After weeks of uncertainty and a closed airspace, Israeli teens arrive for a summer of healing, joy and lifelong connection.
By Lior Zisser-Yogev
Community Shlicha (Israel Emissary)
23 years ago, in one unforgettable summer back in 2002, a group of Israeli teens, exhausted after a long flight, both nervous and excited, arrived in Ortonville, Michigan and entered the gates of Camp Tamarack. The tall trees, the green lawns, and the sparkling blue lake were all so new and magical to them, marking the start of a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
I was there too—on that green bus, a 14-year-old Israeli girl who couldn’t believe how lucky she is to arrive, for the very first time, to a Jewish summer camp. An experience that would forever change my life. All our concerns faded the moment we stepped off the bus and saw the big sign:
“ברוכים הבאים – Welcome to Tamarack Camp.”
We were home.
Since then, for the past 23 years (with one short pause during COVID), Israeli campers have been an inseparable part of the Camp Tamarack family. They arrive as campers, return later as TLV and later as staff members, and become part of the heart of the Jewish community in Detroit.
This year, after six months of anticipation, preparation, and excitement, we were ready to welcome almost 100 Israeli campers to camp, as part of our incredible “Elaine and Michael Serling Israeli Camper Program.” But reality had other plans.
Just two days before our campers were scheduled to depart from Ben Gurion Airport, Israel launched operation “Rising Lion” against Iran on June 13. Israel’s airspace was closed for several days, and for the first time since 2002, summer at Camp began without our Israeli campers.
It’s a difficult and challenging time for our Mishpacha (our family) in Israel.
For over a year and 10 months, Israel has been fighting a difficult war on multiple fronts. Fifty hostages, our brothers and sisters, are still being held captive. There’s hardly a home in Israel without a soldier or someone in reserve duty, and not a day passes without hearing of loss. Amid all this, we believe that there’s no experience more healing and strengthening than a summer at Tamarack, surrounded by a loving community, great friends and fantastic staff.
We at the Jewish Federation of Detroit, Tamarack Camps and our Partnership2Gether region in the Central Galilee were determined to do everything possible to make sure our Israeli campers would still get here.
And they did!
The moment the ceasefire was announced and airspace reopened, we got to work. We found alternate flights, prepared the camp, arranged chaparones and after a three-week delay, the first group of Israeli Teen Leadership Village (TLV) campers arrived! They landed after a long journey, tired but happy, just in time to join us for a beautiful, meaningful Kabalat Shabbat that finally felt complete.
For the second session, we welcomed 66 more Israeli campers, also about to discover the magic of this incredible community.
When we held a Zoom call with parents to tell them about the cancelled flights, I had tears in my eyes. I felt, personally and deeply, the heartbreak of the kids and their families, but I told them not to worry. Once you’ve joined the Detroit Jewish community family, you’re part of it forever.
And now, once again, I have tears in my eyes, but this time, from excitement and joy … because our family was together again.
This has been an unforgettable summer. A summer that changed the lives of 86 Israeli teens and hundreds of American campers. A summer where lifelong friendships were formed, memories made, and first steps taken into their extended Jewish family here in Michigan.
“ברוכים הבאים – Welcome, Israeli campers!”
