The Psychiatric Hospital in Akko as an Allegory of Psychiatry in Israel

Abstract

This article describes the rise and fall of the psychiatric hospital in the Akko Fortress in northern Israel that opened shortly after Israel gained independence. The hospital is emblematic of the way psychiatric hospitals began in the early years of the state, and as such can serve as an example of the image that psychiatric illnesses and psychiatric patients had in the burgeoning society and even among some of its authorities. These issues are exemplified in Knesset (Israeli Parliament) discussions on the hospitalization of mentally ill patients in the Akko Fortress where several members of the Jewish underground were executed near the end of the British rule in Palestine. The authors argue that the poor image of the mental health profession and psychiatric patients in Israel unfortunately still exists.