Universal Israelite Alliance, Hafsia, rue du Tribunal
The Alliance israélite universelle was founded in 1860 in Paris with the aim of fighting for Jewish rights throughout the world and defending Jews wherever they were persecuted. The Alliance set up a French-language educational network in the Middle East and North Africa, where Jewish children could receive a western education steeped in French language and culture. On the eve of the First World War, the Alliance had set up in these regions 183 schools with 43,700 students of both sexes.
The Alliance Israélite Universelle boys’ school on Rue Malta Sghira was so popular that it led to the opening of a second Alliance school for boys in Tunis. This time a site inside the Hara was chosen in order to recruit poorer Jewish children. The building was designed by Raymond Valensi an engineer-architect, who was vice-president of the Municipality of Tunis (1883–1887). He was committed to the work of the Alliance, serving as Regional Committee President for several years. Valensi often used his training as an architect to assist in the design, construction or renovation of Alliance properties. His name appears on the building’s façade. In 1910, the boys’ school opened on Rue de la Hafsia, welcoming 1 064 pupils. As early as 1913 it had begun to admit girls. During the 1920s, the novelist Vitalis Danon was director. Danon’s best-known novella, Ninette de la Rue du Péché, is a powerful portrayal of the complexities of Tunisian-Jewish life.
The school existed until 1964. Since the Revolution of 2011, multiple low-income families have lived in the building.
