In today’s climate, the sanctuary of a Jewish summer camp is more resonant than ever. I chatted with Jamie Simon, interim CEO of the Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC), about what’s new for summer camp this year—from programming to counselor training—and learned what families can expect as school fades and summer begins.

FJC, with support from CJP, works with more than 300 Jewish summer camps throughout North America on training and professional development designed to meet this moment.

How will your work shape this year’s camper experience?

I was a camp director for about 15 years, and I once went on a walk with a young man. He was 17 at the time. He was a counselor in training, and as we walked around the camp, he told me about all the ways Jewish camp had impacted him. His first story was about a counselor he had 10 years before, when he was 7, and how that counselor got him through homesickness and hard times. Because of that counselor, he also wanted to be a counselor and Jewish role model.

The counselor who helped him had gone through our Cornerstone Program, which teaches counselors how to be Jewish role models, how to lead. We teach about 400 camp counselors through the program. We also gave out about $20 million in funding last year to place 100 therapists at camp, and we will again this summer to provide mental health support. And, new this year, we’ll be placing 70 Israel educators at 70 different camps. We did a three-month training program for those educators, and they go to these camps with the tools they need to infuse Israel education at a deeper level.

Why does this matter now?

As we go into this summer, there are a lot of challenges faced by camps. The mental health crisis of young people continues to be a challenge. Antisemitism is on the rise. It’s really hard to find their place as Jews and a willingness and ability to really speak up at this moment. 

Last summer was really about a reprieve, an escape from everything, and this summer is not only an escape—but also, we don’t want campers to just survive. We want them to thrive, with therapists and wellness programs to deal with anxiety or self-esteem issues or stress or depression. We just offered training for the camp directors who are welcoming these young people about: What does it mean to meet this moment, and how are you going to handle diverse viewpoints, stress and anxiety?

Counselors go to a weeklong training before the summer, and they get all the typical skills you would get at any camp. They learn how to deal with conflict and how to deal with kids who are missing home, and how to work with their co-counselor. At a Jewish camp, they also learn how to be a Jewish role model. What does it mean to do a Jewish bedtime ritual? And how do you make arts and crafts Jewish? When you’re playing soccer, what Jewish values might you teach about being a teammate, or the way that Moses might have led the people in the desert, and how do you lead your people?

The first night of camp, counselors usually set the rules for the session. At a Jewish camp, those rules might be 10 Commandments, and they talk about the way the 10 Commandments have led the Jewish people, but how are they going to lead campers during these two or three weeks at camp? They’ll teach typical bunk rules, but through the lens of the 10 Commandments. Or another example might be, each of your bunk mates are created in the image of God. What does that mean about how we treat people? What does that mean about how we want to show up?

We also think about: How do we honor and respect diverse viewpoints while still knowing that we believe Israel has a right to exist as a democratic Jewish state, as a core value that our camp holds? Counselors are getting new skills now about bringing a bunk together around hard conversations in new ways that maybe they didn’t need to do three years ago.

How does this play out through programming at a Jewish camp specifically?

A lot of people say to me, if you go to a camp that isn’t Jewish, you might learn how to play soccer really well, or you might learn how to do art really well. There are a lot of activity-based camps. Really, the power of Jewish camp is that you get to learn art and you get to learn soccer, but you also get to learn about being a Jew and having a positive Jewish identity and being immersed in Jewish community. This builds your self-esteem. We’re trying to teach all the human skills, leadership skills, communication skills, friendship skills—and how to have a positive Jewish identity. I think Jewish camp does that really well.

There was recently a study that revealed that Jewish camp was the No. 1 space where Jewish teens felt most comfortable being themselves. In a moment in time when kids are feeling lonely and like they can’t be themselves, Jewish camp is where they feel like they can be. We do this through team-building games, things where kids can succeed, and group games, where the whole bunk wins. Every day at a Jewish camp, you’ll see community-building; every day at a Jewish camp, you’ll see joy in song sessions, in the way they do music and the way kids can participate, either by singing the songs or dancing the songs or humming along with the songs.

You’ll see music at every camp. You’ll see Jewish learning. And Jewish learning at camp is like a buffet of Judaism. Some kids are going to feel really connected to the Shabbat services or the Torah services. Some kids are going to feel connected to learning Hebrew words or hearing Jewish stories. Some kids are going to love Israeli dancing or going on a nature walk, where Jewish values are taught.

There are also typical camp activities. Camps have sports and arts and crafts and theater and drama, and a lot of camps have nature: hiking and garden and ropes courses. Our balance is a third community-building, a third Jewish learning and a third fun, although fun often can have Jewish learning and community-building in them.

What sort of needs do Jewish campers have that perhaps other campers might not? How do counselors address those needs? 

It’s such a good question, because I think most young people are dealing with increased loneliness or screen addiction. Then, if you’re a Jewish teen or a Jewish child, you’re also dealing with your relationship to Israel, potential loss and trauma, dealing with antisemitism on your campus or in your community. This is exacerbating all the other issues a typical teen would deal with.

Camp is this opportunity where, if you’re already having a hard time outside of camp, you can see people like yourself who have similar experiences in their schools or their college campuses, and be in community together and engage in Jewish learning, Jewish connection. The leadership of these camps is coming in with a lot of intentionality around programming, of enveloping campers in this loving Jewish community that says: “This is where you belong. We see you. We’re here for you, and you can also thrive here.” And then they can take the things they’ve learned and thrive at home.

For parents: What are some questions to ask and things to think about for those who are totally new to camp enrollment?

Our website has a find-a-camp tool, and it tells you a little bit about each of the camps. You can narrow it down: Do you want to camp in the Reform movement, the Conservative movement or an unaffiliated camp in the JCC movement? They each have their own flair and their own focus.

Then, I recommend you call a few camps and talk to the directors and watch their videos on their website. Directors can give you references of families and kids of the same age who have been there before. Parents can be great ambassadors and answer a lot of questions. 

Some camps do have visiting days. Some also have family camps, which is a great thing to try; you can meet the counselors and live in the cabins yourself. But the best way is to talk to families who have been to the camp, and the camps can connect you to those families.

We see camp as a refuge from fear, but what are the safety and security protocols at camp?

At Jewish camp, belonging, joy and Jewish pride are centered, and people need that and are craving that. We saw enrollment go up last year because people were craving it, and we’re seeing a rise again this year. But we can only control so much, and what we can control is creating safe places of belonging, joy and pride, and I think that’s what we need.

In terms of safety, we’ve been doubling down on physical safety at these camps for a long time, whether it’s partnering with organizations that do security and partnering with the Jewish Federations of North America, which has been doubling down on their security efforts. Our camps have been partnering with security experts for a long time, and have doubled down, of course, since Oct. 7. They’re working with security experts in their community to learn what threats exist and if there’s more they need to do.

Obviously, there’s no guaranteed safety, ever, but I do think that camps are being responsible about ensuring their sites are safe and that they’re following the best practices when it comes to security. I’ll just say, as somebody who traveled to 30 Jewish camps last summer, I never felt safer, both physically and emotionally, being surrounded by Jews in these welcoming communities.

I do think that Judaism that’s joyful and not fear-based is critical right now. It’s really key to Jewish resiliency that we continue to lean into these spaces. My hope is that the 200,000-plus people who go to Jewish camp will leave feeling excited about their Jewish identity, with new skills of resiliency and leadership, and go back into this very challenging time with hope.

I wonder how that leadership might play out when camp ends. What does Jewish leadership look like for kids come September?

There are so many ways we’re seeing amazing Jewish leadership right now. I had someone tell me yesterday at a conference that she’s speaking out in ways she never would have, because she’s more confident. When there was an antisemitic incident on her college campus, she led the administration in calling it out and holding that person accountable. I think it’s giving these young people skills to speak out. 

A different young person told me earlier this year that when things happen that they don’t agree with, they call their camp friends—they’re now having a weekly call on Sundays with those camp friends. I think it’s giving them tools, both to speak out and speak up, but also a place of refuge, a safe place to go when they feel alone.

Explore our directory of Jewish overnight camps.