Abstract
The Institute for Research on Eretz Israel at Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, in collaboration with the
Research Institute for Zionism and Settlement, Jewish National Fund (KKL), the Melton
Center for Jewish Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Constantiner Chair
for Jewish Education, the School of Education at Tel Aviv University, and the HadassahBrandeis Institute, are organizing an international conference on girls education and
processes of modernization in Jerusalem from 1854 to 2014. The conference marks 160
years since the establishment of the Evelina de Rothschild School for girls in Jerusalem and
will provide an opportunity for close examination of the gender aspects of an array of
educational issues that pertain to different sectors of the population. Girls' education will be
examined as a challenge for those different sectors – Jews, Muslims and Christians – and as
an agent of change that seeks to bring about modernization. Simultaneous translation into
English and Hebrew will be provided during sessions. Participants will include researchers
from Israel and abroad from a wide range of disciplines who will present recent studies. A
closing panel, a Women's Parliament, will host leading women from different areas of
public activity and will be preceded by a tour of the historic women workers farm and the
women pioneers house in the Yad Ben-Zvi compound, and an overview of the educational
activities of Rachel Yanait Ben-Zvi.