They Really Celebrated, That’s for Sure!
by Zara Myers, The Jewish Exponent staff

The day camp, located at Tiferet Bet Israel in Blue Bell, sponsored an evening of music and dancing on the Mandell Campus in Melrose Park, featuring the Israel Scouts Friendship Caravan, which were introduced by Giora Becher, Israel’s counsel general in Philadelphia.

Sally Mitlas adjusts the microphone for Eitan Brown, music specialist at Ramah Day Camp, before a summer concert.

“One of the special things about our camp is its connections to Israel,” said director Susan Ansul. “We wanted to share this, so we invited other day camps, as well as Camp Galil [an overnight kibbutz camp in Bucks County], family members and the community. 

“Travel to Israel has been reduced, so we wanted to share a sense of Israeli culture in a participatory way that involved family fun — and do it as a community.” 

At Camp Ramah in the Poconos, Celebrate Israel! featured the music of Israeli singer/songwriter David Broza, whose troubadour style rang out for its campers and for youngsters from nearby camps from a spectrum of religious streams. At the celebration, folks not only enjoyed the music, but shared original songs and creative-writing presentations about Israel, as well as booths with Israeli themes, according to Ed Ward, development director for Camp Ramah in the Poconos. 

Both events were so successful “that there’s still a buzz,” and next year’s celebrations of Israel are on the planning boards, said Ward, who added that “through these programs, our campers celebrated the positive side of Israel, instead of the horrible things we hear every day.” 

Camp Ramah is under the educational supervision of the Jewish Theological Seminary. 

Funding for Ramah Day Camp’s event was provided by a grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia for Israel Awareness programming. Commerce Bank was a sponsor. 

The celebration at Camp Ramah in the Poconos was funded by the Jewish Camping Foundation and the Target Corporation, along with a grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

For more information about the overnight or day camps, call Camp Ramah’s winter office at 215-885-8556.

You may contact Zara Myers via Email: zmyers@philafederation.org