Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center
The Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center, built in 1951, is a public psychiatric hospital in Givat Shaul, Jerusalem, Israel. It is affiliated with the Hadassah Medical Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[2] The hospital is Jerusalem's designated psychiatric hospital for tourists who display mental health disturbances[3], and as such, is widely known for its research on Jerusalem Syndrome.
History
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The hospital stands on the site of the former Palestinian-Arab village of Deir Yassin.[1] Construction of the hospital began in 1951, using the village schoolhouse and the refugees' homes, many of which remain intact.[4][5][6] Every year since 2003, the Israeli organization Zochrot has arranged a memorial service outside the hospital fence. The hospital grounds are closed to the public, including to the refugees and their families.[7]
Jerusalem Syndrome
The hospital is also known for its association with Jerusalem Syndrome, a condition in which the sufferer is gripped by religious delusions, thinking himself Jesus or that he holds the key to world peace. The syndrome was first diagnosed in 1993 by Dr Yair Bar-El, a former director of the hospital, which has become a kind of "holding pen" for sufferers, according to Time.[8][9] The New York Times reports that 50-200 tourists are overwhelmed every year by the religious significance of the city, and are driven mad by it. "For many it is a short trip," the Times notes.[10]
Around half the afflicted are from North America, and usually the U.S., with the rest from Western Europe; half are Jews and half Christians.[9]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Ettinger, Yair. Deir Yassin massacre, 55 years on, April 10, 2003.
- ^ For example, as a source for the location, G. Katz 2002.
- ^ The Jerusalem Syndrome
- ^ Khalidi 1992, p. 292.
- ^ Deir Yassin Remembered, video showing scenes of the village's houses inside the hospital, and the village's cemetery, produced by Deir Yassin Remembered.
- ^ Hodgkins 1998, p. 109.
- ^ List of Zochrot visits, Zochrot, accessed June 14, 2009.
- ^ Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2003.
- ^ a b Beyer 1995
- ^ Haberman 1992.
References
- Beyer, Lisa (1995). Crazy? Hey, you never know, Time, April 17, 1995.
- Yassin remembered, accessed June 14, 2009.
- Gelber, Yoav (2006). Palestine 1948. See Appendix II: "Propaganda as History: What Happened at Deir Yassin?". Sussex Academic Press.
- Haberman, Clyde (1992). What Makes 'Samson' Run Amok? He's Manic in Jerusalem, May 13, 1992.
- Hodgkins, Allison B. (1998). Israeli settlement policy in Jerusalem. Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs.
- Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2003). The Jerusalem Syndrome, September 6, 2003.
- Khalidi, Walid (1992). All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948, Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies.
- Lapidot, Yehuda (1992). Besieged, Jerusalem 1948: Memories of an Irgun Fighter. See part II, Jerusalem, for the section on Deir Yassin.
- Ettinger, Yair (2003). Deir Yassin massacre, 55 years on, April 10, 2003.
- Zochrot, accessed June 14, 2009.
Further reading
- McGowan, Daniel and Ellis, Marc. (eds) (1998). Remembering Deir Yassin: The Future of Israel and Palestine. Interlink Publishing Group.
- Morris, Benny (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge University Press.
- Zochrot. Remembering Deir Yassin, 2006.
31°47′11.31″N 35°10′40.92″E / 31.7864750°N 35.1780333°E
