(PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

This year will see a record number of participants in summer camps around the world of the world-wide Bnei Akiva movement, the largest Zionist youth movement. According to an announcement made by the movement on Thursday, 22 Tammuz, no less than 15,000 youth group members will take part this year in summer camps in 16 different countries, during the eight weeks of summer vacation.

Among the participants are members active in the youth group during the year who return to the camps year after year, high school students in eleventh and twelfth grades, and young children, both kindergarten and elementary school-aged, who are not yet active in the movement. Among the countries where the camps take place are Australia, Italy, USA, Brazil, Germany, South Africa, New Zealand, France and elsewhere.

The oldest camp is Camp Moshava in Pennsylvania, USA, which began in 1935, and from then to now carries on the same tradition. Each year anew, Camp Moshava also bears the title of the largest Bnei Akiva camp, attended by 1,300 participants and 400 staff members.

Summer camps are one of the highlights of the youth movements’ activities. We are talking about events that take place for the most part in facilities specifically designated as summer camps, and many of the campers sleepover in them, for between four weeks and two months. The contents of the camp program are chosen carefully and change from year to year; this year most of the camps will be involved with the theme “the 70th anniversary of the State of Israel.”

Although some of the countries in which the Bnei Akiva movement is active are located in the southern hemisphere, were July and August are in the winter, the activities of their camps also take place at the same time as elsewhere. In these countries, the winter camps will be adapted to the overall schedule of the Bnei Akiva movement, and will operate in parallel to the summer camps in the northern hemisphere.

About five different camps are held in Israel. Some of them are intended for members of the international movement who come to Israel in order to know Israel in depth, and an additional camp called Amichai for immigrant children, in order to give them the opportunity to continue experiencing the summer camps in the way they became accustomed to before they moved to Israel. In addition, two summer camps, which operate in Israel and the United States, include among their campers’ members of special education programs who are given an opportunity to participate in the summer camp experience, and be part of the activities of the general movement. These campers will take part in activities that are tailored to them and suited to their personal needs and will also be integrated into some of the regular activities of the camp.

All the camps are run by veteran managers, who are joined by local emissaries as well as training teams composed of the movement’s counselors. In some countries, the local Jewish community is also a partner in the organization and operation of the camps. The costs of the camp vary according to each camp, its length and its lodging conditions. Members of the movement who wish to participate in the camps and are in need of a subsidy can be helped by a scholarship fund operated by the various branches for this purpose.

Roi Abecassis, Director of the World Bnei Akiva movement, notes that “in contrast to the pessimism currently characterizing the discourse regarding the future of Jews in the Diaspora and their connection to Israel and Judaism, our summer camps are dispersed throughout the world as dots of light and hope. In our camps, we can witness how, contrary to the mistaken impression, the next generation of Diaspora Jews is still connected to Israel and Jewish values and is happy to disconnect from the computer and smartphone for two months in order to engage in a values-based experiential activity.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem: Photo Credit: Ariel Marcus)