Tamar Levi was in the 35th week of her pregnancy and had an ultrasound appointment. But what was supposed to be a routine test turned into an emergency caesarian section followed by an immediate operation on the newborn.

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The ultrasound showed an abnormality in the abdominal cavity and after consulting with her gynecologist, Levi was rushed to the Hadassah Medical Center.

"It was very stressful," she said, describing the event. "My mother was with me and we couldn't understand what was going on."

Further examination at the hospital showed that the fetus was in danger due to having cysts in both ovaries and possibly due to double ovarian torsion, which is when the ovaries twist on the tissues that support them. The doctor stressed that the fetus was in danger of developing problems with fertility or losing her ovaries altogether.

Unless treated, the loss of ovaries would lead to the fetus not being able to conceive in the future from her own eggs, requiring either an egg donation or hormone replacement therapy.

"A double ovarian torsion is extremely rare and has only been described in medical literature several times, but never in fetuses," Dr. Shay Porat, maternal and fetal medicine specialist at Hadassah, said. "In the examination performed on the fetus, we could clearly see that there was blood flow to her ovaries, but the flow was slow. I knew that we had to act quickly so as not to lose the ovaries. After consultation, it was decided to induce birth for Tamar and perform emergency surgery on the baby."

Levi later described the event, saying, "The stress was huge. I prayed that it would not be too late, these were very stressful moments, but Dr. Porat did everything pleasantly and made me feel that everything was under control. It happened so quickly, everyone made an effort and acted quickly to save my daughter's ovaries. Within minutes of the diagnosis, I entered for an emergency cesarean section, and immediately after that the baby was taken for surgery, and thank God everything went smoothly. I thank everyone who took care of me."

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To mark Israel's 75th anniversary, Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, introduces its inaugural list of women who are shaping the future of Zionism. Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, is the largest Jewish women's organization in the United States. With nearly 300,000 members, associates, and supporters, Hadassah brings women together to effect change and advocate on critical issues such as ensuring the security of Israel, combating antisemitism, and promoting women's health.

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The list represents the diversity of Zionism today and the many ways in which women are building bridges and making an impact, a statement read. Hadassah National President Rhoda Smolow noted, "Just as they have since before Israel's founding, women are helping to shape and guide Israel's future, both behind the scenes and in the public square. As the leading women's Zionist organization in the US, Hadassah is proud to shine a spotlight on them."

"These 18 determined women are doing essential work, individually and collectively," Hadassah CEO Naomi Adler stressed. "They are educating Jews and non-Jews about what Zionism is and is not and advocating for Zionism in the US and around the world. Everyone who cares about Israel should know their names."

We present to you the list, as presented by Hadassah. Israel Hayom cannot independently verify the details mentioned in the descriptions and links below.

1. Amy Albertson – Advocate, educator, and online activist. The recipient of the Women's International Zionist Organization's Warrior for Israel Award, Amy Albertson empowers young Jews to be unapologetically Jewish. In 2015, she made aliyah and dedicated herself to working for Jewish nonprofits. Exploring her own identity led to her current work as a consultant for the At The Well Project and an associate at the Tel Aviv Institute. It also led her to create "The Asian Israeli," which catalogs her experiences as a Chinese American Jewish woman. Get to know Amy Albertson in the special "Israel at 75" May/June issue of Hadassah Magazine.  

2. Shiva Beck – Advocate. Shiva Beck was born in Iran to a proud Zionist family who fled to Los Angeles after the Islamic Revolution. Having grown up in a close-knit Persian community knowing that the greatest safeguard to her Jewish identity was Israel, she retired after nearly 20 years practicing law to focus on advocating for Zionism in the US and around the world. Beck is a board member of the Jewish Federation in Dallas and The Jewish Agency and provides pro bono legal services to disabled children and adults. For a full bio, click here.

3. Laura Ben-David – Photographer, writer, speaker, and marketing professional. Laura Ben-David uses her talents to share her passions, among them Israel and the Jewish people, and to build bridges between people. Formerly the head of social media at Nefesh B'Nefesh, she is now the director of marketing at Shavei Israel. Ben-David, who made aliyah in 2002, is the author of Moving Up: An Aliyah Journal. For a full bio, click here.

4. Mayim Bialik – Actress, author, and neuroscientist. Mayim Bialik is well-known as a successful performer (Blossom, Call Me Kat, The Big Bang Theory) and the current host of Jeopardy! who took a break from acting to earn a BS and a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA. She is also a filmmaker who wrote and directed the star-studded feature As They Made Us and a prolific author, with two of her books reaching #1 on The New York Times Best Sellers list. She frequently contributes to Jewish publications. For a full bio, click here.

5. Daniella Greenbaum Davis – Award-winning producer and columnist. Daniella Greenbaum Davis is an Emmy Award-winning producer and columnist whose work has appeared on ABC and PBS and in the pages of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. She frequently covers stories about Judaism, antisemitism, and Israel. For a full bio, click here.

6. Rayna Rose Exelbierd – Entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and youth mentor. Rayna Rose Exelbierd is a proud Zionist and Jewish woman who, through workshops and lectures, empowers non-Jews to learn Jewish history and develop relationships with the Jewish community. She is the founder and CEO of The Rose Grows and host of a podcast of the same name during which she shares personal stories of facing and fighting antisemitism. Exelbierd has mentored thousands of students around the world and published two books, The Girl Who Said Hello to Everyone and The Girl Who Wore Two Different Shoes. for a full bio, click here.

7. Rabbi Rachel Marder – Rabbi and writer. Rachel Marder, the associate rabbi at Congregation Beth El in South Orange, NJ, graduated from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow, in 2018. Before rabbinical school, she made aliyah and lived in Israel for several years, working as a writer and editor at The Jerusalem Post. She contributed a chapter to The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate and holds a BA in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies and an MA in conflict research, management, and resolution. For a full bio, click here.

8. Megan Nathan – Philanthropy professional and Israel advocate. As the program and special initiatives director at Kirsh Philanthropies, Megan Nathan oversees the Shine A Light initiative, which raises awareness about antisemitism through education, community partnerships, workplace engagement, and advocacy, and helps steward Jewish and Israel grantmaking in the US. Previously, as COO of the Israel on Campus Coalition, she provided American students with the resources to support Israel on campus and in their communities. For a full bio, click here.

9. Zoya Raynes – Wall Street leader. A 20-year career in finance has taken the Kyiv-born Zoya Raynes to Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, and now Bank of America, where she is a managing director advising hedge fund, asset manager, pension, insurance, and sovereign wealth fund clients. Raynes is on the board of several major Jewish philanthropies, was one of The Jewish Week's "36 Under 36" and has been honored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the Jewish Heritage Program. Get to know Zoya Raynes in the special "Israel at 75" May/June issue of Hadassah Magazine

10. Tabby Refael – Award-winning editorial columnist. Born in Iran after the Islamic Revolution, Tabby Refael received US refugee asylum in the 1990s after fleeing Iran with her family. Also a survivor of the Iran-Iraq War, she is known for writing about Iran, Israel, Jewish identity, women's rights, and Mizrahi advocacy in her column for The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Refael co-founded 30 Years After, America's only civic action organization for Iranian American Jews. Get to know Tabby Rafael in the special "Israel at 75" May/June issue of Hadassah Magazine.

11. Danielle Rugoff – Nonprofit management and policy professional. Danielle Rugoff believes in community-building, civic engagement, and the power of individuals to change the world. Now Senior Director of Movement Programs for Starts With Us, which fights extreme political and cultural divisions, she has more than 20 years of experience focused on the US-Israel relationship, American foreign policy, and Jewish peoplehood. For a full bio, click here.

12. Ana Sazonov – Communal professional and entrepreneur. Born in Ukraine to a non-Jewish mother and a father who repressed his Jewish identity, Ana Sazonov uncovered hers through a program of the IDF and The Jewish Agency and converted to Judaism. Now the executive director of the Columbia Jewish Federation in South Carolina and an advocate for Ukrainian refugees, Sazanov, who holds an MA from the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program at Brandeis, founded JewBer, a startup that delivered kosher meals to medical professionals, low-income seniors, and Holocaust survivors during COVID. For a full bio, click here.

13. Emily Schrader – Israeli human rights activist and journalist. A senior Ynet correspondent known for giving her more than 175,000 social media followers concise answers to tough questions about Israel's political and historical reality, Emily Schrader established herself as the leading voice for the Iranian people in Israel with her coverage of the ongoing Iranian uprisings. In 2022, she was named one of The Algemeiner's Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life and the Sixth Most Influential Israeli Woman on Twitter by Raash Digital. For a full bio, click here.

14. Naava Shafner – Social activist and strategic consultant. Naava Shafner, who made aliyah at 12 years old, has spearheaded changes in Israeli legislation, most significantly, legislation allowing flexible paternity leave. Named one of Israel's top 50 social activists in 2016, she has pioneered social initiatives focused on women's rights. These include ImaKadima, which advocates for family-friendly workplaces. Shafner, a strategic fundraising consultant for nonprofits in the social-change sphere, was part of a successful appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court demanding women's rights in the mikvah. For a full bio, click here.

15. Leah Soibel – Founder and media advocate. Leah Soibel has spent more than 15 years in Israel, the US, and Latin America empowering global Latino journalists and media influencers. In 2012, she founded the Emmy Award-winning Fuente Latina, which ensures accuracy in Spanish-language reporting on Israel, the Jewish world, and the Mideast. She recently launched Activista Media, the first English/Spanish digital news brand to engage the next generation of English-dominant, non-Jewish US Latino journalists, influencers, and online news consumers about Jews, antisemitism, and Israel. Get to know Leah Soibel in the special "Israel at 75" May/June issue of Hadassah Magazine.

16. Margot Stern – Entrepreneur, strategic thinker, and visionary. For more than 15 years, Margot Stern has advised companies on global strategic management, private equity, consulting, growth plans, and business strategy. Since moving to Israel in 2006, she has worked at the World Jewish Congress, the European Jewish Fund, and the Jewish Diplomatic Corps. She is the chief strategy officer and acting CFO for ReaGenics Ltd., an Israeli biotech company, and the founder of StellarNova Ltd., an award-winning Israeli children's edutainment company focused on science education. For a full bio, click here.

17. Chaya Leah Sufrin – Educator and community builder. Whether spending time at the Shalom Hartman Institute, leading trips to Israel for young Jews and non-Jews, or advocating for Israel on campus, Chaya Leah Sufrin is not afraid to have tough conversations about the issues facing Israel and the Jews. She also has the unusual ability to simultaneously inhabit the Hasidic world of the Chabad community and the secular world of modern Jews. The executive director of the Long Beach Hillel in Long Beach, Calif., Sufrin cohosts the podcast Ask a Jew, which covers culture, politics, humor, and life. For a full bio, click here.

18. Melissa Weiss – News editor and strategic communications expert. Melissa Weiss, who made aliyah in 2022, is the executive editor of Jewish Insider, the daily newsletter at the nexus of politics, philanthropy, business, and the Jewish community. Before joining JI, she spent nearly a decade working in strategic communications in the nonprofit sector, heading strategy at The Israel Project and the Israel on Campus Coalition before restarting the Simon Wiesenthal Center's campus outreach program. For a full bio, click here.

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Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, the largest Jewish women's organization in the United States, announced Tuesday that Suzanne Patt Benvenisti has joined Hadassah's Israel offices as eeputy executive director. "Reporting to Executive Director Audrey Shimron, she will represent Hadassah's interests in Israel and oversee the staff of fundraising and other professionals. In January, she will become executive director when Ms. Shimron, one of the most highly valued members of Hadassah's leadership team, becomes executive director Emeritus after 40 years at Hadassah," the organization said.

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Ms. Patt Benvenisti will work closely with Prof. Yoram Weiss, MD, Director General of the Hadassah Medical Organization, and former Speaker of the Knesset Dalia Itzik, Chair of its board, to promote the Jerusalem medical center in Israel and around the world. In addition, she will represent the interests of Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, before the Israeli government, which oversees and helps support public hospitals in Israel. She will also work with the organization's youth villages, which provide wraparound services for at-risk Israeli teens; build and strengthen partnerships with other Jewish organizations in Israel; and oversee the ongoing collaboration between the organization's Israel and American philanthropy teams.

"Suzanne ("Suzie") Patt Benvenisti's background includes work in social and health care policy, child welfare, youth programs and nonprofit management. Before joining Hadassah, she spent 10 years at Jerusalem's Taub Center for Social Policy Studies, most recently as Director General managing a $2.9 million budget and a 32-person staff. She played a key role in doubling the center's budget and staff and increasing the reach and impact of the center's research on social policy and philanthropy in Israel. She oversaw the launch of the Center's early childhood initiative and the development and implementation of a five-year strategic plan," the announcement read. "Ms. Patt Benvenisti, who was born in the US and made aliyah in 2011, previously served as the director of public policy at Aetna. She has worked under the auspices of Homes for the Homeless in New York City and the Israel Scouts in Tel Aviv and has consulted on strategic and operations planning for the Community Partnership for Protecting Children in Portland, Maine. With her husband, she spent a year volunteering at the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda, which provides a home for children orphaned by the Rwandan genocide and its aftermath. The village is modeled on Israel's youth villages, two of which Hadassah operates and which were originally built for the children of Holocaust victims.

"Suzie's knowledge of Israel's health care sector gives her invaluable insight into the issues Hadassah's hospitals face," Rhoda Smolow, Hadassah National President, said. "That insight, combined with her leadership skills, myriad achievements, and experience in all areas of nonprofit administration, ensures that she will be an excellent representative of Hadassah, a true partner for our hospitals' leadership, and an exceptional manager."

Hadassah CEO Naomi Adler, added, "Suzie is very fortunate to have a strong and experienced senior leadership team in the Israel Offices'. among them the philanthropy team that does an excellent job in leading the philanthropy effort, without which our hospitals would not be able to deliver the outstanding care for which they are known."

Benvenisti said, "This multifaceted position gives me the opportunity to bring together many aspects of my personal and professional background and to put into practice everything I have learned in my previous roles. There is no place I would rather do that than at Hadassah, an organization at the forefront of health care innovation in Israel and a place to which I and my family have such a strong personal connection."

Suzanne Patt Benvenisti earned a master's degree in public policy (MPP) from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a BA in political science, summa cum laude, from Barnard College. She lives in Jerusalem with her husband and three children.

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One of Israel's largest hospitals, the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, is reportedly in negotiations with medical organizations in the United Arab Emirates to discuss the setting up of a branch of the hospital in Dubai.

The idea reportedly grew out from a visit that Hadassah Medical Organization director-general Prof. Zeev Rotstein made to Dubai as part of an official Israeli delegation that met with Emirati government ministers.

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"I'm thrilled that the name of Hadassah has reached the UAE and that they want to bring Hadassah to them," said Rotstein. "I could never even have dreamed of such a thing and I pinch myself to check that it is real. They want to take Hadassah, build new homes, a series of buildings, and new equipment for our staff in Dubai."

Rotstein added that the talks are in a preliminary stage with many issues still needing to be ironed out, and said that even a concrete proposal has yet to see the light of day.

It is thought that Dubai would want to relocate 1,000 Hadassah doctors and nurses to the emirate, along with their families. Any staff that would be prepared to move would likely request generous remuneration and other conditions.

"They are offering staff amazing terms, homes, jobs, for their partners and children, free education and full healthcare.," Rotstein maintained. "They have unlimited money. We asked that they also help here in Israel but it's not certain that that's what's in mind."

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Hadassah's director-general said that talk of opening a branch in Dubai was not a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Finance Ministry. He maintained that the ministry would have to decide whether "it is interested in the continued existence of Hadassah as a leading hospital in Israel, or not."

This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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