Hundreds of thousands of Jewish camp alumni — and their parents — have long known that those halcyon weeks spent at Jewish summer camp don’t just cement lifelong friendships, they strengthen Jewish identity. Now they have it in writing.
A.B. Yehoshua, long recognized as one of Israel\’s best novelists, has in recent years also emerged as one of its most prominent scolds.
\”Religion is not primarily about faith in God; it is about community, identity, heritage and being of service to others,\” he said. \”We Humanists must also do more to meet these needs, rather than complain about what others believe.
When I look at my daughters, I see their faces as both azoy shayne and uruwashii, \”so beautiful\” in Yiddish and in Japanese.
Birthright\’s success in awakening a connection to Jewish heritage and Israel is unprecedented in American Jewish life. The number of alumni continues to multiply and their enthusiasm is infusing new energy into American Jewry
Natan Sharansky\’s previous book, \”The Case for Democracy,\” changed the world. It inspired a generation of U.S. policymakers and influenced President George\nW. Bush in his decision to go to war against Saddam Hussein. So when Sharansky\’s second book, \”Defending Identity,\” came out this month, I thought I\’d better read it, quick
Israel at 60 faces three major challenges: identity, technology and politics. The future Israel will have to strive and struggle to maintain a credible role as the cultural and spiritual center of Jewish peoplehood. Demography will continue to play a fundamental role here, but the main challenge will be whether Israel can strengthen internal and transnational Jewish cultural bonds to preserve some consensus among the Jewish people.
Briefs
Bettina Kurowski is the chair of the 2008 fundraising campaign of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and active in her Conservative synagogue. She\’s also a grandmother of three young grandchildren. They give her great naches, or joy, she says, but she\’s also worried — the children\’s father is not Jewish, the kids are being raised in an interfaith home and Kurowski, for all her Jewish involvement, is not sure what role she should play in passing on the Jewish heritage that is so dear to her.
A summer without camp? The thought was incomprehensible. I had my life ahead to travel and explore the world, yet only childhood for camp. Soon, I would be inundated with the stresses of being an adult, and it felt as if I was being forced away from my youth. I wanted to be in Malibu; I wanted to be a Jewish camper.
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