Page 288 - ירושלים: גיליון רפואי

'Islands of Benevolence' and 'The Wisdom of Physicians' galleries, in The Crusader Hall
‫ באולם הצלבני‬ß‫איים של חסד‬ß‫ ו‬ß‫חכמת הרופאים‬ß ‫גלריות‬

and scientists, most of them Jewish. The collection, from the estate of Dr Siegfried Isaiah
Plaschkes (1886–1964), an internist and pioneer in the collection of medical history,
contains hundreds of items from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century.16 The
bookplates exhibit key recurrent images from the world of medicine, making up a complete
iconographic repertoire: The doctor and the tools of his profession; a book, representing
the physicians’ wisdom that helps eliminate disease and death; the Angel of Death; and
of course, Nehushtan, the copper snake. The bookplates, commissioned by the doctors
themselves, combine the two worlds in which they worked: The one – the community,
sect, or nationality to which the doctor belonged and where he enjoyed a special status;
the other – the world of medicine, represented by universal symbols expressing the
relationships between doctors and their shared knowledge and cooperation. Jewish
doctors also added Jewish and Zionist content to the universal symbols of medicine, such
as the Star of David, the menorah, and the Torah scroll. Israeli artists, especially those from
Bezalel, added scenes of Israel and views of Jerusalem. The winding body of the snake
forming a Star of David or darting like an arrow towards the city of Jerusalem combines
universal and nationalist messages.

Jerusalem: A Medical Diagnosis ■ 15e