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Israeli health-care’s largest-ever donation to build ‘Tower of Hope’

Dr. Shmuel and Anat Harlap’s $180 million gift to Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Hospital will fund a state-of-the-art heart and brain center.

Rabin Medical Center
From right: Dr. Eytan Wirtheim, Professor Ran Kornowsky, Professor Eitan Uriel, Anat and Dr. Shmuel Harlap, Professor Sagi Harnof, and Professor Erez Sharoni pose at Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah, Israel, Aug. 27, 2025, during the announcement of the largest-ever donation to an Israeli hospital. Photo by Elad Gutman.

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.

Rabin Medical Center
Dr. Shmuel and Anat Harlap tour the construction site of the new Heart and Brain Center at Rabin Medical Center–Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah, Israel, on Aug. 27, 2025. Photo by Elad Gutman.

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.

Rabin Medical Center
An architectural rendering shows the planned Tower of Hope Heart and Brain Center at Rabin Medical Center–Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah, Israel, set to open in 2027 following a record $180 million donation. Credit: RMC Spokesperson.

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.

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