Page 243 - ירושלים: גיליון רפואי

TEVA of Jerusalem

The Old and New Yishuv in the Development of
Pharmacies and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

in 20th Century Jerusalem

In the 20th century, towards the end of Ottoman rule and during the British Mandate
and Israel’s statehood, traditional medicine continued to be practiced alongside modern
medicine, and pharmaceutical manufacturing developed from Jerusalem’s pharmacies and
shops. The story of the pharmaceutical company ‘TEVA’ is linked to the old and new Yishuv
(communities) in Jerusalem. Using money inherited from his parents and from an uncle
who died during the 1865 cholera epidemic, Yoel Moshe Salomon built his home in the
‘Nahalat Shiva’ neighborhood, outside the walls, and later moved to Petah Tikva (the first
Jewish colony). The strong impression made by the epidemic on his son, Haim Solomon,
influenced the latter to establish a pharmaceutical business in Jerusalem, together with
his brothers-in-law, Moshe (Gutel) Levin and Yitzhak Asher Elstein. The company imported
drugs from Europe and distributed them among hospitals in Jerusalem and the pharmacies
in the Jewish settlements. Branches were opened in Jaffa and Haifa under the company
name of SALA (initials of Salomon, Levin, Elstein). In 1934, SALA established the Assia
company in Petah Tikva, which later merged with the pharmaceutical company Tzori. The
rise of the Nazi Party to power in Germany precipitated the immigration of pharmacists and
scientists to Palestine. In 1935, the pharmacist, Dr Günter Friedlander, founded the company
‘TEVA’ (Nature) in the Bayit VeGan neighborhood in Jerusalem; the name originated from
Friedlander’s vision to produce medicines from medicinal herbs and minerals found around
Jerusalem. In 1976, Assia-Tzori merged with TEVA Jerusalem and the company developed
into today’s international conglomerate of TEVA Pharmaceutical Industries.

‫כלי לעודף לשימוש בבתי מרקחת‬
‫אביב‬-‫ תל‬,‫ בירושלים | אוסף משפחת האוזר‬1949 ‫פרסומת למעבדות 'רפא' שנוסדו בשנת‬
Change box used in pharmacies
advertisement for Rafa Laboratories, founded in 1949 in Jerusalem |
Hauser Family Collection, Tel Aviv

241 ■ ‫טבע ירושלמי‬