The Best School in Jerusalem: Annie Landau’s School for Girls, 1900–1960

2 | An English Girls’ School in Ottoman Jerusalem

41 {2} An English Girls’ School in Ottoman Jerusalem Annie Landau initiated several changes during the months she spent at the helm of the Evelina de Rothschild School while Fortunée Behar was away. Shortly after Behar’s return, Olga d’Avigdor, the honorary secretary of the Ladies’ Committee of the Anglo-Jewish Association, arrived in Jerusalem to review the conditions of the school. She was accompanied by Lucy Haynes, an expert in school administration, whose presence was an indication of the increasing professionalism with which the association approached its management responsibilities. D’Avigdor was empowered to make some changes on the spot and to recommend others to the association. It is possible that Landau had communicated some of the shortcomings of the school to the association,precipitating this inspection.D’Avigdor spent nearly three weeks in the city, most of the time at the Evelina de Rothschild School. She was a keen observer, and in addition to collecting personal impressions, she interviewed many people connected with the school. Her report, filed in February 1900, raised several concerns not addressed in previous reviews of the school, including its administration, finances, and accommodations for teachers.1 It also noted several concerns that had been indicated previously,such as deficiencies in the curriculum and the incompetence of some members of the staff.D’Avigdor’s comments were given serious attention by the Anglo-Jewish Association. Indeed, her visit established a pattern of close cooperation between the Ladies’ Committee and the leadership of the school that facilitated support in the face of repeated challenges in the coming decades. The first two items in d’Avigdor’s report were the admissions and promo- 42 · The Best School in Jerusalem tion procedures, both areas of concern noted by Landau. D’Avigdor pointed out that there was no regular procedure for admitting children, who were simply enrolled whenever they were presented by their parents for admission and placed in any classes that happened to have vacancies. Similarly, there was no procedure to promote pupils. As a result, some pupils stayed in the same class for two or more years, repeating the lessons learned during the previous year, while girls in the top class were allowed to repeat that class as many times as they liked, usually until they were betrothed. D’Avigdor recommended substantial changes in the admissions and promotion policies: only young children were to be admitted and thereafter promoted regularly.Wary that this change in procedure was likely to lead to disappointment in influential quarters,d’Avigdor reviewed the recommendation with the British consul,who diplomatically suggested that exceptions be made for the daughters of Turkish officials.In recognition of the importance of continued cooperation from local officials, d’Avigdor agreed.2 The lack of any system in admissions and promotion was also discovered in the accounting department.D’Avigdor found the accountant’s report to be useless because it failed to distinguish between credits and debits. She fired the accountant and arranged for Landau to take over the task of recording the school accounts in addition to her teaching duties,a move that was a clear vote of support for the young teacher.Behar’s casual disregard for maintaining academic and financial records would not have been tolerated by the Alliance Israélite Universelle, where she had been trained. In view of her earlier accomplishments in moving the school out of the Old City and later into Frutiger House, her negligence in later years remains a mystery. In addition to its administrative problems, the school had difficulty keeping experienced teachers. Foreign teachers who had no family in Jerusalem were hired with room and board, but the domestic arrangements for them were very poor. Since Behar lived with family members, she was unaware of the conditions in the teachers’ home. D’Avigdor’s investigation revealed that there was one servant to cook and clean,but the woman had little knowledge or skill in either area. Landau, who complained that the food was inedible, once became quite ill. The kitchen in the teachers’ lodging had none of the basics—no kitchen cloths, no plates, and only three teacups—and food was placed, Eastern style, on the floor, since there was no table. D’Avigdor fired the servant and An English Girls’ School in Ottoman Jerusalem · 43 hired Sophie Marx, an Orthodox German Jew, who took over the domestic arrangements and did some of...