By Joel Magalnick, JTNews Correspondent
Iyar Dalva wrote a verse of the Beatles’ “Yesterday” in Hebrew. He then performed the entire song, his fingers strumming on his guitar, in front of the entire Camp Solomon Schechter population at its annual talent show. This Israeli teenager — and the seven others who came with him — spent three weeks romping through 160 acres of Northwest beauty on a program called Noar L’Noar.
“The opportunity to have Israeli campers in Schechter is something so amazing,” said Jodi Sperling, director of Camp Schechter. The relationships the campers form with each other can often be the catalyst for American teens to visit Israel, especially important when tour groups have had such low attendance over past years, she added.
Six of the seven campers, as well as the camp counselor who joined them, came from Seattle’s sister cities Kiryat Malachi and Hof Ashkelon. Noar L’Noar, a program of the Foundation for Jewish Camping, worked with the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle to bring the campers to Olympia at either very little or no cost. This is the first time the program has been implemented at Schechter.
The eighth camper, Itay Piro, came from Jerusalem. Visa problems, which kept two other Israelis home and have been well documented this summer because of new State Department regulations, would have caused Piro to arrive too late at Camp Ramah in California. Therefore, Schechter welcomed him in.
Itay enjoyed himself, even with his change in plans. He liked meeting the other boys, he said, “and girls, and girls, and girls.”
It took a little time for the Israeli boys to get adjusted to their new environs, according to counselor David Michaelis, but they eventually found something in common.
“They’re all over the music,” said Michaelis, who had three of the four visitors in his cabin. “They have some Hebrew rap songs that they play. It’s funny to hear their little rap songs and then our kids singing to them.”
Michaelis noted that language was a barrier, and oftentimes the three boys would retreat amongst themselves, but things had gotten much better by the third week of the session.
Eliya Weis, one of the three female campers, did not live with other Israelis. With her firm grasp of English, language was not such a problem, but the new experience also meant she needed time to adjust.
“We wanted to be alone because it’s the start, and we didn’t know anyone,” Eliya said. “After that, we kind of got used to it because my cabin mates, they accepted me.”
Jenna Balberg, Eliya’s counselor, helped with easing the transition.
“Whenever she [needed] to, [I’d] go and let her go talk to the other two girls that are the grade above her,” Balberg said.
Also, Ortal Krief, the counselor who joined the Israeli campers lived in the neighboring cabin.
The Israelis came to Camp Schechter in a year when the camp itself has seen some changes. Sperling, who took over the reins as director, said that with 247 kids in the third session, Schechter had its largest attendance ever. As a result, an emphasis was placed on creating an intimate and family-like atmosphere that might not be found at bigger institutions.
“Camp is full right now,” Sperling said, when referring to how past years had been devoted to growing Schechter. “There are so many kids in the Northwest that don’t go to camp, and those kids should be able to have a camp experience.”
Older staffers than in previous years, many of whom attended Schechter when they were younger, helped bring back lost traditions — something important in any camp environment — but had a positive effect as well in how smoothly the camp runs from start to finish.
“The feedback we’ve gotten from parents is incredible,” Sperling said. “The kids, they’re coming back just raving about the summer.
In addition, some new programs were added, including pottery, kayaking, a digital photography studio, and — luckily for Iyar — guitar. Another Israeli camper, Matan Azolaya, who had expected to come to the U.S. to find the country completely wired, enjoyed playing with the digital cameras.
In addition, many of the activities became more goal-oriented.
“Instructors [had] plans that they [were] following, and there [was] something that the kids [were] learning at each activity,” Sperling said. For instance, instead of free swimming, they developed skills in swim racing and diving.
Then there was the interaction with the opposite sex.
“The girls, they love the girls,” counselor Michaelis said.
And did the girls feel the same way?
“Oh lord yes, definitely. They’re very popular with the fellas,” said Balberg.
For many families both in the United States and abroad, summer overnight camp is a luxury not always available to kids of any age.
“Particularly this year, families that aren’t used to having to ask for extra money were in a situation because of the economy,” Sperling said. “We do have a lot of campers that come on financial assistance of some sort.”
A lot of that money comes from the camp itself. Because of local need, however, Schechter was not able to cover the costs for the Israelis campers. None of the families who sent their kids to the United States would have been able to do so on their own, so that’s where Noar L’Noar and the Jewish Federation came in.
In fact, most of the Israelis had never been to the U.S. before. Some had never even left Israel. The three weeks they spent in the Northwest was a far cry from the everyday pressures of living in a region that deals with the threat of terrorism and war on a daily basis. Sperling said she is glad they came.
“Because so many of our teenagers are not going to Israel, the best way for them to meet Israelis is to bring Israelis here,” she said. “No matter how much work has to go into planning the program, or how many last minute changes are made, or visas, or whatever, I think that it’s just invaluable to have Israelis. These kids are real live kids. They’re not trained to come in here. They’re just kids wanting to come in and have fun.”
“The fact that these kids,” Sperling added, “the Jewish kids of the Pacific Northwest are having interactions with Israelis on a personal level, that will form their connection to Israel.”