The Jewish Week – October 5, 2007

by Carl Schrag

If you had to choose between water-skiing or learning about the geography of Israel, which would you choose? How about if the choices were tennis or David Ben-Gurion? Frisbee or the Six-Day War?

If you’re like most teenagers, you’d probably opt for the sports activities, but what if you could do it all? What if you could enjoy all the attractions of camp, and also develop a deep connection to Israel?

While a trip to Israel may be the best eye opener, the fact remains that most young American Jews don’t take such trips and — unless we work to change the status quo — have little or no desire to do so.

If they drop out of Hebrew school at age 13 and shy away from high school Israel clubs or Jewish youth groups, what opportunities do we have to reach teenage Jews who never developed a passion for the Jewish homeland?

That’s where summer camp comes in, and the payoffs could be huge.

Israel has always enjoyed the spotlight in Zionist camps, and many camps feature Israeli songs and a handful of Israeli staff members. But that only goes so far if campers have no understanding of the underlying significance of the Jewish connection to the land of Israel, no personal sense that Israel matters.

For the past several years, I’ve been working with a couple of camps in Wisconsin to bring modern Israel alive for campers and staff.

At Camp Ramah, where the overwhelming majority of campers and counselors feel strong affinity for the Jewish state, I always find eagerness to gain new insights and perspectives. At JCC Camp Chi, where Israel has played less of a role, the challenge is different, but no less surmountable. In both environments, current events serve as an ideal jumping-off point for delving into history and the ties that bind campers to Israel.

The first time I visited Camp Ramah, at the height of the second intifada, I observed a wide variety of Israel-related programs and activities. When I inquired how the camp addressed the difficult current events unfolding across the ocean, I was told that there was no formal effort to discuss current events with campers: “It’s too controversial.”

Determined to demonstrate that current events discussions could take place without degenerating into insult-ridden shout-fests, I asked for, and received, an opportunity to meet with teenage campers.

We talked about the news of the day, people exchanged ideas and everybody came away with a little more understanding than they’d had before. It was the beginning of a wonderful adventure in making the challenges facing Israel come alive for campers and staff who already care deeply about the country.

This summer at Ramah in Wisconsin I led small-group discussions about the events that led to the 1967 Six-Day War with hundreds of middle school and high school campers.

Some had a vague sense of what had happened, but most knew very little. This is not unusual, and the best remedy for gaps in knowledge is a few good conversations.

After talking about the war, more than 200 campers re-enacted the events of May and June 1967. They represented Israeli, Arab, American and UN positions, holding summit meetings, broadcasting news updates on the camp radio station, trying to redirect the course of history and in general gaining deep appreciation for the complexity of the challenges faced by Israel.

Meanwhile, back at Camp Chi, we’ve developed a three-year program for teaching Israel to high school campers. We start by helping Abraham break his father’s idols and journeying off to the Promised Land with him, and work to build personal feelings of connection to the Jewish people and the land of Israel.

By 11th grade, campers run Israel Day programs and share their new love of the Jewish state with younger campers. Many of them speak of a new desire to visit Israel, and the camp even held a competition to award scholarships for trips next summer. The season culminates with a festive “Israel Seder” that celebrates the Jewish state as seen through campers’ eyes. As 95 high school juniors raise cups of juice to toast the state, you can tell that many of them mean it when they say “Next year in Jerusalem.”

Camp will always be about baseball and swimming, art and self-discovery. My experiences in Wisconsin make me confident that the environment that makes camp such a welcome experience also makes it an ideal place to develop a love of Israel. In fact, there may be no better setting in America to do so. n

Carl Schrag, an educator, was formerly the editor of The Jerusalem Post. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Special To The Jewish Week