Aug 27, 2018

Camp Szarvas: Bringing Jewish Traditions to International Campers

Your donations to the Annual Federation Campaign helped 1,500 campers enjoy inspiring Jewish experiences at Camp Szarvas this summer in rural Hungary. Run by Federation’s overseas partner, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), Szarvas brings together Jewish kids from places where Jewish life flourished before the Holocaust or where there are only a handful of Jews. This unique camp is often the youngsters first encounter with Judaism.

Many of the 25,000+ camp alumni have gone on to become leaders in Jewish communities the world over. Miriam Rosenţvaig teaches English at Bucharest’s Jewish kindergarten and coordinates teen programming for its Jewish community center. Now 29 and the head of the camp’s Romania delegation, she returns to camp each summer “feeling like Harry Potter when he got that letter from Hogwarts: lucky, amazed, chosen.”

The camp has been a driving force in the renaissance of Jewish life across much of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. It is a source of great inspiration, leadership development, connection to Israel and Jewish learning. Click here to read a story from Tablet about the camp.

Click here to learn more about how Federation works with our overseas partner to help support programs like this and others.