Raquela Prywes
Encyclopedia
Raquela Prywes was a nurse in Israel
, trained in midwifery, and obstetrics, at the Hadassah Medical Center
. A ninth generation Jerusalemite, Raquela is the chief protagonist in the eponymous book, written by Ruth Gruber
, who, in 1978, spent a year in Israel writing the life story. The book won the National Jewish Book Award in 1979 for Best Book on Israel, Raquela: A Woman of Israel, written by Ruth Gruber
..
Raquela graduated nursing at Hadassah Hospital, on Mount Scopus
, years prior to the founding of the State of Israel
.
After Jordan
seized East Jerusalem, in 1948, she worked in the baby's ward at Hadassah Hospital 'A'. She was chosen by her superiors for special duties, being sent to the British Atlit detainee camp
and on Cyprus internment camps
, deliver babies and care for mothers, in the worst of conditions. On her return from Cyprus
, she helped build the nursery wards in Jerusalem and, later, in Beersheba
.
She married Dr. Arik Brzezinski, a prominent obstetrician, and worked closely with him. They had two sons, Amnon (Professor Amnon Brzezinski, head of the Patricia and Russell Fleischman Women's Health Center, and Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, at the Hadassah Medical Center
, in Jerusalem) and Raphael.
After his death, she married her late husband's friend and colleague, then a widower, Dr. Moshe Prywes (assistant dean of the Hadassah– Hebrew University Medical Center, and later Dean of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
., and after whom the Moshe Prywes Center for Medical Education, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, is named.) She helped deliver Jewish and Bedouin
babies at the new Beersheva hospital, and saved the life of Sarah, Golda Meir
's only daughter, who almost died from eclampsia
.
Raquela Prywes died in March, 1985, at the age of 60 years.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, trained in midwifery, and obstetrics, at the Hadassah Medical Center
Hadassah Medical Center
Hadassah Medical Center is a medical organization that operates two University hospitals at Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, Israel, as well as schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacology affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.The hospital was founded by Hadassah,...
. A ninth generation Jerusalemite, Raquela is the chief protagonist in the eponymous book, written by Ruth Gruber
Ruth Gruber
Ruth Gruber is an American journalist, photographer, writer, humanitarian and a former United States government official.-Early life:...
, who, in 1978, spent a year in Israel writing the life story. The book won the National Jewish Book Award in 1979 for Best Book on Israel, Raquela: A Woman of Israel, written by Ruth Gruber
Ruth Gruber
Ruth Gruber is an American journalist, photographer, writer, humanitarian and a former United States government official.-Early life:...
..
Raquela graduated nursing at Hadassah Hospital, on Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus , جبل المشهد , جبل الصوانة) is a mountain in northeast Jerusalem. In the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Mount Scopus became a UN protected Jewish exclave within Jordanian-occupied territory until the Six-Day War in 1967...
, years prior to the founding of the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
After Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
seized East Jerusalem, in 1948, she worked in the baby's ward at Hadassah Hospital 'A'. She was chosen by her superiors for special duties, being sent to the British Atlit detainee camp
Atlit detainee camp
The Atlit detainee camp was a detention camp established by the British at the end of the 1930s on what is now Israel's northern coast south of Haifa. The camp was established to prevent Jewish refugees, mainly Holocaust survivors, from entering then-Palestine...
and on Cyprus internment camps
Cyprus internment camps
Cyprus internment camps were camps run by the British government for internment of Jews who had immigrated or attempted to immigrate to Mandatory Palestine in violation of British policy...
, deliver babies and care for mothers, in the worst of conditions. On her return from Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, she helped build the nursery wards in Jerusalem and, later, in Beersheba
Beersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
.
She married Dr. Arik Brzezinski, a prominent obstetrician, and worked closely with him. They had two sons, Amnon (Professor Amnon Brzezinski, head of the Patricia and Russell Fleischman Women's Health Center, and Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, at the Hadassah Medical Center
Hadassah Medical Center
Hadassah Medical Center is a medical organization that operates two University hospitals at Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, Israel, as well as schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacology affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.The hospital was founded by Hadassah,...
, in Jerusalem) and Raphael.
After his death, she married her late husband's friend and colleague, then a widower, Dr. Moshe Prywes (assistant dean of the Hadassah– Hebrew University Medical Center, and later Dean of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is a university in Beersheba, Israel, established in 1969. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has a current enrollment of 17,400 students, and is one of Israel's fastest growing universities....
., and after whom the Moshe Prywes Center for Medical Education, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, is named.) She helped deliver Jewish and Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
babies at the new Beersheva hospital, and saved the life of Sarah, Golda Meir
Golda Meir
Golda Meir ; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was a teacher, kibbutznik and politician who became the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel....
's only daughter, who almost died from eclampsia
Eclampsia
Eclampsia , an acute and life-threatening complication of pregnancy, is characterized by the appearance of tonic-clonic seizures, usually in a patient who had developed pre-eclampsia...
.
Raquela Prywes died in March, 1985, at the age of 60 years.
External links
- {http://www.amazon.com/Raquela-Woman-Israel-Ruth-Gruber/dp/0930395174/ref=sr_1_1/105-6402373-2136422?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221668828&sr=1-1 Raquela: A Woman of Israel]
- {http://www.biggerbooks.com/bk_detail.aspx?isbn=9780874516531 Prisoner of Hope]