Teaneck, NJ Teen Atari Weil Spends Summer Internship at Hadassah

Eleven high school students came to Israel this summer seeking an experience that was meaningful, educational, and full of opportunity for the future. As one of those students, I can attest that interning at Hadassah Hospital provided an experience that went beyond my expectations.

As a Jewish teenager living in Teaneck, New Jersey, I’ve always felt a strong connection to Israel. I’ve spent much of my high school career learning about it and educating others. Naturally, I had to take the opportunity to come here on one of the many summer programs offered to Jewish teens. I was not interested in merely being a tourist for a month; I wanted to experience and learn more about the country, and I was not the only person to feel this way.

On the high school summer program, Next Step: Israel Internships, Jewish teens experience Israel for the summer in the most authentic way possible— by joining its workforce. Students from all over North America chose to attend this program for a variety of reasons, but there was one uniting factor. While finding an internship in America would have been easier and still would have given us something to put on our resumes, we knew that Israel was the best place to get the type of experience we were looking for.

“Israel has such a wide range of work opportunities that are innovative and interesting,” says Zoe Torok, 17. Torok has always been interested in medical research and has spent the last month observing and assisting in one of Hadassah Hospital’s biochemistry labs.

“I knew I wanted to be in Israel,” adds Zach Buller, 16, who interned at the Jerusalem Biotechnology Park where many of Hadassah’s research labs are located. “I was interested in seeing the labs there and helping the country’s progress in medical research.”

When the eleven of us arrived at Hadassah Hospital on the first day, I knew that we had chosen the right place. The building was clean, brightly lit, and hardly resembled the dreary hospitals in America. I walked in with my peers, unsure of where to go, when one employee, though busy with his job, made sure we all found our place.

This first day reflected the experience of working with the doctors, researchers, and guides of Hadassah Hospital.

Casey Brody and Ariel Liberchuk talk about their time interning at the Linda Joy Pollin Cardiovascular Wellness Center for Women annotating the results of echocardiograms, running polymerase chain reaction tests, and observing invasive heart health procedures. “The doctors and researchers are very helpful, and they really want to give us a good experience,” says Liberchuk, 17. “My experience at Hadassah definitely reaffirms that I want to go into medicine one day,” says Brody.

Just one building over, at The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Vian Shekhtman and Chana Silverman took part in cancer drug research at the IMRIC Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Center for Membrane and Liposome Research. There they assisted researchers with their experiments by measuring antibodies, testing liposomes, and typing up lab reports. “The researchers and professors gave us a very immersive experience in the lab,” says Shekhtman.

Unlike my peers in medical internships, I have been spending my time volunteering in the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Hadassah Heritage Center. There I was able to interact with the patients, doctors, and visitors of the hospital through interviews and tours as well as learn about the history of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America and all that it’s done for Israel.

It all started when a Jewish woman from the United States visited Jerusalem for the first time in 1909. Henrietta Szold was so moved by the poor conditions of the Jews living there, she founded Hadassah to bring them help. Since founding Hadassah, (the Hebrew name for Queen Esther) in 1912, her organization has instrumental in bringing modern medicine to pre-State Israel and establishing clinics and hospitals all over the country. In 1948, , Hadassah gave most of its institutions to the new Jewish State, but kept the Jerusalem hospital. Today, Hadassah’s two hospitals in Jerusalem are leaders in medicine around the world.

This story very much resonated with me. Szold was a Jewish woman from the US, just like me, and she was able to make an enormous impact on Israel and its people, even before it was a state. Similarly, every national president since has been a Jewish American woman, and each has followed in her footsteps to make Hadassah what it is today. Several were also from New Jersey!

It often seems that it’s hard to make a large contribution to Israel, the country I love, but I see that other Jewish American women have made a huge difference through their vision, action and fundraising. It helps to belong to an organization with Zionist values.

Remarkably, this summer, I actually had a chance to share this inspiration with others. Tourists from all over the world who travel to Hadassah Hospital to see the Chagall Windows first come to the Heritage Center, which tells the story of this incredible organization. While the tourists wait to be taken to the windows, I guide them through this story so they can learn about the impact of these women.

We all had much to gain this summer in experience, connections, and knowledge, but what I found most incredible is that we have actually contributed to one of Israel’s finest institutions. To me, Hadassah Hospital represents the greatest parts of Israel. It combines high-tech facilities, leading medical research, a talented, diverse staff, and an atmosphere of warmth to help its patients and its country. Here you see Jews and Arabs working in harmony, not just talking about peace. I can’t wait to come back.

Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. (HWZOA) is the largest Jewish women’s organization in the United States. With 300,000 members, associates and supporters Hadassah brings Jewish women together to effect change and advocate on critical issues such as medical care and research and women's empowerment. Through the Hadassah Medical Organization's two hospitals, the world-renowned trauma center and the leading research facility in Jerusalem, Hadassah supports the delivery of exemplary patient care to over a million people every year. HMO serves without regard to race, religion or nationality and earned a Nobel Peace Prize Nomination in 2005 for building “bridges to peace” through equality in medical treatment. For more information, visit www.hadassah.org.