About the project
El-Omariya School is one of the oldest schools in Jerusalem. It was established in 1924 and named for Omar Ibn El-Khattab, the 7th Century Muslim conqueror of the city. The school purportedly was built on the ruins of the Fortress of Antonia, built by Herod the Great in 35 AD, and its courtyard contains the first Station of the Cross. The elementary school serves 700- 1,300 boys each year in grades kindergartens through six. The Jerusalem Foundation renovated the school auditorium, which served as a venue for school and larger community cultural events, in 1972. It later supported renovations to the school library (which opened as a public library branch in 1968) and renovations to the school courtyard. It undertook a major renovation project that included repair of the building’s electrical system, installation of the school’s first central heating system, improvements to the courtyard and installation of play equipment in 1992.
