Photos: Above Odessa – one of 35 specially organized camps where children are being provided with counseling for trauma from the on-going war: Clockwise from top left, Wausau, Wisconsin; Ottawa, Canada; a Hakhel gathering of 650 campers from seven CGIs in NW London, England; JGR-Greenbush, NY; Aruba; Kyiv, Ukraine; L’Maan Achai-Andes, NY; Hadera, Israel.
There are hundreds of them around the world, with tens of thousands of campers. When the sun is at its zenith in every major city and on every continent, the Chabad-Lubavitch Gan Israel (CGI) summer camps shine their light on another generation of Jewish children.
The Gan Israel camps span a diversity of cultures, languages and regions, extending from Alaska to Florida and from Australia to Zaire. But no matter how disparate they are, all alike in their trademark spirit, joy and Jewish pride that permeate the Gan Israel camp experience.
In 1956, the Rebbe launched Gan Israel, an international network of summer camps, where children of all ages and walks of life learn to love their heritage while enjoying the best experience that camping offers.
In those days, enjoying a summer camp complete with sports, arts, crafts, and entertaining activities was a novelty reserved for children of families with means. When Gan Israel summer day and overnight camps were founded, the guiding principle was that every child deserves to gain from the integration of education and camp activities and that no child should be left out.
Gan Israel has grown into the world’s largest network of Jewish summer camps. Typical activities such as swimming and sports, as well more specialized activities like science workshops, tennis, karate, and dance, all complement the spiritual programs that are the hallmark of Gan Israel: Jewish songs and creative Shabbat parties, ritual arts and crafts, and a variety of programs designed to generate interest and excitement in Jewish life and mitzva observance.
