Sonia (Alexandra) Belkind (1870, Lahoysk, Minsk Governorate, Russian Empire (Belarus) – September 20, 1943, Tel Aviv) was the first gynecologist in Ottoman Palestine. She was the younger sister of

Israel Belkind Israel Belkind (, ; 1861–1929) was a Jewish educator, author, writer, historian and founder of the Bilu movement. A pioneer of the First Aliyah, Belkind founded the ''Biluim'', a group of Jewish idealists aspiring to settle in the Land of Isra ...

Olga Hankin Olga Hankin (or Khankin, ; 9 January 1852 - 2 April 1942) was a feminism, feminist, professional midwife and Zionism, Zionist activist who, together with her husband, Yehoshua Hankin, was responsible for most of the major land purchases of the W ...

, Shimshon Belkind, and Fania Belkind, members of the

Bilu Bilu may refer to: People * Bilú (footballer, 1900-1965), Virgílio Pinto de Oliveira, Brazilian football manager and former centre-back * Asher Bilu (born 1936), Australian artist * Bilú (footballer, born 1974), Luciano Lopes de Souza, Brazi ...

movement (and wife of Israel Feinberg).

Biography

Belkind immigrated to Ottoman Palestine in 1888 with her parents, Shifra and Meir Belkind, to

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( , "First to Zion") is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who were ...

, from which they were expelled to

Gedera Gedera, or less commonly known as Gdera (), is a town in the southern part of the Shfela region in the Central District of Israel founded in 1884. It is south of Rehovot. In , it had a population of . History Gedera is in the Book of C ...

due to the family's rebellion against the officials of Baron Rothschild. She was a French teacher at the first Hebrew school in

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

, established by her brother Israel and her father Meir in 1889. In 1898, she traveled to

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

to study medicine, a rare step for a Jewish woman at that time. Upon completing her studies, she returned to Ottoman Palestine as a physician and worked at the Sha'ar Zion Hospital in Jaffa. In 1905, she traveled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to specialize in gynecology, becoming the first gynecologist in Ottoman Palestine (Land of Israel). Upon her return to Ottoman Palestine in 1907, she served as the physician for the

Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium (, also known as ''Gymnasia Herzliya''), originally known as HaGymnasia HaIvrit (lit. Hebrew High School) is a historic high school in Tel Aviv, Israel, whose faculty and alumni includes many people influential in t ...

while continuing her work at the hospital. She was also one of the founders of the

Israel Medical Association Israel Medical Association (IMA), is a professional association of physicians in Israel. History The association traces its origins to the ''Hebrew Medicinal Society for Jaffa and the Jaffa District'', founded in 1912, which later became the ''Heb ...

. On January 11, 1912, she participated in the founding meeting held at the Herzliya Gymnasium to elect the first committee of the Medical Association and was elected as a member of the first committee. The chairman was Dr. Yehuda Leib Pochovsky. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she treated the deported residents of Tel Aviv in their various places of exile, as most doctors were deported or drafted. In 1917, she was arrested and sent to trial in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

for her involvement in the

Nili NILI () was a Jewish espionage network which assisted the United Kingdom in its fight against the Ottoman Empire in the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem between 1915 and 1917, during World War I. NILI was centered in Zikhron Ya'akov, with branches ...

underground (her nephew Naaman Belkind was among its activists). She was acquitted of the charges and returned to Tel Aviv. Belkind was the partner of Mendel Hankin, the brother of

Yehoshua Hankin Yehoshua Hankin (, 1864 – 11 November 1945) was a Zionism, Zionist activist who was responsible for most of the major land purchases of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization in Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Palestine (region), Palesti ...

(the partner of Olga, Sonia's sister). The Hankin brothers and their families lived together in a house at 105

Allenby Street Allenby Street () is a major street in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was named in honor of Field Marshal Viscount Allenby. Allenby Street stretches from the Mediterranean Sea in the northwest to HaAliya Street in the southeast. It was first paved with ...

, Tel Aviv, built by Sonia. She lived on the upper floor, while Yehoshua and Olga lived on the first floor, and nearby in a smaller apartment lived Dova and her daughter Akhsa Belkind. The house had a large yard with a garden where the first lawn in the Ottoman Palestine was grown. Belkind was active in public and preventive medicine, promoting women's healthcare. She was a member of the management at the "Shalva" convalescent home founded by her sister Olga Hankin in 1938 for patients with limited means. She opened a private clinic in Tel Aviv, where she treated Jews and Arabs, Christians, and Muslims, and was elected an honorary member of the Israel Medical Association. Before her death, she bequeathed a sum of money for two purposes: establishing a rest home for elderly doctors in Rishon LeZion and completing the construction of the "Physicians' House" in Tel Aviv. After her death, she was buried in the Old Cemetery in Rishon LeZion. The "Physicians' House in Memory of Dr. Alexandra Belkind" in Rishon LeZion was inaugurated twenty years after her death, in 1963.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belkind, Sonia Gynaecologists 19th-century women physicians 19th-century Jews from the Russian Empire 1858 births 1943 deaths Jews from Ottoman Palestine Jews from Mandatory Palestine Immigrants of the First Aliyah

Biography

Further reading

See also

References