Jewish Thessaloniki Featured in Alliance Virtual Museum

One of the most significant, oldest organizations in Jewish history that has helped to shape education, Zionism, Hebrew, and Jewish identity, is represented in a new virtual museum.

Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU), founded in France in 1860, is a global network of Jewish schools known for excellence in education, Jewish and Zionist values, and a strong community. The Israeli division is called, Kol Israel Haverim (KIAH), "All Israel friends" (meaning, all of Israel are friends).

“The organization was established as a result of antisemitism," explained Hani Mimrame, VP of Society and Policy, Alliance-Kol Israel Haverim (KIAH). “There were seven prominent, French-educated Jews that wanted to help the Jewish people, so they started the organization."

The Jewish founders, according to the virtual museum: Isidore Cahen (1826-1902); Jacob Adolphe Crémieux (1796 - 1879); Eugène Manuel (1823 -1901); Charles-Yaacov Netter (1826-1882); Jules Carvallo (1820 - 1916); Nathan-Narcisse Leven (1833-1915;) Élie-Aristide Astruc (1831-1905).

The founders realized that in order to make a significant impact, and provide maximum assistance to the Jewish people, they also needed to incorporate education, according to Mimrame.

A total of 280 Alliance schools were in operation, mainly in the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Europe. The first one opened in Tétouan, Morocco in 1862. "It’s an organization that has worked with more than 1 million people over the years, and there are currently about 2.5 million people linked to the organization in Israel and around the world," explained Mimrame.

Alliance became a huge network, a network of leaders, explained Mimrame. "The ability to learn and speak Hebrew was because of the school, the support and the funding, all of the resources that provided Eliezer Ben-Yehuda with a dictionary and a system."

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, famous for modernizing and reviving the Hebrew language, taught Hebrew for a short time at Alliance in Jerusalem beginning in 1882. He used the Alliance language teaching method already put in place for Hebrew and French across the school system.

Today there are only about 15 affiliated schools, according to Mimrame. “After World War II and the Holocaust, and after the State of Israel was established, the center of the organization was moved to Morocco and then to Israel, but Alliance schools still operate in Morocco and France."

"A couple of years ago we stopped operating the last Alliance school in Israel," Mimrame explained. The only Alliance-affiliated schools left in Israel are three that are located in Mikveh Israel, Central Israel, and are run as a joint partnership between Kol Israel Haverim and the State of Israel.

"The organization still works with schools in general," Mimrame added. "We work with 150 schools, and each year we work with about 40,000 pupils and parents. We are in the process of connecting additional partners and distributing to additional audiences, such as examining collaborations with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture."

Virtual Museum, Alliance-Kol Israel Haverim

Alliance Virtual Museum (Screenshot)

---

Kol Israel Haverim not only wanted to continue integrating the programs into the school system, but also have a central place to preserve Alliance's history, to showcase individual stories, and to connect the Alliance community.

They decided the best way to accomplish this was to establish the Alliance Museum, a virtual museum which they launched in December 2024. The virtual tours are in three languages, Hebrew, French and Spanish. English will be incorporated in the future.

There are countless Jewish people that have greatly contributed to their communities and to the State of Israel, but their stories are not well known. The information, photos, and documents were in archives, or in private libraries, according to Mimrame.

“We started to connect names, dates, and events. We searched the main archives, most of them in French, so it was difficult to start the research, but we started to develop the main hall. We wanted it to be like a real museum," explained Mimrame.

They also worked with an architect to design the facade of the museum exterior, modeled after Alliance school buildings from around the world, so it would be relatable and familiar to the school community. As a virtual museum exclusively, it also sets the tone for many museums of the future.

"It’s the first time that there is a virtual tour in a place that doesn’t [physically] exist.”

The museum explores the history of the Alliance communities and the Jewish history specific to each one, but not through the eyes of a museum curator.

“The way we tell the story is different. We don’t tell the story chronologically. We tell it through people," Mimrame explained. "Each community had a very specific, special and different story with its connection to Alliance, and we wanted to tell the story of the communities and the people."

Main entrance of the Alliance Virtual Museum. (Screenshot)

---

The main exhibition at the entrance is about the establishment of the school and the communities. When you enter the museum, you can choose the order of the self-guided tour. They have an exhibition on Tétouan, Morocco, where the first Alliance school opened, and an exhibition on Damascus, Syria and Thessaloniki, Greece, with more to be added over time.

Alliance Virtual Museum library with AI features to help connect Alliance members with information and history. (Screenshot)

---

Information can also be searched through their new AI library. "We launched the library exhibition two months ago, and it includes an exhibit that connects the families of Alliance alumni and a catalog of books and articles related to the history of the communities and the organization. It includes an innovative exhibit that uses AI technology and enables information search," Mimrame explained.

Alliance in Thessaloniki, Greece

Iconic White Tower, Thessaloniki, Greece, (Photo: © Israel Sites and Sights / © Janis Raisen)

---

Thessaloniki, Greece was once a Jewish metropolis, with Alliance opening its first Jewish school there in 1873, a boy's school.

Electra Palace Hotel, located in Aristotelous Square is the former site of the first Alliance Jewish School in Thessaloniki, Greece. It was built in 1873, and was part of the Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU), founded in Paris in 1860. (Photo: © Israel Sites and Sights / © Janis Raisen)

---

Electra Palace Hotel, located in Aristotelous Square, Thessaloniki Greece, is the former site of the first Alliance Jewish School in Thessaloniki. It opened in 1873, and was part of the Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU), founded in Paris in 1860. There were nine Alliance schools in Thessaloniki, which had thousands of students, according to Mimrame.

"People know about Thessaloniki through Greek music and the Holocaust, but they don’t know there was such a great community there that was almost completely wiped out in the Holocaust and a lot of material was damaged during the big fire in 1917," explained Mimrame.

“We found letters that were written to the community and to the Alliance School."

Cousins Leon Recanati and Dr. Yitzhak Recanati, respectively, offer deep insight into their family in a video, which is part of the Thessaloniki exhibition that Leon Recanati was instrumental in implementing. (Screenshots)

---

Cousins Leon Recanati and Dr. Yitzhak Recanati, respectively, offer deep insight into their family in a video, which is part of the Thessaloniki exhibition, an exhibition that Leon Recanati was instrumental in implementing. They spoke about their grandfathers (who were brothers), their Jewish, Zionistic, strong educational values, and deep connections to the Alliance community. They also told of their grandfathers' prominent legacies in the Jewish community both in Thessaloniki and in Israel.

Leon Recanati's grandfather, Leon Yehuda Recanati, was a student at Alliance, and later became an educator there. He was a Zionist, philanthropist, community and business leader. His story, as well as the history of the Jews of Thessaloniki are featured at The Salonika and Greek Jewry Heritage Center in Memory of Leon Recanati (1890-1945). Dr. Yitzhak Recanati's grandfather, Avraham Recanati, was a student at Alliance in Thessaloniki, with the same Zionist and Jewish values as his brother, but with a more religious upbringing. He was a leader, researcher and educator.

Map inside the Alliance Virtual Museum. The dot that appears in pink, is the location of the Thessaloniki exhibition. (Screenshot)

---

There are additional videos and stories on the Jews of Thessaloniki and their connection to Alliance “There is an exhibition that tells the story of the leadership of the Alliance, people that graduated from the Alliance school and became leaders in Thessaloniki, around the world and here in Israel," Mimrame explained.

Since the virtual museum launched last year, 217k people clicked on the museum virtual site, of which 80k entered the museum, and 60,862k passed the first stage of the introductory video, according to Mimrame. "About 6,000 people were exposed to the story of Thessaloniki from the main lobby and the exhibition," she added.

“The story of Alliance is a national story of the Jewish people. It’s a story of pride, of people that had a vision, and helped others," Mimrame said. "It’s a story of mutual community, mutual love, which is something we need here in Israel and in the Jewish world. It’s an example of how when you work together and you help people, you can accomplish a lot."