Mikveh Israel Agricultural School

Abstract

Alliance Israelite Universelle, established in the capital of France, Paris, in 1860, embarked on a rapid schooling activity in the Middle East. The schools opened in cities such as Tangier (Morocco), Thessaloniki and Istanbul were followed by the Mikveh Israel Agricultural School opened in Jaffa in 1870. Charles Netter, one of the 6 founders of the society, established this school. With the opening of the school, it was planned to raise agricultural experts in order to carry out more qualified agriculture and animal husbandry in Jaffa. Furthermore, this school, which is hoped to make a significant contribution to the establishment of a Jewish state in the time to come, was named Mikveh Israel, that is, Israel's Hope. Thanks to the economic and political support of the society and wealthy Jewish families such as Rothschild and Hirsch, the school achieved a remarkable success in agriculture over time. Theoretical and applied courses were scheduled for 7 years in order to teach European style agriculture to students. Being in the limelight thanks to its stable and disciplined education, non-Jewish families had started to enroll their children in the school. Failure to take deterrent measures against school administrators who did not hesitate to act against the Education Regulations declared in 1869 and 1885 by the Ottoman State paved the way for the harmful activities of the school increasingly. In the preparation phase of this study, the main sources in the Presidency Ottoman Archives, research/analysis works in Turkish and English were utilized. Thus, in addition to the activities of the aforementioned school in the field of education, the study gives information about its contributions to Zionist activities until the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.