The Bulletin of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, which was the first international Jewish organization, was founded in Paris in 1860. The Alliance advocated the emancipation of the Jewish population and worked to protect the rights of Jews around the world. Immediately following its establishment, the Alliance began to establish a series of schools in which it imparted the foundations of Western culture, and particularly French culture, to boys and girls. In 1914 the Alliance school system included nearly 200 schools and 44,000 students in the Mediterranean region, the Near East, and the Balkans.
The Bulletin was the official organ of the Alliance. It was distributed to members of the organization across the world, and thus had a circulation of several thousand. However, its circulation does not reflect its status as a source of information and influence; the bulletin served as a primary source for many newspapers, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. It included minutes from the AIU’s Central Committee and organizational meetings, written communications between the organization’s leadership and Jewish communities, correspondence with political leaders and diplomats, and detailed coverage of most of the critical events that occupied the Jewish community, such as the mass emigration from Russia during the 1880s, the Balkan Wars, and more.
The Bulletin is also a rich source of information on the inner lives of the Jewish communities. Every issue contains detailed lists of AIU members in every city, continuous information reported from local committees spread over five continents, lists of donors or people who contributed to solidarity activities initiated by the Alliance for the benefit of Jews who had fallen victim to misfortune or violence, and more. Statistical data on the AIU schools provide accurate information about the number of schools in each city, the number of students, the make-up of the teaching staff, and the schools’ budgets.
Publication of the Bulletin ended on the eve of World War I. Several years after the end of the war it was replaced with the AIU’s new organ, Paix et Droit
, which was published from 1921-1940.