighbors’
doors, bake cakes for county fairs,
raise $9,000,000. annually, make
radio and television appearances,
write skits, edit bulletins, plan
programs, paint posters, discuss
Peretz.
And so, the question, Who is
she? can be answered with: She
is an alert daughter of the 20th
century, she is a conscious
Jewess and she is a soldier.
No ivory tower isolation exists
between the national officers and
the member-at-large; the liaison
between “private” and "lieu
tenant" with the “general com
mand" is strong and deliberate;
collectively, the Hadassah mem
ber sends in some 400 requests
to the order department each
week; some 1200 speakers and
entertainers are supplied to her
by the Speakers Bureau annually
—among them Israel government
officials, Broadway actors, col
lege professors and visitors from
the national office. The latter
often appear in the role of "army
psychiatrists,’ arriving to analyze
and smooth out a local diffi
culty.
In her mail, she receives an
nual organization kits, monthly
education, American affairs and
program kits, promotional mate
rial regularly published infor
mation media such as a house
organ, the Hadassah Headlines
and the monthly Hadassah News
letter. A film department fur
nishes her with the progress of
Israel in technicolor; the visual
aid staff prepares art work which
frequently finds itself exhibited
in the window of the town’s
fashionable department store.
Our “lady in the sun” thus
keeps au courrant with the Had
assah Medical Center construc
tion, with the latest books of
particular Jewish interest pub
lished in this country, of the
southern integration situation.
But this is only raw material.
It remains for her to bring and
No Better Food • No Better Fating
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and pleasant, easy gift-shopping: with the
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The Southern Israelite
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