Imagine: you’re a twenty-two year old Israeli, finished with your active duty as a commander in the Army. You decide to spend the summer working at a Jewish sleep away camp in the United States. Upon arriving, you discover that the kid you’re supposed to report to has spent the last four years at some liberal arts college, and is younger than you are. This was the situation that Asaf Regev found himself this past summer at Camp Hess Kramer in Malibu, California.
Regev was a member of a delegation of fourteen Israeli counselors, known as shlichim, working at the sister camps Hess Kramer and Gindling Hilltop, two reform sleep away camps for third through tenth graders in Malibu. His delegation is one of many working at Jewish camps across the nation, working to help young campers connect to Israel on a personal level. Army-aged shlichim often earn army service time for their work.
Becca Sills, associate director of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps, which runs both Hess Kramer and Gindling Hilltop, said the shlichim program has grown from a group of six Israelis in 1998 to 14 this past summer.
“They brought a love of Israeli culture and more campers are interested in Israel as a result,” Sills said. “It continues the camp relationship with Israel. It’s going to have an impact on the kids going to Israel in the future. It makes Israel more real.”
However, as evidenced by the uncomfortable predicament faced by Commander Regev, the mix of cultures brings challenges. At the start of the summer, all shlichim must attend training sessions in which they learn about some of the cultural differences between Americans and Israelis. In this litigious era, a well-meaning gesture from an Israeli might quickly lead to a lawsuit from an uncomfortable American.
“They explain how to connect to American campers,” said Naday Goren, the leader of this summer’s delegation of Israelis, about the sessions. “They talked about the psychology of American campers and counselors and personal space issues. Israelis are too warm, too fast. It’s a different culture. It’s too touchy.”
Still, the Israelis were excited about their work. “I bring a picture of what Israel really is,” said Goren. “It’s a positive, more realistic image to Israel. I bring a more personal connection through stories and programs.”
This programming included lunchtime Word of the Day sessions, in which Israeli counselors teach the camp a Hebrew word, and “Israel Facts” posted around camp.
All Israeli programming culminated with Israel Day. The night before, campers received a replica plane ticket in the mail. In the morning, they woke up to a camp covered in Israeli flags.
After an Israeli-led prayer service, Israel-based stations followed, including writing notes to put in a decorated Western Wall that the Israelis will bring back to the real Wall and making pita bread over a fire. At night the camp split up into different groups to perform songs, dances and army commands at an all-camp show.
“It’s a magnifying glass for all Israel stuff in camp,” said Eyal Yavor, a 17 year-old Israeli Army scout at Kramer. “It focused kids on Israel. It gets lots of attention from all the Israeli music and posters on one place and on one day…The campers enjoyed it a lot”
Campers themselves seem to agree. “It’s fun to interact with people not much older than us coming from other countries,” Drew Foster, a fifteen year old camper, said. “I want to visit Israel to go and hang out with [them].”
It’s a time honored tradition for American camps to host foreign counselors to bring that added culture to camp, partly because these counselors work for even less than American counselors. At the Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps, the shlichim receive only $400 spending money besides airfare, room, and board, for about nine weeks worth of work. The delegation leader receives a bit more: $1050 spending money for his nine weeks.
