News and Events

Rambam Opens New Friends of Rambam Association in Australia

Rambam Health Care Campus
Publication Date:

A new "Australian Friends of Rambam" organization was inaugurated in Melbourne, Australia, to support Northern Israel’s largest, joining its seven sister branches operating on behalf of Rambam Health Care Campus around the world.

Vered Harel at the inaugural ceremony of the
Australian Friends of Rambam.
Photography: Golan WilsonVered Harel at the inaugural ceremony of the Australian Friends of Rambam. Photography: Golan Wilson

Behind the establishment of the newest association is a group of Israelis and other Jews living in Australia, headed by Mrs. Vered Harel, a prominent figure in the Jewish community in Melbourne and throughout Australia. Mrs. Harel is an experienced fund raising and event organizer for Jewish community institutions in the city, with an impressive history of collaborating with leading Israeli institutions such as the Israeli Embassy in Canberra, Australia’s capital, the Victoria Zionist Organization and others.

Harel, a former Israeli who maintains close relations with the country, visited Rambam several months ago and was deeply impressed with Rambam's reputation and extensive role in Israel. She especially noted Rambam's leadership in trauma and security, with a parking structure that converts into the Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital, intended to provide medical treatment for the whole of the northern region during wartime. Mrs. Harel decided to recruit some of her acquaintances and set up the new association.

"The establishment of the Association in Australia is further proof of the excellence of Israeli medicine in general and of Rambam in particular," said Dr. Esty Golan, Managing Director of International Relations at Rambam. "Medicine is a bridge between cultures, beliefs and hearts, and here at Haifa we have the ability to help people around the world, with the help of our worldwide friends who support us. We wish success to our members in Australia."