Arielle Morrison was just a few hours away from her wedding ceremony on Sunday afternoon when she started seeing the Facebook posts about Camp Newman: There was a wildfire menacing Sonoma County, California, encroaching on the grounds of her beloved summer camp. The wildfire was part of the current Northern California firestorm, which has so…
Each year, more than 300 Jewish summer camps across the United States host hundreds of cultural exchange participants, who serve as counselors, lifeguards, activity specialists, and support staff. They bring an array of talents and the best of their home cultures, providing more than 200,000 young American Jewish campers attending Jewish camp with a window…
(JTA) — Three weeks ago, Lauren Laderman left Camp Young Judaea-Texas after serving as the unit head for 14-year-olds this summer. Then Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast, and Laderman was back at camp, this time preparing the cabins for evacuees in need of a place to live. On Tuesday, families began moving into the…
Campers and staff members displaced after an overnight fire at a Jewish summer camp in Colorado have been relocated to a nearby JCC camp. The 130 campers of Ramah Rockies, along with their counselors, are now staying at nearby JCC Ranch Camp, another Jewish outdoor adventure camp. “While the campers are now in a new…
NEW YORK (JTA) — I don’t know if there is a Yiddish or Hebrew version of “more Catholic than the pope.” More machmir than the rebbe? More kosher than glatt? If there is such an expression, this weekend’s convulsion over a Jewish camp in Washington state raising a Palestinain flag deserves it. The angry reactions,…
What was meant to be a symbolic goodwill gesture toward visiting Palestinian campers ended up causing major conflict, drawing anger from Jewish families and from outside right-wing groups. Haaretz reported that Kids4Peace, an Israeli-based program aimed at encouraging Israeli-Palestinian co-existence, took Christian, Jewish and Muslim campers to visit Camp Solomon Schechter in Washington State. Camp…
(Kveller via JTA) — The summer before she entered first grade, my oldest daughter asked me when she was going to go to sleepaway camp. I was stunned; she was too young. And why the heck would she ever want to leave us, her family? I blew off the question until the next summer, when…
A curly-haired, ten year old boy entered my office this week toting a colorful calendar sent to him from the sleep-away camp he will attend later this summer. On it, all of the colors of the rainbow indicated the different activities available – horseback riding, arts and crafts, sports, swimming in the lake… though the…
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