The sequence of events

 

The need to establish a dental school was known before the establishment of the State of Israel, prior to the opening of the Hebrew University Medical School.

 

1945

The Jewish Dental Association in Israel appointed a dental school planning committee to function as part of the planned medical school.

 

1944

At the annual meeting of the Alpha Omega Fellowship in New York, Dr. Bernhard Gottlieb learned of the need to establish a dental school. Dr. Irving Goldstein of Atlanta, Georgia, appointed Abraham Cohen of Philadelphia, formerly president of the fraternity, as its first chairman The Palestine Dental School Committee.

 

1946

Dr. Shmuel Levin-Epstein (who came to Palestine in 1918 as one of the 44 members of the American Jewish Medical Unit who built the foundations of modern oudontology in Israel) traveled to the United States to meet the Alpha Omega leadership and ask for their immediate action to establish a medical school Since then, despite the geographical distance, the Planning Committee of the Alpha-Omega Company and the Planning Committee of the Jewish Dental Federation in Israel have acted in close coordination.

 

1947

There was general agreement in the Board of Governors of the Hebrew University that a dental school should be established with the operation of the medical school.

The War of Independence, in 1948, cut off the construction of the medical school on Mount Scopus, and when the war was over, it was no longer possible to use the hospital on Mount Scopus, and the Hebrew University continued to function in unsuitable hostels scattered throughout the city

 

1949

When Hadassah and the Hebrew University began working to establish a new medical center in Ein Kerem, representatives of the Alpha Omega Fellowship met with the management of Hadassah and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to coordinate efforts to purchase dental facilities. Originally, one of the two floors of the proposed building was supposed to serve as a dental clinic. For this purpose, Alpha Omega undertook to raise an initial sum of $ 300,000.

Meanwhile, on the recommendation of Hadassah president Lula Kremersky, former president of Hadassah, Miriam Freund, and medical director Dr. Kalman Mann, Hadassah agreed to allocate a place to the dental school, which will operate temporarily in the Strauss Health Center in the heart of Jerusalem.

The head of the school was Prof. Shaki, who served in this position between 1954 and 1954. In 1964, when the school was awarded the status of a faculty, Prof. Shaki was elected as the first Kikanah, and served as dean until 1969.

Hadassah took upon itself the financial burden of maintaining the clinic and paying the salaries of the clinical staff. In the meantime, Alpha Omega has begun to seek funding for the establishment of a permanent residence for the School of Dental Medicine. The National Secretary of the Brotherhood, Bernard Gruber, was appointed Chairman of the School of Dental Medicine, Harry Selden as Chair of Special Donations and Bernard Spiro as Vice Chairman.

 

1952

At the 11th International Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency. In London, a world federation was set up to establish a dental clinic in Israel, with the aim of equipping and maintaining a temporary clinic at the Hebrew University until a permanent dental school is established.

 

1953

ALPHA Omega donated $ 30,000 to the Fund (the Israel Dental Association and the Ministry of Health contributed to this fund) to enable the first class of 15 students to attend a temporary dental school, of which 12 completed their studies in 1959.

 

1958

When it became clear that the limited place allocated at the medical school was not enough, Alpha Omega donated $ 300,000 to the Hebrew University out of the $ 1,500,000 needed to build the school. The construction of the four-story building began in 1962 and was completed in 1964. The building, made possible thanks to the ceaseless efforts of the Alpha Omega people, especially the Salden Mountains and Bernard Gruber, and the generosity of the New York Kaplan Institute, was formally dedicated on August 11 to Ida and Maurice Levin.

After the opening of the school, the number of students increased significantly (42 completed their studies in 1977, compared to 12 in 1959). This increase requires an addition to the existing building, in order to establish additional clinics and to enable new programs for teaching. Continuing education programs were also initiated in all areas of specialization.

Despite being a young institution, the institution was blessed with an outstanding team that succeeded in creating, within a short period of time, an international reputation for excellence.

The graduates of the Faculty of Dental Medicine in Jerusalem played a major role in the establishment of the School of Dental Medicine at Tel Aviv University. Some of the faculty's graduates also serve as deans and / or department heads in the Faculty of Dental Medicine in Jerusalem.

 

Throughout the years of the faculty's existence: