34,000 Jewish Children Enrolled in Jewish Schools in Palestine

There are 34,154 children enrolled in the Jewish schools in Palestine, according to statistics made available by the American Palestine Campaign. The figures were made public in connection with the opening of the new school year in this country, with an appeal for funds to make possible the continuance of the Jewish Agency institutions.

Of the total number of Palestinian school children, 23,145 are in schools maintained directly by the funds of the Jewish Agency. This marks an increase over the 22,533 reported in the previous year. Due to the decline in income of the Jewish Agency, the education budget was reduced to £109,443, as contrasted with the budget of £132,847 of the year before.

According to the American Palestine Campaign statement, the following schools are maintained by the Jewish Agency: 140 kindergartens, 110 elementary schools, and 6 other schools, comprising teachers’ seminaries and trade schools. The Jewish Agency employs 917 teachers. More than 100 of the schools are located in three cities: Jerusalem, which has 35, Tel Aviv, 50, and Haifa, 17.

In a statement accompanying the statistics, Louis Lipsky, National Chairman of the American Palestine Campaign, said:

“One of the most important functions of the Jewish Agency is the maintenance in Palestine of the educational structure which is so vital a part of the Jewish National Home. One of the gravest aspects of the critical financial situation faced by the Jewish Agency today is the possibility that the great majority of these schools may have to be closed down, thus depriving tens of thousands of children of the technical and intellectual equipment they must have to participate adequately in the upbuilding of the Jewish homeland. I hope that American Jewry will provide the funds to avert such an eventuality.”