II. The Alliance in Monastir
The creation of a communal school for Jewish children dates back to 1879 in Monastir, but the number of places was limited. After the arrival of the director appointed by the Alliance, the school experienced an increase in its staff and the administration could not meet the demand for new registrations due to the inadequacy of the building. The new director, David Lévy, played a crucial role in the construction of a new building with cooperation of the local community and the Central Committee of the AIU.
Following the grant of 10,000 francs from the Alliance, the Boys’ school was registered with the name Zadoc Kahn, Chief Rabbi of France and member of the Central Committee of the AIU. The inauguration took place the 24th of September of 1896, but the premises did not open to students until the 9th of December 1896, because the foreign status of the owner of the establishment required obtaining imperial permission.
On the other hand, the presence of girl students sharing the same room with boys required the creation of a new school for girls, but this project remained on hold for years for financial reasons due to the economic crisis and the fire affecting a quarter of the Jewish population in 1898. The Girls’ School project was started under the direction of David Arié (1902-1908) and carried out thanks to grants from various actors in 1904. Georges Leven, another member of the AIU Central Committee, was declared the official owner of the Girls’ School.
Ultimately, the AIU was associated with the community life and was anchored in chartable missions. Besides its school program, the food and clothing programs helped poor students to give them a midday meal every day and to dress them at least once a year during the easter period. The photo of the male students in uniform in front of the Girls’ School reveals this charitable role of the AIU: more than half had been dressed by the grants of the Central Committee and monastic charity association. According to the letter from director Joseph Bensimhon (1911-1914), the photo was taken after Easter on the feast day of the AIU in May 1912.