Gandel Rehabilitation Centre inaugurated

President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu helped inaugurate Israel’s most advanced rehabilitation centre, the Gandel Rehabilitation Centre at Hadassah Hospital, with the opening event in Jerusalem honouring Australia’s Gandel Foundation.

The Gandel Foundation, headed by John and Pauline Gandel, made its largest gift to support the project, which began operating in January 2024 – over a year ahead of schedule to respond to urgent rehabilitation needs following the October 7, 2023, attacks.

Gandel Foundation deputy chair Graham Goldsmith accepted a Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of the Gandel family, presented by Hadassah leadership. The certificate honoured the Gandels’ visionary leadership and extraordinary philanthropic commitment.

“Pauline and John Gandel and the Gandel Foundation are in awe of the miracles that take place each day at the Gandel Rehabilitation Centre, and we are grateful for the opportunity to support your work,” Goldsmith said.

“The centre treats people from across Israel, providing support to the whole community – near and far, Arabs and Jews, religious and non-religious of all faiths.

“When we first became involved with the Gandel Rehabilitation Centre development at Hadassah in 2019, we did not know just how timely its need would be. But on October 7, as everything changed for the people of Israel and for the Jewish world, the Gandel Rehabilitation Centre played its part.

“Its accelerated phased opening accommodated soldiers and patients wounded in the war. Underneath the building, an underground emergency hospital was fitted out promptly.”

More than 2000 soldiers and civilians have already regained their physical and emotional health because of the centre’s facilities and highly trained staff.

Netanyahu said he was deeply moved by visiting wounded soldiers at the centre.

“I’ve seen some difficult things in my life, on the battlefield, but to see these young heroes who lost limbs, suffered unbelievable pain and wounds, to see their courage, to see their stamina and hope, was so moving that I had to move aside to wipe a tear because it’s an inspiration,” Netanyahu said.

“What I saw is unbelievably committed medical teams, unbelievable treatments. That has now been augmented to the best in the world. The people are the best in the world, but they also need the equipment and they now have it.

President Herzog described the Gandel Rehabilitation Centre as “granting an essential gift to every human being it helps: hope – hope for the healing of the soul and the strengthening of the body, hope for independence, hope to dream again”.

The ceremony showcased the impact of Hadassah’s work, with soldiers who had once been unable to get up from their hospital beds now standing tall on stage and dancing.

Hadassah International president Dr Manno “Micky” Saks said: “We owe John, Pauline and the entire Gandel family for their leadership in ensuring this incredible facility was available just as Israel needed it most. They’ve helped hundreds recover from war-related physical and emotional wounds, and hundreds more to overcome illness, accident and injury.”

Hadassah Australia chair Mark Suss added: “The Gandel Rehabilitation Centre shines as a beacon of human resilience and a symbol of Australia’s solidarity with the people of Israel.”