Hadassah Hospital Hid Illegal $370M Deficit From Public — Report
Image by Getty Images
The Hadassah Medical Organization hid its illegal 2014 deficit from the public, government agencies and its creditors, an investigation has found.
Separately, Israeli Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has been asked to look at irregularities dating back decades.
On the deficit front, Army Radio in an investigative report put the shortfall at $370 million — an amount that violated its corporate guidelines and broke Israeli law for nongovernmental organizations.
Hadassah accountants said in a letter to Israel’s NGO registar’s office in September that the economic situation at Hadassah “raises serious doubts as to whether the hospital can continue to operate.” But Hadassah delayed turning the letter over to the office.
The chair of the Hadassah board of directors, Erez Meltzer, told Army Radio that it had “inaccurate information” and that the hospital did turn over the letter, but the registar’s office delayed making it public. He also told Army Radio that the hospital is in no danger of closing.
Meanwhile, the Calcalist business newspaper reported Tuesday that Israel’s state comptroller has recommended that Weinstein launch an investigation into the withdrawal of funds by Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, from the Hadassah Medical Association in the 1990s.
The women’s organization denied the charges, according to Calcalist, and pointed out that the comptroller, Joseph Shapira, never contacted the organization to gather information before making his recommendation.
The organization also pointed out that in the 25 years since the alleged withdrawals, it has given “hundreds of millions of dollars beyond that to the hospital.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
