Page 209 - ירושלים: גיליון רפואי

Angels in Jerusalem Skies

The Nursing Profession in Hospitals and the Community

In Jerusalem’s Crusader hospitals the profession of nursing was in the hands of men
only, members of the orders of knighthood who were given professional training for their
role as caregivers. On the threshold of a new era, Jerusalem in the 19th century was still
an impoverished city stricken by epidemics. The population consisted of many elderly
inhabitants and families with young children who suffered from poor hygienic conditions,
constant ailments, and deadly disease. Jerusalem society was composed of communities
of different religions and cultures, segregated from one another, each keeping alive the
tradition of nursing as the right of members of the community themselves or of associations
devoted to religious charity. Men cared for men, and women were cared for by women who
had been trained as midwives, which was considered a strictly feminine pursuit.

At the end of the 19th century, world powers sought influence in Jerusalem and, as part
of this process, societies and associations of Christian women nurses began working in
the city. The Hadassah Women’s Zionist Organization and Henrietta Szold initiated the
founding of the Hadassah School for Nursing at the beginning of the period of the British
Mandate in Jerusalem. The school offered opportunities for Jewish women to work and
provided training for nursing as a profession.

Diverse activities were undertaken by women of the American Colony among the Arab
populations in the city and outlying areas. The British government, the municipal
authorities, and health organizations, spurred by the urgent need to prevent and halt the
spread of disease, began to act, going into Jerusalem neighborhoods and visiting the homes
of the city’s inhabitants. Treatment was provided in the community by professional nurses
who offered care at infant welfare centers, inoculations, and instruction in hygiene.

207 ■ ‫מלאכים בשמי ירושלים‬