Seeking Normalcy and Increased Resilience, Israeli Families Turn to Summer Camp
Summer camps in Israel are adopting new operations to support kids affected by the war and adding multiple security measures, while summer programs aimed at promoting dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian youth face new challenges
Every summer, thousands of Israeli children attend summer camp, and hundreds of children from abroad fly to Israel to attend camps as well. This year, amid ongoing war and the displacement of many Israeli families, parents and camp staff are thinking about summer camp differently. Some families are thinking twice about sending their children far from home, and camp directors are facing a summer characterized by fewer campers from abroad, a high demand for bereavement care, and increased security needs.
The sense of belonging and connection was significant and empowering. This experience was another piece in building the resilience we, as parents, strive to nurture in our children.
Tal Ben-Zvi Eliahu and her six children were displaced from their home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz following the October 7 attack. After a difficult year, summer camp allowed her children to reunite with friends from the regional council who had scattered across Israel. “The sense of belonging and connection was significant and empowering,” she told The Media Line. “This experience was another piece in building the resilience we, as parents, strive to nurture in our children.”
Yael Nitzan and her family were also displaced after October 7. While the family usually sends the children to camp, choosing to do so this year was “not simple,” Nitzan told The Media Line. Ultimately, attending camp allowed her son to develop a sense of resilience and “see that his abilities are much greater than he thought.”
Kenny Goldman and Dvora Liss, who have directed the Orthodox summer camp Kayitz Bakibbutz at Kibbutz Shluhot for nearly 30 years, told The Media Line that the war has influenced almost every aspect of summer camp planning.
Groups participating in the summer camp programs. (Summer Camps Israel)
“With all the flight restrictions and airline tickets more expensive than ever, many campers from other countries couldn’t come. Also, I’m a part of the kibbutz’s security staff, and now I have to run the summer camp while I carry a gun on my shoulder. The changes start like that, and it goes into all the details here,” Goldman said. “Thank God we’re in a quiet corner of the country, but we’ve taken many security measures. Our staff was trained for multiple examples of emergencies, including rocket attacks and many other potential scenarios.”
The directors decided to take the campers for hikes only in the trails surrounding the kibbutz rather than in the wider area as they would in a regular summer. A set of walkie-talkies, which was recently donated by a camp alum, is meant to allow staff to stay in touch in the event that local phone service goes down.
We believe we’re in a relatively safe part of Israel, but we’re also facing the challenge of creating a summer camp environment for kids who had a very challenging year. So a lot goes into creating a positive, fun, and renewing program in a year like this.
“We’re concerned with the security of the campers,” Goldman said. “We believe we’re in a relatively safe part of Israel, but we’re also facing the challenge of creating a summer camp environment for kids who had a very challenging year. So a lot goes into creating a positive, fun, and renewing program in a year like this.”
Like most Israelis, many kids attending Kayitz Bakibbutz have parents in the army. Goldman, 64, did three months of reserve service this year. He noted that all Israelis, even those without family members in the army, have been traumatized by the past year. “It has been a challenge to give enough attention and respect to this situation without turning the camp into a sad space,” he said.
Shawna Goodman, the founder of Summer Camps Israel, an umbrella organization that works with multiple summer camps, described camp as an important way to provide a sense of normalcy for kids affected by the war.
“On top of the regular summer camps, we’ve added a new model of winter boost camps that has proven successful in providing nurturing circles for the youth displaced by the war, strengthening their sense of belonging, and, of course, having fun, which we can’t underestimate,” Goodman told The Media Line.
She said that more Israeli families are interested in camp this summer, with both kids and parents needing a break from a difficult year.
The Koby Mandell Foundation’s Camp Koby, a summer camp for Israeli kids who have lost family members in terror attacks, had high attendance this year as well.
“The purpose is to provide a safe space for people who have lost a loved one,” Eliana Mandell Braner, the foundation’s executive director, told The Media Line. Mandell Braner is the sister of Koby Mandell, for whom the organization was named, who was killed in a terror attack at age 13 in 2001.
“This year, on top of our regular camp with around 500 participants, we’re also running an extra camp with around 100 kids who have lost someone either on October 7 or in the operations in Gaza,” Mandell Braner said. She noted that the program has doubled its capacity.
Kenny Goldman (Courtesy)
Being in a space where everyone has lost a family member makes it easier for the campers to talk about their experiences, she said.
“Usually, when the kids arrive at their shared rooms, the first thing they do is ask each other why they are at the camp. After they briefly share their stories of who they lost, it’s easier for them to have a regular conversation. When they talk to people who haven’t been through these experiences, talking about what happened to them feels much heavier. So, in the camp, they have each other to talk to, and it’s not a burden or a secret,” she explained.
While bereavement summer camps are growing, not all camps are managing to thrive during the war. Hands of Peace, an organization that runs a summer program aimed at promoting dialogue between Palestinian and Israeli teens, announced in December that it was closing down.
Hands of Peace director Debby Fosdick said that that decision was in the works before October 7 as a result of rising costs, reduced funding, and a shrinking volunteer base.
A Hands of Peace alumnae, Naama Levy, 20, was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 and remains in captivity.
I am hopeful that more Americans, including Jewish Americans, are becoming more aware of the plight of Palestinians and understanding that there cannot be peace without equality and justice for all. We are proud of the more than 800 alumni we sent into the world, many of whom are deeply involved in the peace movement in Israel and Palestine.
“I am hopeful that more Americans, including Jewish Americans, are becoming more aware of the plight of Palestinians and understanding that there cannot be peace without equality and justice for all,” Fosdick told The Media Line. “We are proud of the more than 800 alumni we sent into the world, many of whom are deeply involved in the peace movement in Israel and Palestine.”
Some peacebuilding experts are reconsidering the effectiveness of camps like Hands of Peace in the wake of October 7 and the ongoing war.
“The idea of peace didn’t fail, but the model we used to achieve peace is clearly broken,” Husam Jubran, who served as director of facilitation for Hands of Peace, told The Media Line. “I’m still processing everything, and it will take time to understand it fully. Still, I believe the approach and the lack of a common understanding of basic concepts, like peace, violence, and nonviolence, were significant issues.”
Logistics are also a problem for many peacebuilding summer camps, especially this year. “It’s almost impossible to bring people from both sides to meet in any area here and a logistical nightmare to take them to another country,” Jubran explained. Many Israelis aren’t interested in sending their children to an area not controlled by Israel, so camps are held in Israel, requiring Palestinian attendees to get permits.
The logistical hurdles can also affect dynamics among a camp’s staff, which is made up of Israelis and Palestinians. “Technically, no one is leading, but it may appear that the Israeli staff are leading in many cases. For example, if there is a need to get permits for the Palestinian participants, the Palestinian staff can do nothing,” Jubran said.
