Page 203 - ירושלים: גיליון רפואי

Outside the Wall

From Banishment of Lepers to Integration in the Community

The curse of contagion from leprosy, the disease which struck Hezekiah, King of Judah, and
caused his banishment to a separate house, remained a mark of disgrace for generations.
Although the symptoms of the leprosy mentioned in the Bible differ from those associated
with Hansen’s disease, patients were ostracized and distanced from their surroundings.
An exception to the case was Baldwin IV, King of Crusader Jerusalem, who suffered from
leprosy since youth, but nevertheless ruled for 11 years (1174-1185). In the 19th century,
Jerusalem’s lepers were confined to isolated huts near the Zion Gate. Men and women lived
together in a secluded community, in extreme poverty; they made their living as beggars,
and were not offered medical treatment. In 1867, with the involvement of benevolent
German donors, a shelter was established in Mamilla. The disturbing presence of lepers
in public places brought the governor of the city to move them to a separate house in the
Kidron Valley, but there was no concern for their welfare. In 1887, the Jesus Hilfe Asyl
(Jesus Help Asylum) was built in the Talbiya neighborhood by the Moravian Church.

During that same period, the bacteria causing the disease were first identified. The
discovery of an antibiotic for the disease in the 20th century, and the knowledge that
the illness was not always contagious and could be cured, changed attitudes towards
lepers and treatment. A modern treatment center developed from what had been a closed
asylum with a threatening reputation as a place where terrible primeval disease prevailed;
sick patients of all faiths remained in touch with their families, living a communal and
cultural life within their surroundings. With the final closing of the asylum, the process
of integrating patients into Jerusalem society was complete.

201 ■ ‫מחוץ לחומה‬