Stories from the War—Rosie Gordon Elkana

[Israeli journalist Elliot Jager conducted this interview with Rosie Gordon Elkana. She is a retired registered nurse, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who loves painting and volunteering to help children with special needs.]

roseelkanaI immigrated to Israel from Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1964. By then, I was already a registered nurse, having trained at Manchester Jewish Hospital in England. Right away, I got a job at Hadassah Hospital Ein Karem. The hospital’s Mount Scopus campus was inaccessible because it was surrounded by Jordanian-held east Jerusalem.

As the crisis deepened, the entire staff had been called into the hospital. It was a waiting period. Nothing happened. There was a spirit of solidarity in the air. Shuli Natan’s voice singing “Jerusalem of Gold” [composed by Naomi Shemer] filled the radio airwaves. And then suddenly the war began.

Patients at Hadassah Hospital who were too sick to be sent home were brought to the basement, and many beds were lined against corridor walls. I was assigned to deal with the general patients, not the war-wounded.

We were on a war footing, so there were no nonemergency services. We worked 12-hour shifts with hospital vans serving as transport to take us home since municipal bus services had been suspended.

I remember that my friend Beryl was supposed to be getting married on June 6. I was trying to contact her…but there was no way. Later, I learned she had gotten married at the rabbinate after all.

My fiancée Shimon had been called up. He helped capture Nabi Samwil [the Tomb of Samuel, which sits strategically 3,000 feet above sea level looking down on Jerusalem from the north]. Shimon’s unit then remained there to guard the position.

Back at the hospital, there was palpable tension, especially in the first days of the fighting. We became fearful of an [Israeli]-Arab doctor working in the hospital. In hindsight, our qualms were uncalled-for, but our suspicions reflected the anxiety we all felt at the time.

Truth is I was so cut off—working so hard—that I didn’t realize Jordan had entered the war, or what was happening in the war. And then it was over.

After the war, it was Shavuot [Pentecost], and I remember walking to the Western Wall. What a special experience that was. We walked down Jaffa Street [Jerusalem’s main thoroughfare], and the barriers were gone. We could now continue to the Old City. The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] had created a corridor. By this time, the IDF had bulldozed the area in front of the Western Wall so that it was possible to access the site.

Within days after the war ended, Shimon’s mother, who had emigrated from Afghanistan before the state [of Israel] was established, resumed shopping in the Old City. A few of the Arab stall owners whom she had frequented before 1948 recognized her. I remember she used to buy olives in the souk [Arab market]. With the war over, our medical team was taken on a tour to Jericho [near the Jordan River], and we bought bananas—which I think had not been generally available. In those days, of course, eating bread and halva [dessert made from tahini or sesame paste] was considered a big treat! Simpler times.

After the war, when Hadassah’s Mount Scopus compound was reopened, I worked in the internal medicine wards and later at the well child health clinic for many years.

Today, I live in Ma’alot Dafne—a bustling neighbourhood—which had been a barren no-man’s-land in 1967.

When I think about those days…it was a time of miracles. Amazing.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Features

Antique fountain pen on parchment.

From the Editor May/Jun 2017

June 1967 was a good time to be Jewish. At least it seemed that way to me. I was a teenager during the Six-Day War, and I was so proud of the Israeli soldiers. Not only were they fighting for their country, but they were fighting...

Ma’ale Adumim: It’s Not What You Think It Is

Before we arrived in the spring of 2000, I asked the 16 members of our Friends of Israel Youth Adventure team (now called ORIGINS) to describe what they thought a settlement would look like.

Six Days In June

When the 1967 Six-Day War erupted, the Jewish state had just celebrated 19 years of independence. Levi Eshkol, 71, was both prime minister and defense minister. Eshkol had replaced the legendary David Ben-Gurion in June 1963. Filling Ben-Gurion’s shoes...

Rehearsal for Armageddon

How important is Jerusalem to the Jewish people? Their souls have been intertwined with it for more than 3,000 years. Unfortunately, their heartache is not over. This article was written shortly after Six-Day War and ran in the...

It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Over

A city’s significance is often measured by its commercial importance, the height of its skyscrapers, or the grandeur of its architecture. But Jerusalem is not like any other city. Jerusalem’s significance comes from the One who chose to dwell...

When Heaven Comes to Earth

It is probably the best known and most fought over city in the world. The Jewish people cherish it. The Muslims want to take it. The United Nations wants to divide it. Nations are willing to go to war over it. But the Jerusalem of today is not the...


Subscription Options

1 Year Digital Subscription

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Download of Current Issue

$9.99 every 1 year

1 Year Digital with Archive Access

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Downloads of Current Issue & select Archives

  • Complete Access to our Growing Archives

$19.99 every 1 year

2 Year Digital Subscription

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Download of Current Issue

$19.99 every 2 years

2 Year Digital with Archive Access

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Downloads of Current Issue & select Archives

  • Complete Access to our Growing Archives

$39.99 every 2 years

3 Year Digital Subscription

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Download of Current Issue

$29.99 every 3 years

3 Year Digital with Archive Access

  • Free PDF Book Download - "What on Earth is God Doing?" by Renald Showers

  • Free Full-Issue Flipbook & PDF Downloads of Current Issue & select Archives

  • Complete Access to our Growing Archives

$59.99 every 3 years