Israeli teens slip and slide at Machane Am Echad
In mid-August, 100 Israeli teens displaced by the Israel-Hamas war attended Machane Am Echad (Camp One People), a specially designed two-week Jewish camping experience at Camp Nah Jee Wah in the Poconos supported in part by The Russell Berrie Foundation. Twenty-five campers were upper-school students from Ofakim, Sderot and Ashkelon in the south and Kiryat Shmona up north; all campers are directly affected by the war and part of Tzofim, the Israeli scout movement.
Campers enjoyed hundreds of wooded acres, three lakes, sports, drama, arts, and more, including a prom that, for many, allowed them to dance for the first time since October 7th. For many kids, this was their first trip outside of Israel or away from their families. Organizers also arranged for campers to enjoy a Mets game and a Broadway performance of Hamilton.
The group enjoying the special Machane Am Echad experience offered through NJY Camps
Campers in front of a Nah-Jee-Wah bunk, their home for two weeks in August
Nah-Jee-Wah is one of five campuses making up NJY Camps, one of North America’s largest Jewish overnight camp groups. CEO Michael Schlank described the Machane Am Echad experience as “meaningful in a way that we may not have possibly ever been able to imagine. It was magical and holy to see these young people smile and dance and be happy and allow them to process what they had been through...to begin that healing process, even if it’s the first step in a long journey.”
Adult counselors from Israel joined NJY’s American staff to provide campers with a highly supportive environment, a deeply moving collaboration for both groups. One mental health counselor from Sderot who was injured in the Hamas attacks shared, “I didn’t think I’d ever smile again, and now I’m smiling so much that it hurts.” Schlank also saw the American counselors be forever changed by working with the Israeli kids and staff. “They were able to connect to Israel and the tragedy and trauma of what our Israeli brothers and sisters are going through,” he said, and deepen their connection to their Jewish identity.
Israeli teens take in a Mets game during a New York City field trip
Before the two weeks ended, a 16-year-old girl approached Schlank and said “I want to thank you for allowing me to be a kid again…What you don’t understand is, when you live in a war, you don’t get to be a child. You have to become an adult really quickly. These last two weeks, I’ve really been able to be a kid again.”
“That,” he shares, “is the essence of what we tried to do.”
To see pure joy in action, take two minutes to check out the Machane Am Echad Flickr photo album.