Jewish summer camps get a new program and a larger conscience

ALLISON KAPLAN-SOMMER: Pioneering program, developed by the New Israel Fund, aims to present Israel in all its complex realities

TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS AROUND the campfire, splashing in a lake and competing in colour wars are all images that come to mind when we think of classic summer camp activities. Comparing narratives about Jerusalem by reading the poetry of Israeli and Palestinian writers Yehuda Amichai and Mahmoud Darwish, or stepping into the shoes of Jewish, Christian and Muslim social justice activists? Not so much.

But a new program launched this summer in the United States, called “Breaking Binaries, Creating Connections,” is attempting to add a new dimension to the Jewish summer camp experience.

Camp, after all, has historically been a linchpin of North American Jewish upbringing. Across the religious spectrum, from the most leftist, socialist-leaning programs to the popular networks operated by the Reform and Conservative movements, to modern Orthodox camps – Israel is viewed as an integral part of the concept of Jewish identity that is communicated to campers through food, music, folk dancing, and often, counsellors imported from Tel Aviv or Haifa, fresh from their army service.

The curriculum of the new program, developed by the New Israel Fund nonprofit in Jerusalem, is based on the premise that summer camps that attempt to instil a strong connection to Israel among children and teenagers also have a responsibility to give them tools to learn about and grapple with the complexities of current cultural and political realities in the country.

FULL STORY Jewish Summer Camp 2021: Instead of colour Wars, discussions of conflict and occupation (Haaretz)

Photo: Camp Shomria in Canada (Ido Nachlieli)