On Nov. 8, Jewish Federation Los Angeles (JFEDLA) held its 14th annual Tour de Summer Camps at Camp Alonim in Simi Valley, where hundreds of cyclists, families and volunteers raised more than $1 million for need-based Jewish summer camp scholarships, surpassing the event’s $1 million goal. This year’s event was presented by the Gilbert Foundation.
Riders set out on routes of 18, 36, 62 and 100 miles, while others joined a guided hike, the “Cycle at Camp” spin class, a pickleball tournament and the Camp Cup, a team competition built on classic summer camp games. Families filled the campus for a Color Run, children’s music, art projects and a PJ Library Book Nook.
The nearly three-mile guided hike saw approximately 20 participants trekking uphill trails overlooking Simi Valley. After strenuous bike rides and hikes, those feeling minor aches were able to treat themselves at a massage station, one of several activity tents set up at the event’s main registration area. For those seeking a bite, there was a coffee tent, a snow cone station and lunch that included kosher hot dogs, hamburgers, salad and fruit.
Camps also went head-to-head on the fundraising leaderboard, led by Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps, which includes Gindling Hilltop Camp and Camp Hess Kramer, Camp Ramah and Camp JCA Shalom.
Since its inception, Tour de Summer Camps, an all-ages community day, has raised nearly $14 million to send kids to Jewish summer camp who otherwise couldn’t afford to go.
From Nov. 5-8, more than 6,500 rabbis and Jewish leaders, including many from Los Angeles, gathered in New York City for the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, the largest rabbinic conference in the world and one of the largest Jewish gatherings outside Israel. The conference met as antisemitism remains at historic levels and as the landscape of American Jewish life undergoes a seismic shift.
The emissaries arrived as new research confirms that the post-Oct. 7, 2023 “surge” in Jewish engagement is holding, and that Chabad is where many of these newly engaged Jews are going. A recent Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) found that this “surge” grew to 38% of American Jews this year, up seven points from 2025.
For decades, Chabad has championed a strong, proud and confident expression of Jewish life both in private and in public. It reflects the vision of the late Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, whose teachings continue to guide the emissaries and inspire Jews of all backgrounds. Chabad emissaries around the world put giant menorahs in city squares while opening new Jewish centers on campuses, cities and suburbs, drawing those with little or no prior Jewish involvement to engage more deeply with their Jewish faith and heritage.
During the conference, rabbis attended workshops and programs and met with colleagues they wouldn’t otherwise meet. Conference sessions focused on sustaining Chabad’s rapid growth, and covered building campaigns, new teen and kids’ chapters, outreach to Jews in isolated areas and ways AI can free up the Chabad emissaries’ time for the personal relationships that are at the center of their work.
