A new school opening in Limassol, Cyprus, at the cost of 50 million euros ($55.9 million), aims to provide access to Jewish learning and ensure the highest standards of education, according to the foundation spearheading the project.
The educational institution will be the first to be built from scratch by the Yael Foundation, a charitable group established by Yael and Uri Poliavich, which supports 85 Jewish schools worldwide. The Poliavichs reside in Cyprus.
“We noticed in the last few years that many Jewish families have moved to Limassol, a major port city. They had to send their kids to non-Jewish schools to maintain a high standard of education and kept saying that if they could find an alternative they wouldn’t do so,” Chaya Yosovich, Yael Foundation CEO, told JNS on Wednesday.
“We realized the only option was to compete with the top secular private schools. We didn’t know at the time that it would be such a massive investment, but once we found the right place and the right people, we decided to build a model Jewish school,” she continued.
“Hopefully, it will be very successful and we can implement it somewhere else so that people don’t need to choose between top education and a Jewish school—they can have both,” she added.
Despite thousands of Jewish families residing in and around Limassol, the island’s current Jewish educational infrastructure is limited.
“We are aiming to have up to 1,500 students at the school. They all live in Cyprus. Some of them are Ukrainians, but 70% are Israelis who moved to the island,” she said.
“We are also putting a focus on art. Education is as much about learning as it is about experiencing and developing talent,” Yosovich said.
The project, expected to be completed in 2027 and designed by ADP Architects, a firm that has designed schools across England and Europe, will be headed by principal Rabbi Yehoshua Smukler.
“It took us six months to find the right person for the job of principal. We really wanted someone who was experienced and professional enough and understands the needs of students. He will be commuting between Israel and Cyprus,” added Yosovich.
While the school is private and as such will charge tuition fees, she stressed that the foundation will be offering scholarships as it does in other schools.
