Private Hospitals in Eretz-Israel
Avishay Golz
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This book chronicles the growth of private hospitals in Eretz-Israel from the 19th to the 20th century, including both for-profit and non-profit institutions. It examines their place within the broader public healthcare system and profiles the physicians who established them. Combining social, economic, and medical perspectives, the book shows how these hospitals eased bed shortages, expanded patient choice, and responded to waves of immigration. Illustrated with 68 rare historical photographs, it offers rich visual context and stands as a key resource for medical historians, public health researchers, and anyone interested in the development of healthcare in Israel.
Hebrew, Hardcover, 272 pages, 68 images, 17X24.3 cm, 6.7X9.57 in, 0.75 kg, 1.65 lbs, First Edition, 2013, ISBN/Code 978-965-7459-27-0
Even before the establishment of the State of Israel, dozens of private hospitals provided care for maternity patients and surgical cases in outlying areas. Prof. Avishay Golz, an ENT specialist, traces the history of these institutions with the intrigue of a detective story, uncovering hidden treasures along the way.
— Edna Abramson, Private Medicine during the Mandate: Hospitals of the Past, Ynet, March 28th, 2014
About the Book
Between the 1920s and 1940s, dozens of private hospitals were established in Eretz-Israel, most of them maternity hospitals founded by immigrant physicians through private initiatives. These hospitals played a vital role in relieving bed shortages and giving patients the option to choose their doctor and facility.
The book offers a thorough historical review, including:
The founding of these hospitals
Medical operations and services
Financing and ownership models (for-profit and non-profit)
Social and economic challenges
Contributions to Israel’s healthcare infrastructure
It also highlights some of the earliest institutions, such as Dr. Max Sanderczy’s hospital in Jerusalem (1872) and Dr. Eliyahu Orbach’s hospital in Haifa (1911), tracing the evolution of private medicine alongside public hospitals and institutional organizations during the British Mandate.
About the Author
Avishay Golz was born in Haifa and earned his medical degree from the Technion Faculty of Medicine. He is a Clinical Associate Professor at the Technion and has served as Head of the ENT and Head & Neck Surgery Department at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa. Golz also chaired the Israeli Society for the History of Medicine. His other books, also published by Itay Bahur Publishing, include ENT Medicine in Eretz-Israel 1911–1948 (2009), My Family I Seek (Hebrew edition 2019; German edition 2022), and Dr. Yehuda Leib (Arie Leon) Puchovsky and Gilad Hospital (2021).
Frequently Asked Questions
What were private hospitals in Eretz-Israel?
Medical institutions founded by individual physicians or groups of doctors that provided inpatient care outside the public system. Some operated for profit, while others were non-profit.
Why were private hospitals established during the Yishuv period?
They were created to address shortages of public hospital beds, accommodate doctors who could not join public hospitals, improve working conditions, increase income opportunities, and give patients more choice.
What types of private hospitals existed?
For-profit hospitals funded by patient fees or insurance, and non-profit hospitals typically run by religious or social organizations.
What challenges did private hospitals face?
High operating costs, limited equipment, restricted capacity to offer a broad range of services, competition with public hospitals, and changes in demographics and the economy.
Why are private hospitals historically significant?
They helped relieve bed shortages, expanded patient choice, contributed to the development of Israel’s healthcare infrastructure, and reflect the social and economic history of immigration and nation-building.
What challenges did private hospitals face?
High operating costs, limited equipment, constrained capacity to provide a wide range of services, competition with public hospitals, and shifts in demographics and the economy.
What is the historical significance of private hospitals?
They helped relieve bed shortages, allowed patients to choose their doctors, contributed to the development of Israel’s healthcare infrastructure, and reflect the social and economic history of immigration and nation-building.
Key Topics
Experiences of a Jewish Yishuv officer during World War I
Service in the Ottoman army and capture by British forces
Life in a British POW camp in Egypt
Biographical narrative enriched with personal diary entries
Intercultural encounters with Turks, British, and Bedouins
Rare historical documents and photographs
Exceptional historical value and firsthand accounts
Humanistic perspective on war, captivity, and survival
