Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia, 2006

Moreshet Journal for the Study of the Holocaust and Antisemitism, 2021

Rachel Wischnitzer (née Bernstein) 4 was born to an assimilated middle-class Jewish family in Minsk, the largest city in Belarus (at the time Czarist Russia), on April 14, 1885. Her parents were Vladimir Grigorivitch and Sophie (Halpern) Bernstein, both of whom considered themselves progressive Jews in the spirit of the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskalah). Rachel's mother actually came from the prominent rabbinical family Landau, which traces its roots to the great medieval exegete Rashi (1040-1105)-an ancestry Rachel was most proud of. Rachel's father was a successful lumber merchant, a business he inherited from his father, Gutman (Grigori) Bernstein (it was his wife, Rachel Bernstein, Rachel's paternal grandmother, that she was named after). When the business collapsed, Rachel's father became an insurance agent and moved to Warsaw. Though the family was not observant, they kept major Jewish holidays, and as a child Rachel was sent to study Hebrew. As in other enlightened modern Jewish families of the time (maskilim), her father urged Rachel and her only sibling, her younger brother 3 For printed accounts of her biography, including her own memoirs, see (in the order they appeared): R. Wischnitzer,

Mediterranean Journal of Humanities

Alliance Israelite Universelle, established in the capital of France, Paris, in 1860, embarked on a rapid schooling activity in the Middle East. The schools opened in cities such as Tangier (Morocco), Thessaloniki and Istanbul were followed by the Mikveh Israel Agricultural School opened in Jaffa in 1870. Charles Netter, one of the 6 founders of the society, established this school. With the opening of the school, it was planned to raise agricultural experts in order to carry out more qualified agriculture and animal husbandry in Jaffa. Furthermore, this school, which is hoped to make a significant contribution to the establishment of a Jewish state in the time to come, was named Mikveh Israel, that is, Israel's Hope. Thanks to the economic and political support of the society and wealthy Jewish families such as Rothschild and Hirsch, the school achieved a remarkable success in agriculture over time. Theoretical and applied courses were scheduled for 7 years in order to teach Eu...