HISTORIC: Couple donates $180 million to build Israel’s ‘Tower of Hope’

Officials called the Harlap family’s gift a transformational landmark for Israeli healthcare and medical research.

By JNS

Prominent philanthropists Anat and Dr. Shmuel Harlap have pledged $180 million to Rabin Medical Center–Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tivkah, marking the largest single donation ever made to Israel’s public health-care system, the facility announced on Wednesday.

The contribution will fund the construction of a state-of-the-art Heart and Brain Center, to be called the “Tower of Hope” (Migdal HaTikvah).

Scheduled to open in early 2027, the 15‑floor, 70,000‑square‑meter facility will add 300 beds and eight specialized departments, effectively doubling the current capacity of the hospital’s existing inpatient tower.

It will integrate advanced cardiology and neurology care, including national transplant units, cutting-edge surgical suites and AI-assisted diagnostic systems.

At the signing ceremony, the Israeli couple said the tower’s name symbolized unity in a divided society:

“A public hospital best represents the healing of divisions in Israeli society. The Tower of Hope will serve every community—secular, religious, Muslim, Christian, Druze and Circassian—standing as a beacon of healing for all.”

Dr. Eytan Wirtheim, CEO of Rabin Medical Center, praised the gift as “an extraordinary act of national mission” that will place the center at the forefront of global medicine. Clalit Health Services Chairman Yochanan Locker said the donation reflects trust in Israel’s medical teams, while Acting CEO Ornit Bar Tal noted it would address rising demand in cardiology and neurology nationwide.

The Heart Center will include expanded ICUs, transplant services and specialized outpatient clinics, while the Brain Center will launch Israel’s first integrated stroke command center, innovative neurosurgery units and a dedicated brain research institute.

Beilinson, founded in 1936, is one of Israel’s largest hospitals and performs more organ transplants than any other institution in the country.

Officials called the Harlap family’s gift a transformational landmark for Israeli healthcare and medical research.