Two thousand years have passed since the reign of Herod, and the women of En-Kerem who are about to give birth need no longer hide in damp grottoes in order to bring their children into the world. They can now avail themselves of the modern maternity ward of the nearby Hadassah Hospital.
At the end of the War of Independence, Israel had to abandon the Hebrew University and Hadassah Hospital in the Mount Scopus enclave. David Ben Gurion, then the prime minister of Israel, wanted to establish a proper alternative center for the University and the hospital. He felt that one of the reasons for Mount Scopus becoming an isolated enclave was that it lacked a Jewish population in the vicinity to defend it. He therefore envisaged a large complex that would include a densely populated residential neighborhood that could defend it in time of need. The original idea was to erect the University campus on the western slopes of Zovah, on one side of the Sorek Valley, and the hospital complex on the other side. The University administration opposed the proposal, while the heads of Hadassah were quite pleased with the distance from the city which would enable future expansion. The Hadassah complex was designed by the architect Joseph Neufeld (who also designed the Assuta hospital in Tel Aviv), and the future residential neighborhood was planned by the American architect Robert Mayer. The planned neighborhood was not built due to opposition by those slated to move here, but the scheme has recently been revived. The central structure of the hospital is built of a massive concrete frame with walls in between. Since Neufeld wanted to avoid a monotonous and monolithic structure, the walls are made of different materials in diverse colors. The Hadassah administration claimed that it resembled a ''building materials catalog,'' but in the end gave in to the architect. Over the years, various buildings, planned by other architects, have been added to the medical center.
In the middle of the complex, which was opened in 1961, is the circular hospital building surrounded by the teaching schools for the various medical professions, the maternity ward, and staff dormitories.
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