By Ruthi Soudack

One of SAE’s most exciting events at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year was the official opening of the Shoshanim Science and Arts School for Haredi Girls. The ceremony, which included the unveiling of the school’s dedicatory plaque, was held on August 30th in the presence of Mr. Nir Barkat, Mayor of Jerusalem.

Shoshanim is Israel’s first science and arts high school for Haredi girls, combining religious values with the education required for a quality matriculation certificate, while focusing on the sciences and arts.

The school is located on the “Neve Yerushalayim” campus in the Har Nof neighborhood, and operates under the auspices of the Society for Advancement of Education, which established Shoshanim in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Jerusalem Municipality.

Following the unveiling of the dedicatory plaque, the mayor, key individuals in the municipal department of education (including Aviv Keinan, Head of the Education Authority, and Yael Elimelech, Director of the Authority’s Haredi Division), Eitan Moran, SAE’s Executive Director, Michal Shavit, SAE’s Director of Educational Development, Vered Bachar, founder and principal of Shoshanim, and the school’s pedagogic staff, students and parents met for a moving event, to highlight the historic process that led to the opening of this important and pioneering educational framework.

SAE is grateful to the JCF of Southern Arizona, and donors in Israel and the United States, for their support of Shoshanim.