Henrietta Szold, 1860-1945

Baltimore native Szold co-founded Hadassah, was its first president from 1912 to 1926, and led its establishment of health care infrastructure in Palestine. In 1896, before Theodor Herzl published “The Jewish State,” she described her vision for a Jewish state. The Federation of American Zionists elected her as the only woman on its executive committee in 1898, and she was the only woman on the Provisional Executive Committee for General Zionist Affairs during World War I. She moved to Palestine in 1933 and helped run Youth Aliyah.

Photo: Central Zionist Archives