Gush Katif kids enjoy summer camp
B’nai B’rith International, Koby Mandell Foundation partner to provide 100 children evacuated from Gaza in 2005 with exciting 10-day experience
Since 2002, The Koby Mandell Foundation has operated Camp Koby, a therapeutic camp for Israeli children suffering from the trauma of terror and other crises, offering a much needed respite from the campers’ everyday pressures. Since 2005, the foundation has operated overnight or day camps for children of Gush Katif, who were evacuated in the 2005 disengagement from Gaza and live today in temporary housing.
This year’s camp featured a five-day day camp and three days of camping and touring in northern Israel. The B’nai B’rith-Koby Mandell Foundation collaboration was fostered by the B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem.
Since 2003, B’nai B’rith has provided a traditional summer camp experience for Israeli children whose families have been touched by terrorist attacks or wars in Israel through its Camp Passport program, which brought children to B’nai B’rith camps in the United States.
“B’nai B’rith International is committed to assisting Israeli children in need and is honored to partner with The Koby Mandell Foundation for this vital program,” B’nai B’rith International President Dennis W. Glick said ahead of the camp. “We have been proud to bring 69 children to the United States over the last seven years for a camping experience, and now 100 children who will have this amazing experience at camp in Israel.”
During the 2010 Camp Koby-B’nai B’rith program, Gush Katif kids were given the opportunity to escape the everyday pressures of life. Professional therapists were employed in part of the program to guide children in expressing their emotions and anxieties through art, drama, music, and other forms of play in a safe, constructive, creative, and natural way.
'A break from their circumstances'
Camp activities included swimming, hiking, arts and crafts, drama, kayaking, carnivals, and more. Up to 100 children in first through eighth grades participated as campers. American teenagers from Camp Nesher of the New Jersey Y Camps volunteered as counselors. The camp took place at Kibbutz Ein Tzurim near Kiryat Gat.
“This is an incredible camp for kids who really need a break from their circumstances,” B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin said. “I cannot think of a better way to honor Koby than through this camp filled with fun, friendship, and life.”
Rabbi Seth and Sherri Mandell established The Koby Mandell Foundation in 2001, several months after their 13-year-old son Koby was brutally murdered by terrorists near their home in Israel. The Koby Mandell Foundation provides emotional support to people who have lost an immediate family member to war, terrorism, or tragedy in Israel, while also strengthening Jewish identity and pride among American Jews.
Each program offers a unique combination of therapy and fun activities, in a supportive environment to help participants learn to cope with their grief, heal from their pain, and grow beyond previous limitations.
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