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The Christian school in Israel teaching Jewish and Muslim children

3 June 2019

At a time when the world can seem polarised, a story of togetherness and tolerance has emerged from one of the most seemingly divided places in the world.

Forty miles from the Gaza Strip, in Israel’s port of Jaffa, there is a school which “welcomes all children regardless of race, nationality, gender or religion”.

Speaking on General Assembly, history teacher Darren Glick said, “I think it’s unique because of where it is in the world and what’s going on around us.”

How does a Christian school run by the Church of Scotland in Israel manage to include Christians, Jews and Muslims?

A look at Tabeetha School in Jaffa, Israel.

Tabeetha school, which is the only Church of Scotland school in the world, was founded in 1863 by Jane Walker-Arnott. Shocked at the level of female oppression she witnessed under Turkish rule, she decided to help the girls of Jaffa through education, though the now school welcomes both girls and boys.

Tabeetha School, Jaffa

The first pupils were of Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths and were invited into her home to be taught English, reading and writing.

Demand from the local community increased and within ten years Walker-Arnott was offered the help of Thomas Cook, the travel agent, who purchased a plot outside the walls of the old city of Jaffa. The new school building opened on this site in 1875.

“We promote Christian values and encourage faith without any coercion and every effort is made to be apolitical,” says Margaret MacDonald, the school’s principal.

“It doesn't matter what religion they come from, you can’t tell whether they’re Jewish, they’re Muslim, they’re nothing – they are all treated exactly the same.”