In 1945, Syrian-born
Isaac Shalom of New York City, together with
Joseph Shamah of
Jerusalem and
Ezra Teubal of
Buenos Aires, worked together to develop a way to offset what they saw as Jewish spiritual decline and intellectual impoverishment in Mandate Palestine and the Mideast. They founded Ozar Hatorah as a non-profit organization in
Jerusalem under the chairmanship of Joseph Shamah.
Mandate Palestine and Mideast Ozar Hatorah first operated in what was then Mandate Palestine, opening 29 schools. After the establishment of the
State of Israel in 1947, Ozar Hatorah ceased its operations in Israel. It began developing schools in Jewish communities in nations throughout the Middle East and North Africa. It established 40 schools in
Iran, in which 8,600 students were enrolled, and also provided Jewish education in primary schools of the
Alliance Israélite Universelle. In
Syria, Ozar Hatorah was active in
Aleppo and
Damascus, where its school originally had 350 students. The schools are funded by the
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. In 1971, the Damascus school was recognized by the Syrian government education department as the school with the highest grades in the country.
North African colonies and nations Ozar Hatorah established schools in
Tripoli, Libya before the Jewish population largely emigrated to Israel in 1950. It still operates schools in
Morocco, with a total enrollment of over 500 students. At its peak, the organization was operating an educational network serving some 17,000 students, ranging from first-grade children to learned students preparing to enter the rabbinate. By 1970, the organization was running 23 schools and a summer camp in Morocco, 41 schools and a summer camp in Iran, and two elementary schools in Syria. Together with students of its first elementary school in France, in
Lyon (see below), it had a total enrollment of 13,610 students. In 1971, Ozar Hatorah opened two schools in
Créteil and
Sarcelles, suburbs of Paris. By 2012 these had some 1,000 students. Subsequently, it set up schools in
Antony,
Toulouse,
Marseille, Strasbourg, Aix-les-bains, and other cities, bringing the total number of Ozar Hatorah schools in France to 20, According to
CRIF, more than 30,000 students are enrolled in Ozar Hatorah schools in France. After a rise in antisemitic incidents in France in the 21st century, the schools assigned guards to each school to improve security. == Incidents ==