Pelech is a high school for religious girls located in the Baka

Baka, Jerusalem

Baka , , is a neighborhood in southern Jerusalem, Israel. The neighborhood is bounded by Talpiot to the south, Mekor Chaim to the west, the Greek Colony and German Colony to the northwest, and Abu Tor to the east.-History:...

 neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. Alice Shalvi

Alice Shalvi

Professor Alice Hildegard Shalvi is a leading figure in progressive Jewish education for girls.- Biography :Shalvi was born in Essen, Germany, to a Zionist Orthodox Jewish family, the youngest of three children...

, a British-born professor of English literature at Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...

, is credited with turning the school into one of Jerusalem's most prestigious high schools.

History

Pelech was founded by Rabbi Shalom Rosenbluth and his wife Penina as an alternative to the Beis Yaakov girls' educational system, but was banned by the Haredi establishment soon after its establishment. It first opened in the clubhouse of the Bnei Akiva

Bnei Akiva

Bnei Akiva is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 37 countries. It was established in Mandate Palestine in 1929.-History:...

 youth movement in Pardes Hannah in 1963. When Rosenbluth and his wife relocated to Jerusalem, the school moved with them to Bayit Vegan

Bayit Vegan

Bayit VeGan is a neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem, Israel, with a mostly charedi religious population. Bayit VeGan is located to the east of Mount Herzl and borders the neighborhoods of Kiryat Hayovel and Givat Mordechai. The Shaare Zedek Medical Center is located near Bayit VeGan...

. From the outset, the school curriculum included Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

  as a compulsory subject, a revolutionary step in the Israeli religious educational system, where girls did not study Talmud.

After the Six Day War, the school was given an abandoned building on Mount Zion

Mount Zion

Mount Zion is a place name for a site in Jerusalem, the location of which has shifted several times in history. According to the Hebrew Bible's Book of Samuel, it was the site of the Jebusite fortress called the "stronghold of Zion" that was conquered by King David, becoming his palace in the City...

. The student population totaled 50 girls. Rosenbluth taught Talmud, mathematics and physics, and his wife taught English. Other teachers were Rabbi Yehuda Amital

Yehuda Amital

Yehuda Amital was an Orthodox rabbi, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion and a former member of the Israeli cabinet.-Biography:Amital was born in Oradea in Romania. When Germany occupied the area in 1944, the Nazis sent his entire family to Auschwitz where they were killed. Amital was sent to...

, Rabbi Mordechai Breuer

Mordechai Breuer

Mordechai Breuer was an Orthodox rabbi. He was one of the world's leading experts on Tanakh , and especially of the text of the Aleppo Codex....

, Professor André Neher

André Neher

André Neher was a Jewish scholar and philosopher, born 12, rue du Marche, in Obernai, Bas-Rhin. He was a student at the College Freppel in Obernai, then at the Lycee Fustel de Coulange in Strasbourg. He became professor at the College Erckmann-Chatrian in Sarrebourg, then at the Lycee Kleber in...

 and Dr. Hananel Mack.

The school, facing financial and other difficulties, was on the brink of closure in 1975, when Alice Shalvi, who had come to appreciate the school’s philosophy, volunteered her services for a limited period. She served as principal for the next 15 years.

In 2008, Pelech topped a Ministry of Education

Ministry of Education (Israel)

The Israeli Ministry of Education is the branch of government charged with overseeing public education institutions in Israel. The political head of the department is the Minster of Education, currently Gideon Sa'ar....

list of schools with the highest number of students graduating with honors.