Evelina de Rothschild School

The Evelina de Rothschild School was the first Jewish school for girls in Israel.[1]

Founding and Early Years (1854-1899)

The school was founded in 1854 in the Old City of Jerusalem by Dr. Albert Cohen. The students learned domestic tasks such as sewing and knitting.[2] Baron Lionel de Rothschild became the school's patron in 1867, naming it after his daughter Evelina who had died the previous year. The Anglo-Jewish Association took control of the school in 1962, out of a desire to influence the developing cultural character of Israel, although the baron continued to make a donation of £800 to the school every year.

The school served a diverse population; there were both Ashkenazi and Sephardi students, as well as students who were Moroccan, Karaite, and Armenian Christian. The school was overseen by the nearby Rothschild Hospital, in the Old City of Jerusalem. In 1886, Dr. Yitzchak Schwartz, who oversaw the hospital, submitted the following report regarding the school:

150 girls – 6 to 14 years of age – attended the school. 100 of them received a daily meal of soup, vegetables, and bread, and twice weekly of meat. One teacher gave lessons in Hebrew reading and writing, likewise two mistresses gave lessons in French reading and writing as well as math, also during the summer term there were some lessons in geography and natural history and three mistresses taught needlework, including dressmaking and sewing.

— Dr. Yitzchak Schwartz to Leopold Rothschild

Administration

When in 1888 the Rothschild Hospital moved into a larger building outside of the Old City, the Rothschilds appointed Fortunée Behar as the school's first headmistress. When Behar resigned in 1899, Annie Landau became the new headmistress of the school.[3] She was awarded an M.B.E. on the occasion of the King’s birthday by Sir Herbert Samuel, British High Commissioner in 1924.[4] Landau served as the headmistress from 1899–1945. When she died in 1945, vice principal Ethel Levy took over the position, leading the school through the tumultuous establishment of the State of Israel. Levy retired in 1960.[3] Dr. Beverly Gribetz was awarded a Sylvan Adams Nefesh B’Nefesh Bonei Zion Prize in 2019 for her work as principal of the Evelina de Rothschild-Tehilla Secondary School.[5][6]

References
  1. "Evelina de Rothschild Elementary School". projects.jerusalemfoundation.org. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  2. "Bookstamp of Evelina de Rothschild Girls' School · WUSTL Digital Gateway Image Collections & Exhibitions". omeka.wustl.edu. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  3. Schor, Laura S. (2013). The Best School in Jerusalem. Waltham, Massachusetts: Brandeis University.
  4. "Palestine Telegraphic Agency Despatches". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 1924-01-01. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  5. "2019 Bonei Zion Prize Recipients". Nefesh B'Nefesh. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  6. Oster, Marcy. "7 Anglo immigrants to receive achievement award". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2020-06-02.

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