Jewish Women in Ottoman Education and the Activities of the Alliance Israélite Universelle: The Case of İstanbul (1839-1916)

Abstract

Throughout history, education and training activities have not only contributed to the culturalization processes of societies but have also been instrumental for them to gain a sense of community, to keep up with the times, and to simply exist. The development of these activities is greatly influenced by the times in which they occur. The modernization phase experienced throughout the world in the 19th century also had an impact on educational activities, which is an important factor in political, economic, military, and social existence. Thus, the aim, scope and structure of education have changed, bringing the traditional system to a new and modern level. The Ottoman State was one of the countries where this transformation was intensively experienced. The legal and legislative developments of the 19th century not only served as the lawful ground for the country's modernization process, but also constituted the legal basis for modern education and training. Following these developments, the transformation in the field of education took place on a legal ground and was encouraged. In this context, the educational activities of the Ottoman Jewish community also underwent a shift. In the past, community schools, which developed around religion and ensured the religious and cultural continuity of Jews for centuries, were operating as a part of the religious institutions and under the control of the religious authorities. In this system, Jewish women had no place in education, and they mainly received religious instructions and skill-based trainings in their homes. This paper investigates in the light of documents the change in this mentality as well as the educational contributions of the Jewish communities' working women in Istanbul and their areas of activity, the degree of effectiveness of the Chief Rabbinate, which had the say over the understanding of traditional education, with the Ottoman modernization, and the support of the Alliance Israélite Universelle to the women educators and the schools. In conclusion, it has been determined that most of the educational institutions for Jewish girls in Istanbul belonged to and survived with the support of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, and that willing Jewish women prepared Jewish girls for the socio-economic aspect of life, made them an active part of the modern society, taught them Ottoman Turkish as well as other foreign languages, and integrated them, again in accordance with the Alliance's wishes, into the French culture.