Charity and Social Networks: The Haifa Infant Welfare Association During the British Mandate in Palestine

The Haifa Infant Welfare Association (HIWA) was a charitable endeavor run by women. Examining the intersection of medicine, charity, and gender within the context of colonial power dynamics, we argue: first, that the HIWA played an instrumental role in consolidating social networks among Haifa’s elites; second, that its durability was facilitated by its relative marginality within intra-Palestinian politics; third, that its Infant Welfare Centers’ operation was an outcome of British policy of minimal investment, as it alleviated some of the colonial administration’s responsibilities; fourth, that the HIWA operated within a gendered set of interactions between British and Palestinian elite women, between the centers and aid recipients, and between HIWA members and Haifa’s elites; and, fifth, that we trace a shift in the 1940s, as Palestinian participants became more dominant and the HIWA expanded its activities. Our sources include HIWA files in the Khayat Family Archives, the Palestinian press, the Israel State Archive, and Save the Children Fund publications.