As part of JDC’s Ukraine response work, its representatives have been providing help and support to the refugees for the past 35 days. Ukraine is home to an estimated 200,000 Jews, of whom 20,000 have already fled the country. JDC continues to aid elderly people, and those who cannot be moved away in Ukraine. The refugees who remain in Europe are placed in hotels rented by the JDC for this purpose, and are provided with assistance in getting to their destinations. Those who choose to make Aliya are referred to the Jewish Agency to Israel.

The date of our introductory interview with Merav was coincidentally set for a day after her return from the place where, many years ago, her husband’s parents had met and the seeds for the re-establishment of the extensive Mandelbaum family were sown.

Tell us about the Mandelbaum family.

Nehemiah and Sabine Mandelbaum z”l were Holocaust survivors from the city of Kashnow in Poland. In his journey of survival, Nehemiah escaped the train bound for a death camp by jumping off it and later joined the partisans. Sabine hid for some two-and-a-half years in the attic of one of their bakery’s employees.

Subsequently, Nehemiah established a textile business and worked hard to achieve success. When Shlomo, his son, was 20 years old, he made Aliya and met and married Merav in Israel. After graduating MBA studies, Shlomo began building his own business in Israel.

How did the relationship between the Mandelbaum family and Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh) form?

The connection started more than 30 years ago, thanks to then-director of the hospital, Dr. Varon. Keren Hayesod, which operated in Germany, made the connection between the hospital and Nehemiah, who came for a visit. Nehemiah appreciated the fact that here was a relatively small hospital with big ambitions to develop and grow, and decided to make a donation to it. Like many Holocaust survivors, he felt lucky to have survived and sought to express his gratitude by doing good. The successful business and extensive family he established with his own two hands provided him a sense of victory.

Sabine and Nehemiah Mandelbaum’s support over the years encompassed donations for equipment in the Gastroenterology and liver institute, as well as other departments, and to the establishment of a cardiology intensive care unit, together with the Kupperman family, their business partners. After Nehemiah passed away, the two families also helped establish a respiratory intensive care unit and an intermediate coronary care department.

The warm connection with the hospital continued into the later years of Sabine and Nehemiah’s lives, when director Dr. Varon visited them on a weekly basis. The mutual appreciation and respect was moving. “Prof. Tsvika Vered, head of the institute of Cardiology at the time, took personal care of my mother-in-law. She and my father-in-law valued feeling cared for and cherished, as well as the dedicated treatment provided by the institute of Cardiology staff and the hospital’s director,” says Merav.

Shlomo and Merav Mandelbaum continued Sabine and Nehemiah’s philanthropic legacy, donating advanced medical instrumentation and life-saving equipment to the Imaging Institute, headed by Dr. Sigal Tal; to the institute of Cardiology, headed by Prof. Fuchs; and to the Breast Care Institute, headed by Dr. Tami Karni.

Innovative medical equipment is a milestone in optimal treatment and diagnosis; we are proud to be at the forefront of Israeli medicine, with the most advanced medical instrumentation in Israel and worldwide.

Merav and Shlomo were a part of the dedication ceremonies of the projects to which the elder Mandelbaums had contributed, continue to commemorate Nehemiah and Sabine’s memory in all the projects they had supported and that were important to them, including the Shamir Medical Center.

What motivates your philanthropy?

“Shlomo and I are both private citizens, brought up to give and share. When we were young and had no money, we chose to donate through involvement and action. We adopted a girl from a boarding school and accompanied her in her life – up to her marriage. We do not call it philanthropy but acts of kindness. In the case of Shamir Medical Center, we continued because of the appreciation and gratitude we felt for the care provided to Shlomo’s parents.

We have also chosen to be involved in assisting with employment and housing for people with special needs. Through our daughters, who served in a boarding school, we became aware of the needs of these children, and especially of the fact that the state stops providing for them when they turn 18; therefore, we initiated support of continuing care programs.”

As part of her public activities, Merav also serves as chair of the Zoharim Youth Village (by the Rabbi Grossman Enterprises), an educational therapy youth village established for boys aged 14-18 from the Haredi community who do not find a place in the regular Haredi education system, and is one of the founders of the Zoharot Youth Village – for girls from the Haredi community.

What can you say to other donors who are considering donating to the Shamir Medical Center?

“I recommend putting your money where your heart is, contributing to what has meaning for you. Start from something small and grow into a larger project, understand how you make a change by giving and remember that money is a resource, not the goal. The goal is to impact, help those in need and make good things happen.”

What is your wish for the Medical Center?

“Shamir Medical Center is no longer the small hospital it used to be, with an evident growth and development momentum. I hope that the staff of the Medical Center would always remember the importance of personal patient care, of continuing to be available to people, and of providing the personal and family care that makes the connection so much more meaningful and profound.”

Merav, Shelomo and extended family