Shaare Zedek Medical Center Jerusalem, 12 Shmuel Bait Street, Jerusalem (2026)

29/03/2026

War Flight Cancellation Leads to Life-Saving Intervention At Shaare Zedek

When David’s flight home to California was cancelled due to the war, no one could have predicted that that seemingly unfortunate event would actually save his life.

Dr. Mohammad Karmi, Senior Cardiologist in the Jesselson Integrated Heart Center at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center where David was brought and treated explained, “If David had gotten on that plane and had such a heart attack during such a long flight, he almost certainly would not have survived.”

David recalled, “I never would have imagined that I would come to Israel, have my flight home cancelled due to a war, suffer a life-threatening heart attack and end up being treated in an underground hospital. I remember that amidst it all and everything that was going on when I arrived in the Emergency Department right during an air raid siren, I was greeted by a truly ‘Only in Israel’ image where right behind the Nurse’s Station there was a sign reading ‘Am Yisrael Chai.”

Dr. Ziv Dadon, Director of the Cardiology Inpatient Unit said that David’s story is a further example of the importance of paying attention to one’s symptoms even amongst all the stresses and distraction of a war.

“Even during these emergency times it’s critical not to dismiss our health. Incidents like these certainly don’t change or stop because of the security situation. If you feel particularly ill or are at a shortness for breath, and in particular if you experience a sudden pressure in your chest area that lasts for more than a couple minutes or if it extends to your upper extremities, shoulder, neck, jaw or back, immediately go to the Emergency Department as that’s a decision that can literally save your life.", he said.

27/03/2026

The ongoing emergency situation requires that Shaare Zedek’s staff operate under particularly challenging conditions with medical care being provided to hundreds of patients located underground. In addition to logistical accommodations that need to be made for this new setting, the staff works long hours without exposure to natural air or sunlight, a situation which can add to a growing sense of physical exhaustion and emotional stress.

In response, the Silber Family Resilience Center at Shaare Zedek, a comprehensive service largely dedicated to providing mental health support for IDF reservists, security personnel, and their families, is broadening its focus during the war and providing a variety of programs designed specifically for the hospital's staff members.

Included is a series of Yoga Therapy sessions that have so far welcomed over fifty staff members to practice stress-relief techniques through breathing exercises, tension relief and other tools intended to reduce stress and assist with sleep during these particularly tense times. In coordination with the Yuri Shtern Center, which provides touch therapies to the hospital's oncology patients, the Silber Center has coordinated a variety of massage treatment sessions for hospital staff.

Dr. Jennie Goldstein, Medical Director of the Silber Family Resilience Center, explained the importance of the program saying, “During war, hospital staff are not only caregivers, but also individuals living through the same fear, loss, and uncertainty— while continuing to show up for others. Many of our hospital staff are spouses and parents of reservists. They heroically focus on healing patients, in an underground hospital, as they shoulder worry about their own loved ones. Offering massages, yoga therapy and art therapy to our staff is an expression of our appreciation and recognition of their selfless devotion in the face of complex emotional and physical demands."

The Silber Family Resilience Center’s staff, along with the hospital's Department of Psychology headed by Yona Luria, is offering one on one meetings with Shaare Zedek staff members in need of supportive therapeutic services, as well as ongoing meetings with medical department heads to identify additional areas of need.

“These are truly historic times, but also a period where even the most seasoned medical professionals are feeling enormous pressures from constantly evolving current events, while working under conditions unlike anything we have ever seen before. Our message and promise to them is that their needs and concerns are being heard and that they are not alone,” Dr. Goldstein added.

26/03/2026

As we prepare for another weekend amongst the continued challenges of the war, we welcome the chance to celebrate the many new lives we’ve been blessed to witness come into the world particularly during these times.

Since the outbreak of the war nearly four weeks ago hundreds of babies have been born in our protected sheltered delivery suites with our staff going above and beyond to make every mother and infant feel safe and cared for.

The protected delivery suites were upgraded to ensure optimal privacy for laboring mothers and all the birthing facilities are housed in these underground areas.

In the spirit of the times of Operation Roaring Lion, we take pride in dressing the new babies with special onesies reading “Sweeter than honey and brave and strong as a lion.”

19/03/2026

For two weeks Ora had been sick at home. Once at Shaare Zedek, the doctors diagnosed a rare cardiac complication leading to a life-saving procedure.

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After about two weeks of feeling ill at home, 74 year old Ora, a resident of Jerusalem was treated in the Emergency Department at Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

After the results of blood cultures taken in the emergency department were received, the doctors determined she was suffering from a bloodstream infection. Ora was admitted to the Department of Internal Medicine where she was, treated with antibiotics and other treatments for complications in her eye under the direction of Dr. Yosef Sofer, a resident in the Eye Institute.

Monitoring showed that despite the very specific treatment, the infection was not resolving itself. Through multiple tests and multidisciplinary consultations—including a CT scan led by the imaging team, an angiography exam, and a neuroradiology consultation with Dr. Yaakov Amsalem, head of the Interventional Neuroradiology Unit in the Helmsley Brain Center—it was determined that Ora had a pseudo-aneurysm in a main branch of her heart stemming from the aorta.

The condition, while rare, involves a tear in the artery which, without proper and quick treatment, could expand and rupture, a result which could likely be life-threatening.

In an emergency surgery that lasted about five hours, led by Dr. Danny Fink, Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department (pictured with Ora below), and with the participation of Dr. Yaakov Novotny, a vascular surgeon, the Shaare Zedek team successfully performed a complex bypass procedure to ensure proper blood flow from the artery to the brain.

Dr. Fink summarized: “This is an extremely rare case, one we almost never encounter. Ora was nothing less than a true hero who won us all over with her spirit and enthusiasm. It’s a great feeling to know that we were able to save her life. Ora still has a rehabilitation process ahead of her so we wish her only continued success and a full and speedy recovery.”

Following the outbreak of the war, Ora was one of the hundreds of patients transferred to the underground hospital at Shaare Zedek where her in-hospitilization recovery has continued.

“From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all the teams at Shaare Zedek—the dedicated nurses and doctors—who treated me with such care and expertise. I’ll remember the names of each and every one. There are angels in heaven, but there are also angels here at Shaare Zedek who saved my life,” Ora said.

18/03/2026

Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center hosted a visit this evening (Wednesday) by Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and Mrs. Michal Herzog to tour the underground hospital and meet with patients and staff.

The Presidential couple expressed their deep appreciation for the dedication of the staff particularly over the course of the war.

Among his remarks, President Herzog said, “We are located here in the underground parking area that has been adapted to serve as a center of patient care as part of our national response to a very complex situation. Shaare Zedek is one of the largest hospitals in the country where hundreds of patients are being treated here and receiving exceptional medical care even under these very challenging conditions.

Even as Jerusalem deals with sirens and missile launches above, here below ground the dedicated work continues and the medical care remains defined by professionalism and responsibility. I thank the hospital Director General and all the medical teams for their unwavering commitment and dedication towards public health. The people of Israel can know they are in good hands."

Mrs. Michal Herzog addressed the staff saying, “One can truly sense a spirit of giving and positivity that comes across in every interaction. Thank you for your dedication and team work that produces such remarkable results- your good name is well known and this isn’t by chance.”

Shaare Zedek Director General Prof. Ofer Merin thanked President and Mrs. Herzog for their visit saying, “Your presence here strengthens our staff who even in these difficult days continue to provide the very best of modern medicine. This underground hospital is a shining example of what it means for workers from all across the hospital to come together to achieve such an important result. It is because of them that we have been able to create this special space which protects our patients, guests and staff and ensures that care can continue uninterrupted in all areas of the hospital."

PHOTO CREDIT: Kobi Gideon/GPO

18/03/2026

With the launch of Operation Roaring Lion, Shaare Zedek Medical Center immediately implemented our plan to transfer our patient care activities into a fully-operating Underground Hospital.

Today, even as the war continues to rage, we embrace our historic legacy of advanced and compassionate care while ensuring the safety of our patients and staff from the threat from above.

17/03/2026

Even amidst the ongoing emergency situation, Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center continues to drill our disaster preparedness protocols, and today held a large-scale exercise to simulate a toxicological attack.

The drill, which involved staff members from all across the hospital, simulated an event where a terrorist or foreign actor launched a strike using chemical weapons that resulted in a mass-casualty incident.

The exercise, held in coordination with the Israel Ministry of Health and IDF Homefront Command, saw “patients” being evacuated to the Cross River Ambulance Bay area where once identified as having been exposed to potentially dangerous materials they were hosed down before being prepared for further medical treatment.

Shaare Zedek Director General Prof. Ofer Merin said, “Our commitment to the community is to be ready for all types of incidents. This is particularly important given the current situation where we don’t know how it will further develop or how long it will last. The same way where we quickly opened the underground hospital that can treat hundreds of patients which was a result of extensive planning and preparation, so too this drill is motivated by that same understanding that we need to be ready for all types of potential challenges.”

Sarah Goldberg, Deputy Director General for Nursing and Director of Emergency Preparedness at Shaare Zedek added, “For more than two weeks our staff have been giving their all, often in extremely challenging environments, to ensure our patients are getting the very best care they need and deserve. As part of that commitment, we are always preparing for different threats and emergencies. Today’s drill, which involved teams from all across the hospital led by our emergency department staff, reflects our understanding that when the moment comes that we would need to implement these procedures, everyone will know how to respond each in their own critical ways.”

15/03/2026

"From my perspective, this is my personal victory in the face of those who wish to harm us- they will not succeed in destroying my heath."

Emanuel Goldstein, 79, from Moshav Ramat Hamagshimin in the Golan Heights and one of the founders of the local dairy farm, has traveled from his home by public transportation all the way to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center for more than seven years with the goal of attending appointments in the hospital’s Eye Institute to save his vision.

More recently he has been traveling at least once a month to receive special injections to prevent degeneration of the retina. Despite the ongoing war and the constant threat from multiple fronts, Eliezer said he wasn’t swayed and once again made the trip to Jerusalem for his monthly treatment.

“When the war began, I checked the public transportation schedules to see if they were working and how I could get to Shaare Zedek. I contacted the Eye Institute and once I was told everything was in order I didn’t think twice. I knew that I would come despite the situation and the dangers. For me, this is the ultimate victory, that they won’t succeed in changing my routine or harming my health,” Emanuel said.

Emanuel’s supervising physician from the Shaare Zedek Eye Institute Dr. Joel Hanhart added, “Over the past few years our goal has always been focused on maintaining the continuity of care for our patients even in these times of emergencies, whether it was Corona, the events of October 7th and all that followed and up to the wars in June and now this latest war. Whenever there’s a need, we actively reach out to our patients to ensure they are getting the care they need.

It’s important to stress to the public that they continue to attend their appointments particularly for retinal diseases because this can literally help save their vision. Our Eye Institute is open and operational while protecting our patients and staff in accordance with the IDF Homefront Guidelines.”

09/03/2026

Lifesaving interventions continuing even as sirens wail overhead.

Within hours of first exhibiting symptoms, a recent patient at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center was undergoing a complex interventional neuro-radiology procedure that would return her to a full level of functioning. But this story had an altogether additional angle when it was revealed that the doctor who performed the procedure had also saved the life of the patient’s husband several years ago.

This past Thursday evening, Levana Rothbaum began feeling intense pains that eventually led her to collapse. A Magen David Adom ambulance brought her to the Emergency Department at Shaare Zedek where medical teams determined she was expereincing a neurological episode and she was immediately referred for a CT scan.

The imaging team analyzing the scan saw that Levana had a substantial blockage in a central blood vessel in her brain that was causing partial paralysis that required immediate intervention. Shortly thereafter she was ushered into the Interventional Neuroradiology Unit of the Helmsley Brain Center for a brain catheterization procedure.

Dr. Yaakov Amsalem, Director of the Unit, together with the Unit’s staff, performed the procedure to open the blockage to allow proper blood flow. Soon after the procedure, Levana returned to a full level of functioning.

Dr. Amsalem recalls that when he went out to speak to Levana’s family he realized that the two had spoke in the past when he had been the physician that had treated and saved the life of of Levana’s husband several years back.

After several days of supervision, Levana was discharged in good condition.

“Because she was quickly brought to the hospital and due to the precise diagnosis of the teams in the emergency and imaging departments, we were able to prevent any lasting brain damage. Particularly in these challenging times I implore the public to remember that in any case where there is a suspicion of a neurological episode, don’t delay. Now, as ever, the entire Shaare Zedek team is ready and available around the clock to provide the life-saving care our patients need and deserve."

Levana thanked her doctors saying, “I knew that something was seriously wrong but I couldn’t explain what. I want to thank Dr. Amsalem and the entire team for their quick response to save my life an wish them all the people of Israel only good things and health.”

06/03/2026

As we head into Shabbat and we mark nearly a week since Operation Roaring Lion began, we again welcome the chance to salute the remarkable dedication of our teams all across the hospital who are working every hour of the day to care for our patients and the community.

We are tremendously proud and grateful to each and every one of you!

05/03/2026

Shaare Zedek Completes Further Expansion of Underground Hospital

Amidst the ongoing missile threat, Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center has further expanded its underground hospital facility with the addition of 120-patient bed stations.

Since the outbreak of the war on Saturday morning, logistical and building crews have been working around the clock to outfit the additional spaces, as all-the-while patients were being transferred into and treated in adjacent areas.

The effort involved the mobilization of dozens of Shaare Zedek staff members who have been training and drilling this exact scenario for several months.

Shaare Zedek Director General Prof. Ofer Merin commented, “This newest area, that will now serve alongside the underground hospital spaces in operation since Saturday, have all been outfitted to provide comprehensive medical care to ensure patients are receiving high-level treatment in a setting that ensures safety and ideal comfort and privacy without compromising medical quality and care. At all times we are constantly assessing and monitoring needs to further expand the necessary patient-care spaces so as to ensure our patients receiving the care they need and deserve in these unique times.”

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05/03/2026

Shaare Zedek Medical Center mourns the loss of Helsie Brustman OAM, who for many years has served as one of the most dedicated and committed friends of Shaare Zedek on behalf of the Australian Friends of Shaare Zedek.

Despite the vast distances between Jerusalem and Melbourne, Helsie proved that she was always there for Shaare Zedek in times both good and challenging and worked tirelessly to strengthen the hospital in all ways possible.

She was always available for a kind word or to find innovative ways to find new friends and supporters.

We will always a hold a special place in our hearts for Helsie and know that her legacy will always be defined by the friendship and love she showed for the hospital, for Jerusalem, and all the people of Israel.

We extend our sincere condolences and love, and thank her for her many years of tireless work and generosity.

Shaare Zedek Medical Center Jerusalem

29/03/2026

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