Hadassah honors 'women of distinction'
Former Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik, Hadassah National President Nancy Falchuk recognized at gala event in Boston
Itzik, who has held a seat in the Knesset since 1992 and held several ministerial positions, was the first female speaker of the Knesset, serving from 2006-2009, and the first woman to serve as the acting president of the State of Israel, a position she held in 2007.
She is former chair of the Knesset's Education and Culture Committee, and served on the Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women, among other committees. A teacher by profession, Itzik is a former deputy mayor of Jerusalem, in charge of education.
Itzik spoke about her personal connection to Hadassah, being born and giving birth in Hadassah Hospital. She spoke of the important work Hadassah is involved in, not only medical but also the social aspects of Israeli Arab's and Jew's working together. She spoke of why she has continued to be an adamant Hadassah supporter and how Hadassah is integral to the Jerusalem community.
Itzik (R), Falchuk and Mor-Yosef (Photo: Nir Landau)
Falchuk of Newton, Boston, is nearing the end of her four-year tenure as national president of Hadassah. Before taking this position, Falchuk served as the national coordinator of the Development Division and as a member of Hadassah’s National Board Honorary Council and Executive Committee.
She was the coordinator of Hadassah International from 2000-04, a founding member of the Hadassah Medical Organization Board of Directors, and chair for the Medical and Scientific Relationships for Hadassah International.
She co-founded the Hadassah National Center for Nurses Council and spearheaded the effort to successfully create and fund Israel’s first academic clinical master’s program in nursing at the Hadassah-Henrietta Szold School of Nursing in Jerusalem.
She was president of the Boston Chapter from 1985-87. Falchuk and her husband, Dr. Kenneth Falchuk, professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, have three children and five grandchildren.
'Rarefied level of friendship'
"It’s an honor to be sharing this Women of Distinction platform with Dalia Itzik,” Falchuk said. “Over the years, Hadassah has enjoyed great support from many Israeli leaders, but Dalia represents a rarefied level of friendship that goes beyond support for our mission.”
Guest speaker was Shlomo Mor-Yosef, outgoing director-general of the Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) in Jerusalem since 2001. He is also chairman of Hadasit, the Technology Transfer Company of HMO and chairman of the Board of the Israel National Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Research.
He graduated from the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, completed his Obstetrics and Gynecology specialization at the Hadassah University Medical Center, completed a subspecialty in Gynecological Oncology in England and holds a master’s degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
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