At the Carmel School in Hong Kong, Jewish and non-Jewish students celebrate Purim and Tu B’Shevat together and listen to rabbinic lectures on Erev Yom Kippur, Rachel Friedmann, the school’s principal, told JNS.
“Some classes are very integrated, others less so. As the students get older, there is more integration and mutual respect,” Friedmann said. “We had a Hagigat Siddur (a celebration where students receive their first prayer book) last week, led by our head of elementary. The Chinese children were singing in Hebrew; it was beautiful.”
Friedmann attended the Yael Foundation’s fourth annual education summit, which opened on Monday and concluded on Wednesday. The summit focuses on innovation, leadership, Jewish identity and the challenges of modern education, and also features the Yael Awards Ceremony, a flagship event honoring schools selected by parents for excellence in education.
In Hong Kong, Friedmann said, the Jewish school system serves students from 1-year-olds through graduation at 18 across three campuses: a preschool campus for students up to 5 years old, an elementary school, and a secondary campus that includes middle and high school.
The total student population today—Jewish and non-Jewish combined—stands at 370. Enrollment had previously reached 420 students, but then dropped to 280 during the years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has since rebounded. The school operates as an Orthodox Jewish institution that observes Shabbat and kashrut.
The elementary school is housed on government property that once served as a British military hospital during World War II. The long, low building is the largest of three government-owned properties used by schools and organizations in the area.
While it is clear why Jewish parents would choose to send their children to a Jewish school, Friedmann said, the reasons Chinese parents opt for a Jewish education are less obvious.
‘Three main factors’
Although she does not track the exact number of non-Jewish students—Jewish students remain the majority—Friedmann said the choice by Chinese families stems from three main factors.
“First, they admire Jews for their business model and business acumen,” she said. “Second, they admire Jewish education rooted in the Torah. Third is family. They place great importance on family, generations and respect for elders—values shared by both Chinese and Jewish cultures. They want to emulate that and believe Jewish education is the best way to do so.”
Friedmann said when she was invited to establish the high school, she brought with her three decades of experience in the Jewish school system in London and a strong belief in the International Baccalaureate framework.
“The IB has three programs—the primary years, middle years and a two-year diploma program,” she said. “We are now a full IB continuum and are among the top-performing schools in Hong Kong.”
Unlike other IB schools, which admit only top-performing students to the program, Friedmann said Carmel operates differently.
“For us, if you are Jewish, you have the right to be in our school,” she said. “If you are not Jewish, I select students I believe can cope. We have a genuinely mixed intake and excellent results.”
‘Our students see and hear everything’
From age 3, all students study Hebrew and take Jewish-studies classes. In preschool and elementary school, a single curriculum is taught by both a Jewish studies teacher and a Chinese-language teacher.
At the secondary level, non-Jewish students may choose French instead of Hebrew and international studies instead of Jewish studies; Jewish students are required to continue with Hebrew and Jewish studies.
“It’s fascinating,” Friedmann said. “Every type of Jew—secular, anti-religious, children of rabbis—learns Jewish studies and Hebrew together. At the same time, some Chinese families choose Jewish studies because they want their children to learn the Torah, the Old Testament and the festivals, or Hebrew so they can read it themselves.”
Only Jewish students participate in tefilah, while non-Jewish students spend that time studying current affairs. Otherwise, the academic program is identical. International students also receive two additional hours of Chinese-language instruction each week.
“We have an exceptional international studies teacher who teaches the non-Jewish students, and he is a Zionist,” Friedmann said.
At present, most grades are on educational trips abroad. “Grades nine and 10 are in New Zealand, and grades six, seven and eight are in Thailand,” she said. “They were supposed to go to Israel this year. The last time they visited Israel was in February 2023, before Oct. 7.”
The school regularly hosts guest speakers from a wide range of backgrounds—Israeli and British, Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and secular. “Our students see and hear everything,” Friedmann affirmed.
Hong Kong, she noted, is not immune to the influence of mainstream media.
Friedmann recounted an incident involving a 10-year-old student in 2024 on Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. The girl had painted an Israeli flag on her face and later went to the Ladies’ Recreational Club for a tennis lesson, forgetting to remove it.
“The instructor looked at her and said, ‘It’s terrible what is going on in Gaza,’” Friedmann recalled. “She replied, ‘We didn’t start this war. We don’t want to kill any Palestinians. We just want to get rid of Hamas.’”
Two days later, Friedmann said, she spoke with the student, who was about to move up to sixth grade, and emphasized the importance of knowing her facts.
“She had been asked a question and answered it brilliantly,” Friedmann said. “She stated two clear facts where many adults would have launched into a long debate. That is a skill.”
The International Baccalaureate approach, she stated, emphasizes inquiry-based learning and student initiative.
“Students are proactive in their learning,” added Friedman. “It gives them confidence and the ability to engage with the world. They are extraordinary. They know how to ask questions, and they know how to give answers.”
