When soldiers who couldn't move from their beds just months ago danced on stage at the inauguration of the Gandal Rehabilitation Center, Carol Ann Schwartz knew Hadassah had fulfilled its promise to a wounded nation.
"Some couldn't move out of the bed, some could get into a wheelchair and couldn't move any further," Schwartz, national president of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, recalled in an interview following the center's official opening. "And last night they were dancing on that stage."
Hadassah National President Carol Ann Schwartz
The 323,000-square-foot, eight-floor facility represents a decade-long vision that was dramatically accelerated when war broke out. Originally scheduled to open in 2025, the state-of-the-art rehabilitation center welcomed its first patients a year and a half ahead of schedule to meet the urgent needs of wounded soldiers and civilians.
"When the war broke out, we knew we had to accelerate that," Schwartz said. The shift required coordinating efforts across Hadassah's hospital complexes, redirecting resources and intensifying fundraising campaigns on a global scale.
The center, funded in part by the Gandal family from Australia, serves as more than a medical facility. It embodies Hadassah's century-old mission of healing Israel through healthcare innovation while strengthening bonds between American Jewry and Israel.
"The healing is not just for the soldier," Schwartz emphasized. "It's for them, it's for their families, it's for their loved ones, it's for their cousins. When we're treating the patient, we're also treating the patient's family."
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In the photo, Yehoram Gaon performs his song You Won’t Defeat Me on stage together with the prime minister and his wife, the president of Hadassah Women’s Organization, the Hadassah leadership and wounded soldiers who were rehabilitated at the Gandel Center
(Photo: Avi Hayun)
This holistic approach reflects Hadassah's broader philosophy, which Schwartz describes as building a "bridge to peace through medicine." The organization, which began over 100 years ago with Tipat Halav — drop of milk programs ensuring healthcare for children and pregnant women — continues to prioritize medical care over publicity.
"We'd rather spend the money on the medical personnel, on the state-of-the-art equipment, on the state-of-the-art facilities," Schwartz said, explaining why the organization doesn't heavily promote its work.
Under Schwartz's leadership, Hadassah has expanded its advocacy beyond healthcare, taking a prominent role on the international stage. The organization delivered a petition with 150,000 signatures from 150 countries to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, demanding recognition of Hamas's use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.
"We're not in 150 different countries with Hadassah, but getting this representation from all of these different people" demonstrated the global support for speaking out against atrocities, Schwartz said. The organization holds special consultative status at the United Nations, allowing it to attend committee meetings and educate ambassadors about Israel's importance.
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The unveiling of the Rebirth Avenue. From right to left: Carol Ann Schwartz, President of Hadassah Women’s Organization; Dalia Itzik, Chair of the Hadassah Board of Directors; President of Israel Isaac Herzog; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; and Prof. Yoram Weiss, Director General of Hadassah Medical Organization
(Photo: Hadassah)
"Hamas is a terrorist organization, and if they're willing to do this against the people of Israel, who else are they willing to do this against?" she asked.
Schwartz's commitment carries personal weight. Her son, who lives in Israel and served in the IDF during Operation Protective Edge, now volunteers at Hadassah Hospital and helps American nonprofits raise funds for Israel.
"Oct. 7, I know what every Israeli mother felt," she said, her voice catching. "My question was what's going to happen to my child?"
Though her son wasn't called up this time, Schwartz's anxiety mirrors that of countless Israeli families. When she visits soldiers in the hospital, language barriers disappear.
"We don't need to speak the same language, but we hug because I understand exactly what they're going through and what they're feeling," she said.
To engage younger generations, Hadassah runs programs like Evolve Hadassah in the United States and Young Hadassah International, bringing young people to Israel and teaching them to advocate in their communities and in Washington. Three missions are currently visiting Israel, including a young women's delegation.
"It's a multi-approach, a multistep approach," Schwartz explained. "Educating about Israel, learning how to advocate about Israel, empowering people about Israel."
As the rehabilitation center's doors officially opened to dignitaries, medical staff, patients and soldiers, Schwartz reflected on Hadassah's evolution while remaining true to its founding mission.
"For many people, the war is more or less over," she acknowledged. "This is where our job begins."
Standing in the new center's entryway, watching soldiers who had undergone multiple surgeries now able to stand and dance, Schwartz embraced what she calls Hadassah's "joyful responsibility" to heal not just individuals, but an entire nation.
"Anything that I can do as president of Hadassah to make a difference in the United States, at the United Nations, in Washington, D.C., to stand up and to speak out for Israel, I'm going to do it," she said. "And I'll continue to do it."