The Cleveland, Ohio Chapter of Hadassah was established in June 1913 by twenty-one charter members meeting in the home of Dr. Isidore and Kate Biskind. Originally known as Shoshana Chapter of the Daughters of Zion, it was the third chapter of a national organization established a year earlier by Henrietta Szold. Within one year, the organization changed its name to Haddassah and the Cleveland chapter had enrolled 400 members. By 1919, the local membership was over 1000.
Prior to the formation of the Cleveland chapter, Rachel Landy, a local nurse, was sent to Palestine along with Rose Kaplan of New York by the New York and Baltimore chapters to conduct district nursing visits. They established the first Hadassah House nursing center in Palestine in the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem. Out of this effort grew the Hadasah Medical Organization which became and remains a primary focus for Hadassah fundraising.
Promoting Jewish institutions in Palestine and fostering Zionist ideals among American Jewry were Hadassah's initial goals. The Cleveland chapter provided Hebrew classes for its members beginning in 1914 under the direction of Leah Garber. Under the leadership of its first president, Elsa Rogat, Hadassah instituted annual dinner dances and raffles to raise funds for the upbuilding work in Palestine. During Kate Biskind's presidency (1915-1919), Hadassah participated in the Zionist Organization of America's Palestine Restoration Fund drives. Biskind resigned in 1919 to settle in Palestine where her husband became the first director of the Hadassah medical unit.
Hadassah membership increase during the 1920s despite the general decline in Zionist memberships locally and nationally. In 1923, Junior Hadassah was established for the purpose of raising funds to assist in the care of Jewish orphans in Palestine. During the mid 1920s, the Cleveland chapter of Hadassah received an honor from the national for the largest proportional increase in membership among all of the chapters.
In 1925, Yonina Friedland reestablished Hebrew classes for Hadassah members. In 1932, study groups were established to formalize the cultural and political educational offerings of the chapter. Soon thereafter, the Cleveland chapter created a Department of Education. In the area of fund raising, the Cleveland chapter innovated the donor luncheon which became a major forum for collecting funds.
During World War II, the Cleveland chapter helped organize Red Cross blood donation drives, offered first aid courses, and bought and sold war bonds. Today, with a membership of near 4000 (as of 1984), it supports the Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center in Israel, schools and hospitals, and youth villages; conducts educational and cultural programs for members; and sponsors a Zionist youth group, Hashachar-Young Judea.
The Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, Cleveland Chapter Records, Series IV, 1937-2006 and undated, consist of agendas, budgets, bulletins, calendars, certificates, constitution and bylaws, a cookbook, correspondence, financial reports, invitations and flyers, ledgers, lists, manuals, minutes, news releases, newsletters, newspaper clippings, play scripts, proclamations, program booklets, programs, a receipt book, reports, rosters, speech texts, and surveys.
The collection is of interest to those who are researching the activities of Hadassah's Greater Cleveland, Ohio, chapter. It also documents the activities of women's Zionist volunteer organizations in America in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, and how their activities changed as they struggled to maintain interest in volunteer activities among younger women. Researchers interested in the Zionist efforts of Jewish women in greater Cleveland will find this collection of value. Those interested in women's groups and volunteer efforts in greater Cleveland will also find this collection of interest.
This collection has been arranged alphabetically by document type, then alphabetically by subject, and then chronologically.
The researcher should also consult MS 3956 Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, Cleveland Chapter Records; MS 4768 Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, Cleveland Chapter Records, Series II; and MS 4937 Hadassah, Cleveland Chapter Records, Series III.
Processed by Lee Hass and Sean Martin in 2013.
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5167 Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, Cleveland Chapter Records, Series IV, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of Hadassah, Cleveland Chapter, in 2007 and 2011.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.