In 1902, 10-year-old Isidore Itzkowitz accepted a scholarship to an overnight camp in upstate New York. “Izzy,” an orphan raised by his grandmother in the basement of a seedy tenement house, fit the profile of children who Educational Alliancesettlement house, desired to help. animating the idea With his camp was to take working-class Jewish boys away from the hot, crowded streets of the Lower East Side and introduce them to “the great outdoors in a wholesome and beautiful atmosphere away from home.”
Experience deeply affected Itzkowitz, who later became referred to as Eddie Cantor – one of the hottest artists of the mid-Twentieth century.
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Now called Surprise Lake Campstill sits on the same wooded property Cantor knew in his youth. But the tents and 1902 home have been replaced with state-of-the-art facilities, including a zipline, tennis and pickleball courts, and the Eddie Cantor Theater.
The clientele—and purpose—have also modified. Under Cantor, the camp was all-boys, with directors concerned about Americanization and upward mobility. In 2024, Surprise Lake is coeducational, and while it still offers scholarships, it is geared toward middle- and upper-middle-class families. Most importantly, the camp leans way more heavily on its Jewish identity and values. than it did in the first a long timeincluding Jewish rituals and Hebrew pouring the language.
The Camp Surprise Lake crossing is a symbol broader evolution In Jewish summer camps – one which I’m researching as a scholar of Jewish education. They served different goals over time and have diverse views on every aspect of Jewish faith and culture, including Israel.
This summer, the camps are navigating an uncertain landscape that has been transformed by Hamas Oct 7, 2023, attack and Israel’s response: deciding whether and easy methods to discuss the Gaza war, concerns about anti-Semitism in the U.S., and political debates about Israel.
Jewish camps past and present
Even in the Nineteen Twenties and Nineteen Thirties, Jewish camps were established. variety of flavorsIn addition to the “outdoor” camps equivalent to Surprise Lake, there have been also Jewish culture camps intended for Yiddish AND Zionism – a movement aimed toward creating and consolidating a Jewish homeland and reviving Hebrew culture – in addition to more exclusive camps for children of wealthy families.
Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest via Wikimedia Commons
In Forties and Nineteen Fiftiesthe industry grew to serve the growing Jewish middle class. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, which existing Jewish communities in Europe were decimatedSome Jewish Americans viewed summer camps as training grounds for leaders for the next generation. Similarly, Jewish religious movements saw the camp as a tool to revitalize their faiths.
Over the years, Jewish camps have focused on various points of Jewish-American identity, including social justice, environmentalism, the arts, and observance of Jewish rituals. Since Israel’s founding in 1948, many camps have also celebrated its culture. The camps include Hebrew music and Israeli folk dances, pour in Hebrew words equivalent to “boker tov” (good morning) and “ruach” (spirituality) to the camp vocabulary and serve Israeli food in the “chadar ochel” (dining room).
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At times, the concentrate on Israel has served as a strategy to cultivate Jewish pride in difficult times. Most American Jews feel acceptance in American society increased in the second half of the Twentieth century as concerns about anti-Semitism He fell silent. But it the sense of security has been shaken persistently – including in 2017Let’s unite the right wing” rally in Charlottesville AND the massacre of 2018 on Tree of Life synagogue in pittsburgh.
Difficult landscape
The Hamas attack, the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and the political debate about the conflict have change into a fact of life. particularly destabilizingIn recent years, most concerns about anti-Semitism have focused on extreme right. But the past 12 months has also exposed anti-Semitism on the far left.
The situation is further complicated by the undeniable fact that support for Israel has change into a bitter source of contention in American Jewish communities, especially amongst younger ones, more progressive Jews.
As with the rise in anti-Semitism, fraying American-Jewish consensus on Israel years have passed in the makingThe change in attitude can’t be separated from the broader political context, including the increasingly illiberal government of Israel.
Although many young Jews remain emotionally attached to Israel, more vocal of their criticism With her politics and skeptical about whether he is really concerned with a just peace with the Palestinians. A big percentage of the protesters at the campus camps last spring were Jewish students motivated partially by their commitment to Jewish values, whilst many other Jewish students reported feeling unsafe.
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All this leaves Jewish camps with a significant set of challenges. Part the magic of summer camps is being a “bubble” from the “real world”: a closed, nurturing environment of controlled freedom and play, away from family and faculty, that encourages children to develop through controlled risk-taking. Serious discussions about current events, especially grim ones, can burst that bubble.
When me and my colleagues visited Jewish summer camps in July 2014 during seven-week war between Israel and HamasUnderstandably, staff were reluctant to debate the unfolding events with the children. But the echoes were there. Counsellors were mostly careful to debate the latest news out of earshot of their charges. But at times the tension was palpable.
Today’s dilemma
This summer, the emotional baggage of the past 10 months accompanied young people and staff to camp as surely as their trunks and travel bags.
Some, especially those that have felt isolated of their schools and neighborhoods, could also be desirous to process events with camp friends and trusted elders. Jewish camps in parts of the South and lower Midwest, specifically, often draw campers from small Jewish communities that have few, if any, other Jewish peers and should crave the opportunity to share their feelings. Others undoubtedly enjoy the sanctuary that camp offers and depend on the staff to take care of the bubble.
Photo AP/Jacquelyn Martin
The decision to debate the Israel-Hamas conflict and anti-Semitism also carries other risks. The importance of advisors as role models is indisputable, but they will not be trained teachers or therapists. In July 2014, we regularly encountered counselors who felt unprepared to have dangerous conversations about the conflict, and with good reason. They are frequently highschool and college students, only a few years older than the children they care for, and lots of of them are scuffling with their very own feelings about the war—especially Israelis, whose Jewish camps often hire to enrich the staff.
Like COVID-19 crisisCamps have largely improvised to satisfy the challenges of this summer. But once the season is over, I feel camps might want to reflect and re-evaluate their approach.
It could be good in the event that they consulted with experts who have studied this. How Jewish Children and Teens Understand Israel and conflict. They can also need to reassess the long-term effectiveness of Israel’s “good” programming that obscures or oversimplifies the conflict. As Surprise Lake shows, nonetheless, the camps have proven in the past their ability to adapt without sacrificing their missions.
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