Springs Fire forces evacuations for Jewish institutions in Ventura County

By Ryan Torok
Published on May 3, 2013

Synagogue leaders are reporting that the Springs Fire has affected Jewish institutions in Ventura County, including Malibu camps run by Wilshire Boulevard Temple (WBT) and synagogues Temple Ner Ami, Temple Etz Chaim and Temple Adat Elohim.

More options for modern Orthodox campers

Published on February 27, 2013

Camp Judah West, which has run travel and sports camps in West Los Angeles for the past four years, has procured a rental location near San Diego and is organizing a five-week summer camp session based on the ideals of Jewish camping, Zionism and Torah.

Donors struggling to defray the rising costs of Jewish camp

Published on January 24, 2013

Spending the summer at Jewish overnight camp once was a spartan affair, often little more than a collection of ramshackle buildings scattered in the woods by a placid lake.

L.A. camp gets unwanted attention in wake of Colorado shooting

By Ryan Torok
Published on July 24, 2012

Colorado shooting suspect James Holmes’ reported ties to Camp Max Straus have led to unwanted attention for Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles and its camp, its director said.

Former Jewish camp staffer worked closely with James Holmes

By JewishJournal.com
Published on July 22, 2012

In the summer of 2008, when he was 20, James Holmes was known as a quiet counselor at Camp Max Straus in Los Angeles County, liked by his campers.

As details have emerged about the background of the now 24-year-old suspected shooter at the midnight massacre at an Aurora, Colo. showing of a Batman sequel on July 20, an unwanted media spotlight has fallen on the 110 acre camp in the Verdugo Mountains run by Jewish Big Brothers and sisters of Los Angeles.

“I’m looking at us all over TMZ,” said one former staff member contacted by The Jewish Journal. “There’s my picture, it’s crazy.”

“Dark Knight” shooter reportedly was camp counselor for Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters in 2008

By Ryan Torok
Published on July 21, 2012

Camp Newman Generates Jewish Joy

By Susan Esther Barnes
Published on July 18, 2012

On the Road to Ojai, Ruach Nashim 2012

By Lisa Niver Rajna
Published on June 6, 2012

A summer to remember

By Noga Gur-Arieh
Published on May 18, 2012

Jewish summer camps: Director’s cut

Published on April 9, 2012

At age 8, when Molly Hott stepped off the bus to complete her first summer of overnight camp, she told her parents she was going to “do this forever.”

Parents find new benefit to Jewish camp: Freedom from themselves

Published on March 19, 2012

When she took the stage recently before an audience of 400 Jewish camping enthusiasts, Lenore Skenazy wasted no time in addressing why she is known as “America’s Worst Mom.”

Camp foundation grant to fund new specialty camps

Published on March 15, 2012

The Foundation for Jewish Camp's new grant cycle will fund the creation of four new specialty Jewish overnight camps.

Israel education initiative for camps launched

Published on February 16, 2012

A new Israel education initiative for camps is launching with grants of $3.6 million. The Larry and Lillian Goodman Foundations has awarded a four-year, $2.3 million matching grant to the iCenter and the Foundation for Jewish Camp to establish the Goodman Camping Initiative for Modern Jewish History.

Happy wallet, happy camper

By Ryan E. Smith
Published on January 26, 2012

The economy is bad. Money is tight. And yet the news isn’t all negative for youngsters hoping to attend Jewish summer camp this year. “The truth of the matter is, most of the summer camps have increased their financial aid,” said Jay Sanderson, president of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. “We’ve increased financial aid. So a lot of the challenges of the economy so far have been mitigated. We invest close to $1 million in summer camps.”

Overcoming my homesickness…

By Julia Bendis
Published on October 18, 2011

A new home for historic labor zionist youth camp

By Ryan Torok
Published on July 26, 2011

Pine trees and hiking trails surround more than a dozen wooden cabins on a lakeside campground in the San Bernardino National Forest. Located near Big Bear, the 40-acre site also includes a large dining hall, amphitheater, swimming pool, sports field and archery range — as well as a memorable bucolic view.

Oh Carnival Cruise Line, how I wish you’d step up to the rest of them…

By Julia Bendis
Published on July 18, 2011

Summer Rules are not meant to be followed, at least in my house…

By Julia Bendis
Published on July 6, 2011

Ramah Darom camper dies on rafting trip

Published on June 21, 2011

An 11th grade camper at Camp Ramah Darom was killed during an accident on a white-water rafting trip. Andrew Silvershein, of Davie, Fla., died when his raft capsized June 19 on the first day of a trip on the Ocoee River in Tennessee. Six other campers who had been with Silvershein on the raft made it back to shore safely. Silvershein remained trapped under a rock, under the water's surface, according to Southern Jewish Life Magazine. A paddle reportedly was used to free him, but CPR efforts failed.

Camp kids, homeless benefit from Federation Community Service Day

By Julie Gruenbaum Fax
Published on June 14, 2011

More than 250 volunteers participated in The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ Community Service Day on June 5, the second of four volunteer opportunities in celebration of The Federation’s 100th anniversary.

Mommy Camp

By Dikla Kadosh
Published on March 2, 2011

LAUSD’s new calendar impacts camps, families

By Rachel Heller
Published on January 25, 2011

This summer was going to be the one — the one when Prissi Cohen’s daughter, Tillie, would finally get to enroll with a friend in a late-summer overnight session at Camp Ramah. But now Cohen’s not so sure. If Tillie, 10, winds up going to a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) middle school in the fall, she would have to be at her desk two days before camp ends.

Lifting voices — and hearts — in song at Hava Nashira

Published on January 25, 2011

To those who love it, Hava Nashira is less a Jewish summer music workshop and more a calling. Even the name — translated as “come let us sing” — beckons. Started in 1992 by Debbie Friedman and Cantor Jeff Klepper, the sessions originally intended to train camp song leaders have gone on to have a global impact on Jewish music and synagogue life.

Not Your American Summer Camp…

By Julia Bendis
Published on December 1, 2010

NBA’s Dwight Howard to visit Israel

Published on August 23, 2010

NBA All-Star Dwight Howard will visit Israel to hold a basketball clinic for teens.

With seed help, niche camps hope to draw more young Jews

Published on March 25, 2010

While most kids who attend Jewish overnight camps this summer will ship off to rural settings, a handful will find themselves in the concrete jungle of Manhattan engaged in what could be described as early career development.

Flu cases down at Hess Kramer

By Laura Stampler
Published on September 2, 2009

Camp Hess Kramer, like other sleep-away camps this summer, sent home children with influenza-like symptoms during its first session. But no children were sent home from the camp after July 15, the start of its second session.

Local Jewish Camps Face Down Swine Flu

Published on June 30, 2009

Families Look in Own Back Yards for Summer Fun

By Rachel Heller
Published on April 22, 2009

Each summer, Erica Groten saves money on summer camp for her son, Ethan, by enrolling him in an exclusive program with only one opening: Camp Mom.

Groten takes Ethan, 6, to places like the Natural History Museum and the Los Angeles Zoo, and organizes beach days with other families and their children. She plans to reprise her role as camp director this summer, creating educational trips for her son.

Free Camp Offers Help for Kids Facing Parent’s Cancer

By Lilly Fowler
Published on March 11, 2009

Corinne Lightweaver has spent nearly seven years fighting cancer; first diagnosed with lymphoma in 2003, doctors then discovered she had breast cancer in 2007. The stress and anxiety associated with her life-threatening illness had taken a toll on the entire family, including her wife, Stacey Peyer, and their daughter, who at 7 has had a parent with cancer for most of her young life.

Malibu camp offers respite and community for kids with HIV

By Danielle Berrin
Published on November 19, 2008

" . . . This camp, this organization [Hollywood Heart] gives me true happiness.I get back so much more in ways that are impossible to quantify, in ways I couldn'tget from anything material or anything else I've ever done . . . "

Calendar Girls Picks and Clicks August 23 - 29: Benny Goodman, opera, magic and more

By Dikla Kadosh and Danielle Berrin
Published on August 22, 2008

This may be your only chance to help a budding filmmaker out and see "The Impossible Itself."

Obituaries

Published on January 24, 2008

In a prayer for his ordination from the Hebrew Union College (HUC) in 1940, Wolfgang (Wolli) Kaelter wrote: "Grant us depth that we might understand, vision that we might see, and let us never become self-satisfied."

Not everyone forgot Jews in Shoah, Polish official says

By Tom Tugend
Published on January 24, 2008

"During the Holocaust, not everyone abandoned the Jews. Not everyone forgot about you."


So spoke Poland's Undersecretary of State Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka, and her words were backed by the photos and stories of 21 surviving non-Jews from Poland recognized as Righteous Among the Nations that lined the hallway at the UCLA Hillel Center.

Solar panels, radio station keep Jewish camps current

By Nancy Sokoler Steiner
Published on January 24, 2008

It was a given that Benjy Rabin, 9, would spend part of his summers at Camp Ramah as soon as he was old enough. His father is a Ramah alum, and so are his older brother and sister.

Books: Czech teen’s words and art put a face on the Holocaust for me

By Daniel A. Olivas
Published on June 7, 2007

Ginz was a Czech Jew, born in 1928, who died in a gas chamber in Auschwitz at the age of 16. His diary had been lost for 60 years but resurfaced in 2003.

Loud and clear reasons for a cell phone-free Summer

By Jordanna Flores
Published on February 22, 2007

Cell phones are an inherent part of our culture -- why fight that at camp?

To sleep-away camp ... perchance to dream

By Sharon Duke Estroff
Published on February 22, 2007

Going to overnight camp for the first time. It is -- in many circles -- a Jewish rite of passage. Unlike becoming a bar or bat mitzvah, however, the perfect timing for transitioning from day camper to overnight camper is not preordained; on the contrary, it can vary significantly from child to child.

More Jewish Parents Picking Secular Path to Camp

By Julie G Fax
Published on August 10, 2006

"Our images of Jewish camping are formed by people who are heavy Jewish campers, but there are lots of people who are light Jewish campers and campers at non-Jewish camps, and this study accessed their views on Jewish camping," Steven M. Cohen, the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion sociologist who authored the study, told The Jewish Journal. "I think we learned that there are diverse incentives and obstacles to participation in Jewish camping."

Who Is A Jew?

By Rob Eshman
Published on August 10, 2006

For a great many of us, there is an instant and easy identification with the Jewish state. They are not they, they are we. The heat of battle forges them into us. Whether we've spent much time there, whether we have blood relatives there, we feel ourselves as one, we are they.

The Bittersweet Meaning of Mud

By Natalie Katz
Published on August 3, 2006

There is one program in particular that embodies all of the emotionalism and meaning of machon summer: Tza'adah. Tza'adah is a five-day, four-night overnight trip that takes campers far from the boundaries of camp and into the nature of Northern California, where we bond with friends, while experiencing the outdoors.

Israelis Bring Situation Close to Home for Campers

By Julie G Fax
Published on July 19, 2006

Like most camps, Hess Kramer, has a staff of Israelis who work as counselors and educators. This summer, 1,400 Israelis, most of them between the ages of 19 and 22, are staffing 200 Jewish day and sleep-away camps, according the Jewish Agency, which coordinates the stays.

Angelenos Help Abraham’s Vision Come True

By Tom Tugend
Published on July 6, 2006

Unity is a collaboration between Jewish and Muslim high schools and focuses on interfaith studies, taught by educators of both religions.

Class Notes

By Julie G Fax
Published on July 6, 2006

Fleeing Nazis Breaks His Father’s Spirit

By Tom Tugend
Published on June 15, 2006

In the beginning of the Nazi era, my father, thanks to his international reputation, was offered various positions abroad, including, oddly enough, at the main hospital in Tehran, but he couldn't conceive of leaving Germany. Like many old-time German Jews, he looked on Hitler as a temporary aberration, which the good sense of the German people would soon reverse.

The Circuit

By Norma Zager
Published on May 4, 2006

Circuit

yeLAdim

By Shoshana Lewin-Fischer
Published on April 27, 2006

This section of the page is a way for you as kids to sound off about an issue. This month's Kein v' Lo (yes and no) is about camps. Should Jewish kids go to Jewish camps or other kinds of camps?

Class Notes - National Nachas for Shalhevet

By Julie G Fax
Published on March 9, 2006

Five brief pieces, on the following: Shalhevet School's recent winning streak, Camp Ramah's new solar panels, a five-day summer workshop that shows teachers how to use studying the holocaust to teach morality, an opportunity to serve abroad as part of the "Jewish Peace Corps," and a recent Prejudice Awareness Summit at the University of Judaism.

A Dying Language Comes to Life

By Jane Ulman
Published on February 23, 2006

The Yiddish words flew -- sometimes fluently, sometimes haltingly and occasionally "shreklich" or awful as the seniors reached for a word long forgotten or the students for a word they had not yet learned. They raised their voices, gesturing with their hands as they spoke.

Finding God Under the Stars

By Amy Klein
Published on February 23, 2006

The fog/smog lies heavy over the San Bernardino mountain range, but with a little imagination, it's still possible to make out Los Angeles -- and Catalina -- in the distance. Likewise, at an elevation of more than 6,000 feet in Running Springs, it's possible to envision the great promise of Camp Gan Israel, Chabad's new sleep-away camp and retreat center, even though the site is still undergoing heavy remodeling.

Rabbi Ending Long Hitch in Military

By Avigail Schwartz
Published on February 16, 2006

Lapp was 9 when his family arrived in the United States. He went on to study political science and religious education at Yeshiva University and was ordained at the Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary in 1957. He studied chaplaincy at the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., and the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.

Nation & World Briefs

By Tom Tugend
Published on January 19, 2006

World

Spectator - A Poet’s Slam-Dunk

By Robert David Jaffee
Published on January 12, 2006

With a gift for diction, Kadosh explores the cultural absurdities and political hypocrisies of America, dedicating one spoken-word poem to SUVs, and another to the cheese at the heart of America.

Even Utopia Has a Price Tag

By Lea Lion
Published on December 29, 2005

Late in the summer of 1987, my parents shipped me off to the Cleveland Jewish Community Center's cleverly named Camp Wise. It was August, the weather was hot, and the little village of wooden cabins with tent flaps for walls was a welcome change from the air-conditioned houses of the city.

Choices Snowball for Ski Adventures

By Adam Wills
Published on December 15, 2005

Skiers and snowboarders who want vacations with fresh powder have an avalanche of options this winter. Jewish ski trips abound for teens to 40-somethings of all skill levels.

Nazi Hunter Wiesenthal Dies at 96

By Jewish Journal Staff
Published on September 19, 2005

Simon Wiesenthal, a Holocaust-survivor-turned-Nazi hunter who always spoke of justice, not vengeance, is dead at 96.

Wiesenthal died in his sleep at his home in Vienna, his office announced Tuesday. Working with a small staff from his cramped three-room office, Wiesenthal sifted through tens of thousands of documents and followed countless leads, compiling archives that helped bring some 1,100 Nazi criminals to justice.

Kids Page

By Abby Gilad
Published on September 15, 2005

Josh Fields, 8, of Thousand Oaks, won the "My Amazing Summer" essay contest.

He wins a gift certificate to the store of his choice.

Class Notes - A Ramah Reunion

By Julie G Fax
Published on August 25, 2005

A group of 25 campers from Ramah of California's pilot summer in 1955 returned to camp this summer to kick off a yearlong celebration of Ramah's 50 years on the West Coast. The camp officially opened in 1956.

Back then, there were 62 campers and 24 staff members. Tuition for the 10 days was set at $56.16 -- with scholarships available. Today, there are 1,275 campers at the Ojai location, just down the road from the original campsite and a four-week session costs $3,120.

Rabbi Jacob Pressman, director of the camp that first summer, and assistant director Miriam Wise were among the delegates this summer. Rabbi Daniel Greyber, current director, presented the two with an award of recognition for their service.

The alumni toured the camp and then spent the evening in a singalong with current campers. Young campers and alumni alike were touched and amazed to hear that they knew the same camp songs, some of them authored by the adult guests.

Etta Israel Campers Learn Skills for Life

By Julie G Fax
Published on August 4, 2005

Mark Worland -- six-foot-something, dressed in tight black and skinhead bald -- grabs Navid by the arm.

"Come with me!" he barks.

"No!" screams Navid, barely 5-feet tall.

Navid throws himself on his back, locks the bottom of his feet to Worland's knees, and shields his face and head from Worland's flailing fists.

"Great job," says Worland, a self-defense specialist, shaking Navid's hand and helping him up, as Navid's friends applaud.

This self-defense class is part of a repertoire of life skills that Navid and his peers are learning at Independent Living Skills, a summer program for developmentally disabled adults run by Etta Israel Center, a mid-Wilshire nonprofit for people with special needs.

Hoop Star Scores On and Off Court

By Cookie Lommel
Published on June 2, 2005

After a successful career with the country's top basketball team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Aulcie Perry, 54, opened summer basketball clinics for children 7 to 14 years old in Tel Aviv. And he's about to open another one -- a camp set up to attract teens from all over the world, especially observant Jews.