Politiques, education et identités linguistiques : le collège des Frères des écoles chrétiennes de Jérusalem (1922-1939)

In Palestine during the British Mandate, the act of language is an instrument for political and religious institutions, and a reflection of the dialectic relationship between dominant and dominated parties, at a time when the loss of the Catholic French protectorate in the Holy Land to Great Britain is being confirmed. Founded by the Brothers of the Christian Schools in 1876, one of the oldest educational institutions in the city, the Coll_ge des Fr_res occupies an exceptional position in the heart of the Christian Quarter of the Old City (gradually and quickly opened for all communities present in the city). Its case underscores the cultural and linguistic policies of the two rival mandatory powers of the region (through exclusion, inversion, and distribution of new functions) and it sheds light on some aspects of the use of French in this society. Language reflects the interdependence around the College, the complexity of the relationships between language and religion, a nd language and identity. The College shows a remarkable resilience and adaptability throughout its existence, even as its development slows down.