L'École normale israélite orientale (ENIO) was founded by the Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU) in 1865 in Paris and continues its activities today. Originally established as a teacher-training seminary to train educators for the AIU's global network of Jewish schools, the ENIO has since transitioned into a broader administrative and educational foundation (La Fondation ENIO). Today, the main campus in the 16th arrondissement of Paris holds the Centre Alliance Edmond J. Safra (CAEJS) and the Gustave Leven Primary School, while its secondary education branch operates off-site as the Collège-Lycée Alliance Georges Leven in the 12th arrondissement of Paris.
History Founding The École normale israélite orientale was established in 1865 by the AIU to address a shortage of qualified educators for its expanding global network of schools. The six founding members of the AIU and the ENIO: Aristide Astruc
Jules Carvallo Narcisse LevenHeadrick, I. S. (2022). The Web in the Tempest: The Experiences of the Teachers and School Directors of the Alliance Israélite Universelle during the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, 1906–11. Jewish Social Studies, 27(2), 89–116. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27283086 Eugène Manuel Charles Netter
Timeline Year Event 1860 Founding of the Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU)Britannica Editors (2009, February 2). Alliance Israélite Universelle. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Alliance-Israelite-Universelle 1862 The first primary school is established in Tétouan by the partnership between the AIU and a Jewish organization based in London. 1865-1867 The ENIO is established in 1865 for the training of teachers and in 1867 opens its doors for its first cohort of male students in Paris. 1877 Maurice Marx becomes Director of the ENIO. 1880 12 February 1880: The Fondation ENIO is established, public utility status granted & the first articles of statutes declared: 1) to receive the best students (male & female) from Jewish schools; 2) to advance proficiency in the French & Oriental languages; 3) to train students to teach primary eudcation & supervise Jewish vocational and agricultural training. 1897-1911 Israel Danon serves as director of the ENIO. 1913-1932 Albert Haim Navon serves as director of the ENIO. 1914-1918 World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire cause the closure of many AIU institutions, though enrollment numbers remain relatively stable thanks in part to the many schools in Morocco. 1947-1961 Emmanuel Levinas becomes director of the ENIO.Bergo, Bettina, "Emmanuel Levinas", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2025 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.): https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2025/entries/levinas He serves as director for about 35 years, albeit after 1961 in an emeritus capacity. 1997 École Georges Leven (a middle school) is installed on the main site and expands into a high school as well. 2010-2012 Alliance Europe Project initiated to expand across Europe 2011-2015 The AIU and the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation develop the Centre Alliance Edmond J. Safra on the Rue Michel Ange site of the main campus. This new facility includes a primary school (École élémentaire Alliance Gustave Leven), a research institute incorporating the AIU's vast library & archives, and a renovated synagogue/auditorium. The Collège/Lycée Alliance Georges Leven moves to the other campus at 30 boulevard Carnot 75012 Paris.
Enrollment Students are provided with room, board, clothing, and instruction, and compensated for travel expenses from their home locations to the school. In 1960, a new boarding facility, located near the school, was acquired for female students.(1960). Le Centenaire de l’Alliance Israélite Universelle. Le Monde Juif, 21-22(2), 68a-75. https://doi.org/10.3917/lmj.088.0068a. The school year 1959-1960 had 62 students enrolled. Prior to 1960, and since 1872, female students boarded at the Paris branch of the École/Institut Bischoffsheim,Land, J. (2010). École Normale Israélite Orientale, Paris. In Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_COM_0006910 an offshoot of the Brussels school of the same name founded by Jonathan-Raphaël Bischoffsheim, whose brother Louis-Raphaël founded the Paris branch.
Directors Maurice Marx (1877–1897) Israel Danon (1897–1911) Albert Haim Navon (1913–1932) Emmanuel Levinas (active 1947–1961, emertius until full retirement)
Alumni Ariel Wizman Jacques Essebag (best known as Arthur) Richard Orlinski
Notes
Further reading Chouraqui, A. (1965). "Cent ans d’histoire: L’Alliance Israélite Universelle et la renaissance juive contemporaine, 1860–1960." (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France). Danan, A. (2004). "Les instituteurs de l'Alliance israélite universelle (1860-1939) Étude à partir de l'outil informatique et statistique." Archives Juives, 37(1), 111-120. Hadar, G. (2021). "The Pluralistic Education of the Alliance Israélite Universelle: Language, Gender and Politics in Thessaloniki, 1873–1941," in Dina Moustani (ed.), Jewish Education in Southeastern Europe (Mid 19th-Mid 20th Century). Volos, University of Thessaly Press. Jarassé, D. (2003). Guide du patrimoine juif parisien, Paris, Parigramme/Compagnie parisienne du livre. Levinas, E. (1946). "La réouverture de l’École Normale Israélite Orientale." Les Cahiers de l’Alliance Israélite Universelle. Paix et Droit, 11, 2-3. Levinas, E. (1957). "L’École Normale Israélite Orientale." Les Cahiers de l’Alliance israélite universelle, 110, 17. Navon, A.H. Les 70 ans de l'École normale israélite orientale (1865-1935). Paris: Librairie Durlacher, 1935. Rodrigue, A. (1993). "Images of Sephardi and Eastern Jewries in Transition: The Teachers of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, 1860–1939." Seattle: University of Washington Press. Silberman, P. (1973). “An Investigation of the Schools Operated by the Alliance Israélite Universelle from 1862–1940." Ph.D. diss., New York University. Winter, J. (2012). "René Cassin and the Alliance Israélite Universelle." Modern Judaism, 32(1), 1–21. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23256708
See also Abraham Danon – a 19th-century professor of Hebrew at the École normale israélite orientale
References
External links Le Groupe Alliance at the AIU's official site, summarizing the history of the École normale israélite orientale Alliance Israélite Universelle at the Jewish Virtual Library Association Amicale des Anciens Elèves de l'ENIO - Alumni association for the ENIO Levinas as a Jewish educator - Article specifically about Emmanuel Levinas's rich involvement at the ENIO