Beit Hadassah Hebron

Hebron’s Visitors Center

The historic Beit Hadassah complex in the Old City of Hebron has a rich history dating back to 1893. Located on the ground floor of the Hadassa Building, the Beit Hadassah Hebron’s Visitors Center is a museum that tells the storied history of the Beit Hadassah complex and the building in which it is housed.



History

Beit Hadassah was established in 1893 by Rabbi Haim Rahamim Yosef Franco and the Jewish community of Hebron, the Hadassa Building was originally a medical clinic called Chesed L’Avraham (Kindness of Abraham). It was utilized as an infirmary and aid center for the needy.


Beit Hadassah Hebron
Credit: Dr. Avishai Teicher Pikiwiki Israel, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

In the early 1900s, the Hadassah Organization opened a clinic in the building, providing free medical care for Jews and Arabs. The pharmacist Ben-Zion Gershon, the Rabbis of the Jewish community, and Rabbis Hanoch Hasson and Yosef Castel and their families lived in the house adjoining the clinic. The building was renamed the Hadassa Building.

During the 1929 riots, the Arabs attacked these homes, torturing and murdering all their inhabitants, and the Hadassah Clinic was destroyed. The Jews that were left alive in the complex were evacuated by the British authorities and returned to the complex in 1931. When the Arabs began rioting in 1936, the Jews were evacuated by the British once again. The Arabs seized Jewish homes, and an Arab school was opened at Beit Hadassah.

Taking Beit Hadassah Back

When Hebron was liberated in 1967, Jews began striving to return to these houses. In 1971, Kiryat Arba, an Israeli Military Compound outside Hebron, was established. Families lived in temporary dwellings for more than two years until the first buildings at Beit Hadassah were constructed and completed.

In the early spring of 1979, immediately after Passover, a group of ten women and 40 children proceeded secretly from Kiryat Arba to Hebron in the middle of the night. Arriving behind Beit Hadassah in the heart of the city, the women and children climbed into the vacant structure through a small window on the rear side of the building.

When the Israeli government found out about the occupation, it ordered the army to surround Beit Hadassah, effectively placing the building under siege. After standing strong for many months, the government finally relented to re-establishing a permanent Jewish civilian presence in Hebron.

In late spring of 1980, after the women had been in Beit Hadassah for over a year, Arab terrorists attacked a group of Yeshiva students that used to go to the Beit Hadassah to pray, sing, and dance. As a result of this terrorist attack, the Israeli Government decided to allow the women to reunite with their husbands and children in Beit Hadassah.

Finally, the old Beit Hadassah building was repaired and extended, and today, Beit Hadassah and its neighboring buildings, Beit Hasson, Beit Castel, and Beit Shneerson, are home to 25 families.

Visiting the Beit Hadassa Museum

So the Museum has five exhibition rooms, each designed and painted by Hebron artist Shmuel Musnick. A timeline runs through the whole museum detailing the history of Hebron throughout the ages, from the Biblical period, the two Temple periods, through the Middle Ages, the 1929 massacre, and finally, the renewal of the community today. Each room shows a short film in Hebrew and English appropriate for all ages. The Visitor’s Center also has a café and an event hall.


Beit Hadassah Hebron

Beit Hadassah Opening Hours:

TEL: 072-2213660
Sunday-Thursday: 10:00-16:00
Friday: 09:00-13: 00

Admission: NIS 30 for an adult / NIS 25 for a child/retiree
Special price for groups
To arrange a visit, here is a link to book a tour

arik-about

Hi! My name is Arik, an Israeli native who dedicated his life to sharing my passion for the Holy Land with those interested in knowing more about this incredible piece of land. I’m the Chief Guide at ‘APT Private Tours in Israel’.

Did you know the Hoopoe is Israel's national bird?! For more cool info about Israel, join our ever growing community and get exclusive travel tips, and giveaways!

Bible Lands Museum

RELATED POSTS

Jordan Valley Ultimate Christian Sites

What are the Jordan Valley ultimate Christian sites worth exploring? Well, that's a very good question! Check out this post to know more!

Shrine of the Book

The Shrine of the Book is a wing of the Israel Museum that houses one of the most important archaeological finds ever found in Israel!

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the Mediterranean Basin for thousands of years. For more info and things to do, click here!

Atlit Detainee Camp

The Atlit Detainee Camp was a detention operating during the British Mandate and used to detain Jewish immigrants who tried to enter Palestine

Neot Kedumim Biblical Park

Neot Kedumim is a captivating destination, often called "Israel's Biblical Landscape Reserve," connecting you with the land and its heritage.

Caliber 3 Gush Etzion

Caliber 3 Gush Etzion offers several programs designed for tourists of any age who want to get a taste of Israeli methods of shooting.

Church of Bartholomew

The Church of Bartholomew is named after Saint Bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, on route to the Sea of Galilee.

Stone of Unction

The Stone of Unction, also known as the Stone of Anointing, is where he was anointed and wrapped in shrouds before his burial.

Beth Alpha Synagogue

Beth Alpha Synagogue National Park houses a sixth-century CE synagogue at the Jezreel Valley near Beit Shean National Park.

Atlit Castle

Château Pèlerin (Latin: Castrum Perigrinorum), also known as Atlit Castle, is a Crusader fortress located near Caesarea National Park.

Need help?

Skip to content