Education and Teaching 

The Alliance Israélite Universelle was created in 1860 by a small group of French Jews attached to the ideals of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. Among them, a rabbi, a lawyer, an educator and Adolphe Crémieux, deputy, later Minister of Justice and great lawyer, who was convinced that the defense of the universalist values of Judaism coincided with the struggle for the Republic, democracy and secularism. The Alliance is built on the conviction of a proximity between Jewish humanism and French universalism. 

The Alliance's goal is to defend human rights, support any attacked religion and to above all create a huge school network on three continents: Europe, Africa, Asia. On the eve of the First World War, it had 183 schools in 90 cities  

It was in Morocco in Tétouan where the first Alliance school was created in 1862. It rapidly developed its school network there. And for good reason: with 80,000 Jews at the end of the 19th century, Morocco was home to the largest Jewish community in the Mediterranean basin. Later there would be 350,000 on the eve of Morocco's independence in 1956. In 1912, more than 5,000 children were already enrolled at the Alliance in 19 boys 'schools and 12 girls' schools, across the country. There were nearly 19,000 in 1937. These schools provided a very modern education in French. Schools would help the emancipation of boys and girls through literacy, through trilingual education (French, Hebrew and Arabic - the latter, after 1945) and through diversified learning (technical and agricultural trades). They would also ensure the transmission of traditional Jewish values. 

Gradually, most of the schools were closing due to the departure of the Jews. Still today, three establishments operate in Casablanca, welcoming Jewish and Muslim children and constituting an extraordinary model of living together. 

You can of course find all the documents from this exhibition on our digital library.