Jerusalem College of Technology’s Nursing School Renamed

The Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT) announced on November 24 that it is renaming the nationally renowned nursing school to the Selma Jelinek School of Nursing.

After receiving a generous gift from Atta and Henry Zieleniec, JCT will use the funds to construct a four-story, 60,000-square-foot building equipped with advanced medical simulation training labs, lecture halls, classrooms, faculty offices and a library on JCT’s new Tal Campus for Women.

“We are profoundly grateful to Atta and Henry Zieleniec for their generous gift to our nursing school and our new Tal Campus for Women,” JCT President and Professor Chaim Sukenik said in a statement. “The coronavirus pandemic has reminded us all of the critical importance of nursing and medical infrastructure. This gift will help provide the country with thousands of highly skilled medical personnel for decades to come.”

Established in 1969, the JCT is one of Israel’s most prestigious academic institutions, focusing on science and technology. JCT is the only institution of higher learning committed to providing the highest quality academic education to diverse segments of Israeli society who would not otherwise have had the opportunity to enter these fields. JCT offers exclusive programs developed for everyone, including Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men and women.

The new Tal Campus will be the permanent home for up to 3,000 of JCT’s female students in nursing, computer science, electro-optics, industrial engineering, accounting and management. The campus will provide increased opportunities for national religious, Haredi and Ethiopian women to pursue higher education and attain employment in Jerusalem’s high-tech industries.

The school is being named in memory of Atta’s mother, Holocaust survivor Selma Jelinek, who was affectionately known as “Nurse Selma.” Jelinek escaped the Nazi annihilation of the Jewish presence in Koretz and became a nurse in the Russian army. While she was a nurse she took care of Alex, a Russian tank commander and an officer who was injured in battle, and got married after recovery.

The school is being named in memory of Atta’s mother, Holocaust survivor Selma Jelinek, who was affectionately known as “Nurse Selma.”

Inspired by her parents, Atta thought the naming of JCT’s nursing school would be the most fitting tribute to her mother — whose legacy is more relevant than ever amid Israel’s rising cases of COVID-19.

In March, JCT has trained 600 third- and fourth-year nursing students in respiratory care within just one week. Then, in April, more than 30 of JCT’s nursing students started working in nursing homes across Israel, drawing from their college’s expertise as the only academic institution in Israel that offers a master’s degree course in nursing with a clinical specialization in geriatrics.

JCT’s School of Nursing hosts more than 1,000 students annually. It is widely recognized as the country’s premier nursing program, having received the Health Ministry’s National Prize for Excellence and ranking first among 24 nursing departments nationwide.