In this paper we examine lobotomy operations in mandatory Palestine and Israel
between 1946 and 1960. The aim is to reconstruct the circumstances in which these
operations were done, and to examine: which patients were lobotomized and why; how
lobotomy was perceived by the local psychiatric profession; and the reasons for its
decline. Apart from shedding new light on the history of lobotomy, which is usually
analysed from the viewpoint of the USA and Europe, this study provides an
opportunity to investigate the relation between various concepts of the healthy and
ill body in the unique context of Israel, as an immigrant country influenced by its
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