Dear Friends,

As you can imagine, the recent events in Israel have placed a significant strain upon our shlichim, the young men and women who come to Camp Ramah in Canada in order to imbue our community with a personal and a palpable sense of Ahavat Yisra'el, a love of Israel. 

When the news first broke a few weeks ago about the tragic murder of the three young Israelis, we met with our mishlachat to determine their needs and to begin the conversation about the educational opportunities that exist in camp. That night, together, they created a beautiful memorial to the three boys in our Moadon Tzevet, and later that week they held a staff program to discuss the current state of affairs. 

More recently, as rockets continue to descend into the home cities of some of our shlichim, and with the heart-breaking loss of Israeli troops in combat, not surprisingly they are glued to their phones looking for updates from their families and friends. As Amir, one of our veteran shlichim, said to a crowd on Visitors' Day, "This summer my head is here at camp, but my heart is home in Israel."

Yesterday afternoon, immediately after lunch, the Mishlachat held back our entire staff for two minutes. They asked that everyone contribute $2.00 to the

cause, and proceeded to call a pizza parlour in southern Israel to order 18 pizzas to be

delivered to the soldiers on the border with Gaza. One could hear a pin drop as Tzlil placed the order on speaker phone and everyone listened to the overwhelmingly grateful reaction of the Israeli on the other end of the line. Afterward, Tzlil appropriately remarked, "Everyone wants to do something. Right now, the best thing we can do as shlichim and you can do as staff is to educate our kids." And then she proceeded to remind staff to encourage their campers to attend daily "Hadashot" ("News") every day after lunch in the sifriyah. 

Pizza delivery to IDF soldiers from Camp Ramah in Canada

What is abundantly clear, especially in these complicated times, is that Camp Ramah in Canada remains a place where a deep-seated sense of Zionism is instilled into our campers through experiential education. Whether it is learning about the Modern Hebrew language and Israeli culture in our Chavayah classes, or participating in our fun and lively Yom Yisrael, or by interacting with the passionate and talented young men and women who make up our amazing Mishlachat, our campers become profoundly connected to Israel.

As a way of acknowledging these complicated events in an age-appropriate way, when we gather together tonight for Kabbalat Shabbat, we will begin with a Prayer for the State of Israel, and a communal singing of Hatikvah, the Israeli National Anthem. Together we hope and we pray for a speedy end to the current conflict, as well as a strong and growing connection between our campers and the State of Israel.

Shabbat Shalom,

Dr. Ron Polster

Yom Yisrael at Camp Ramah in Canada 2014    

Mishlachat 2014