Scienceמשה וולך

Moshe Wallach

Moshe Wallach was a German Jewish physician who founded Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem and directed it for 45 years.

1866 to 1957Founding Shaare Zedek HospitalFirst tracheotomies in JerusalemActivism in Agudath Israel

Born: 28 December 1866, Cologne
Died: 8 April 1957, Jerusalem
Occupation: physician
Education: University of Würzburg

Moshe Wallach was born in 1866 in Cologne

Moshe Wallach was born in 1866 to an Orthodox Jewish family with 7 children. His father, Joseph Wallach, was a textile merchant and a founder of the Orthodox community in Cologne.

He went to school in Cologne and studied medicine in Berlin and Würzburg. He received his medical degree in 1889.

In 1890 a Jewish aid group sent him to Jerusalem to open a modern hospital. He first ran a clinic and pharmacy in the Old City and worked at Bikur Holim Hospital. He was the first to perform tracheotomies in Jerusalem.

After raising funds in Europe, he bought land on what became Jaffa Road. Shaare Zedek opened in 1902 with 20 beds, and Wallach ran it as a strictly Orthodox institution. He treated patients of all religions and gave free care to the poor.

He was active in Agudath Israel and opposed Zionism. In 1944 he received a British imperial honor, and he was later named an honorary citizen of Jerusalem. He died in 1957 and was buried near the hospital.