The 27th annual Leo Baeck Arab-Jewish Summer Camp took place during the week of August 13-18, 2018, with full participation of 50 Jewish and 50 Arab elementary school age children. The theme of this summer’s day camp was One for All and All for One and through experiential teamwork campers were exposed to the major cultures and religions in Israel and how they influence each other.
This summer’s activities included:
Day 1 – THIS IS ME: Discussion and getting to know each other and group expectations, creation of a group diary in Hebrew and Arabic, magic show.
Day 2 – ODD OR EVEN – NICE TO MEET YOU: Compilation of a group dictionary, a fun-filled excursion to the Exterme Adventure Park in Akko, followed by viewing of a bilingual Hebrew/Arab play in the Akko Theater.
Day 3 – MY GROUP: Excursion to the Agricultural Circus Farm in the village of Yogev, team building excercizes emphasizing interdependency (group tasks, riddles, mystery puzzles), organic vegetable picking, and a circus performance.
Day 4 – MY COMMUNITY: Field camp in the Carmel Forest, mountain bike riding and hiking through the Bridges Park in Nesher, a cultures day where children displayed their customs, dress, songs, and dances.
Day 5 – FUN Day at the Tel Aviv Amusement Park.
Day 6 – OUR COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER: Joint outing for campers and their parents to the Jordan River where they built rafts and sailed them on the river, followed by a closing ceremony and farewells.
Through multiple fun and joint activities we aim to bring children closer together and foster friendships. Campers learn about “the other” through mutual exposure to their culture, language, songs, traditions, and more. Each day of camp begins with a discussion of the day’s activities that also serves as a basis for instruction in Hebrew and Arabic languages, and each day ends with a discussion of the impact of that day’s experiences on the campers.
Keep on your wonderful activities- Schana Tova to all who still remember me herbet Bettelheim