Camp BB Riback offers respite to Israeli campers

by Maxine Fischbein

(AJNews) – Camp BB Riback has been abuzz with activity all summer, with its camper community approaching pre-COVID numbers, says Camp Director Stacy Shaikin, who was excited to open the camp gates even wider in August to provide much-needed respite for a group of 12 Israeli kids whose lives were disrupted when their communities were evacuated following the Hamas attacks on October 7, the subsequent war in Gaza and Hezbollah attacks on Israel’s northern border.

Shaikin jumped in with both feet and a full heart when Adam Silver—then the CEO of Calgary Jewish Federation—and Stacey Leavitt-Wright, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Edmonton, called him early in 2024 to discuss the possibility of bringing Grade 9 kids from the Federations’ P2G (Partnership2Gether) region of the Etzba Hagalil (Galilee Panhandle) to the camp.

According to Shaikin, the camp and the local federations split the cost of the camper fees and the Jewish Agency paid for flights, ensuring that the kids could enjoy second session at the camp at no cost to their families.

AJNews was at the camp when the 12 kids arrived, together with dedicated staff including a social worker, two counsellors and a security guard.

“We are treating them like regular campers,” said Shaikin who has provided the group with a male camp counsellor who speaks Hebrew, since the counsellors who traveled with the group are both women.

Additionally helpful to the visiting Israelis is a group of 7 Israeli staff members, three of whom worked at the camp last summer and one who previously attended as a camper. The three new Israeli staffers were hired by the camp through a program of the Jewish Agency.

Edmontonian Amy Shlomovitch, coordinator for the age group that includes the Israeli campers, spoke to AJNews shortly after the kids from Etzba Hagalil arrived.

“They seem great. I’m really excited,” said Shlomovitch.

“They’ve had such a tough year. This is such a good opportunity for them to just get away and enjoy the summer.  For us to be able to see Israelis and give them a good time is really rewarding.”

In addition to local and Israeli staffers, approximately 30 international specialists were hired by the camp this season, including individuals from Australia, Belgium, Cypress, the Czech Republic, France, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, the UK, and Wales.

“It’s a mosaic,” quips Shaikin.

Shaked Zipori, who lives in Yokneam, Israel, has played an instrumental role in educating staff and campers about the history and culture of Israel as well as the war Israel has been fighting in Gaza and on its northern border with Lebanon since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, the deadliest war on Jews since the Holocaust.

It is Zipori’s second summer at Camp BB Riback. One of five assistant directors, Zipori is in charge of programming and supervises the coordinators of the various camp cohorts.

Being at Camp BB is a dream come true, says Zipori. She did not have the opportunity to attend summer camp as a kid, but following her service in the IDF (where she served in a navy intelligence unit) Zipori learned that the Jewish Agency recruits young Israelis as shlichim at North American Jewish summer camps.

Zipori had her heart set on a US camp, but when she was assigned to Camp BB-Riback, she instantly recognized that a smaller, independent camp would be a great place to share her traditions and Jewish view of life.

“When I was in the army, I was part of a very small unit and I loved how it felt like a family…. I wanted it to feel like this here,” recalled Zipori as she spoke to AJNews on the camp waterfront, pausing here and there to hug a child or offer words of encouragement.

“I came here last year, didn’t know anyone, and this place just turned into my second home,” said Zipori. “Once you come here, you can’t not return.”

While she refers to the camp as her “home away from home,” Zipori says it is particularly challenging to be so far away from Israel at this time.

“You keep hearing about soldiers that are being injured or dying in the war. You keep hearing about the hostages that are still [in Gaza],” said Zipori, whose grandfather immigrated to Israel from India at the age of 30, subsequently instilling the values of Zionism in his family.

“I will always fight for the right for Jews to live in Israel,” said Zipori, who added that although she feels guilty when she is away, she knows that she is making a big impact by working at the camp and helping to raise awareness about the situation in Israel.

“I try my best to talk about it, to not forget about it, because this is a big issue and we don’t want to leave it behind. It is important to not forget and to keep fighting, even when we are away.”

Zipori is devoted to making sure that the kids visiting from the Galilee Panhandle have a great experience at the camp.

“We’ve been preparing ourselves because we know that mentally they could be in a very bad situation. They haven’t seen each other a lot in the past year because they have been spread around Israel, some of them living in hotels, some of them living with their families in different places that are not their homes.”

According to Zipori, one of the campers does not even have a home to return to, as it was obliterated during an attack on Israel’s north.

Israeli campers and staff live with trauma that can be easily triggered by certain sights or sounds, says Zipori.

The camp works to mitigate known triggers. One example is fireworks, which Zipori herself can’t listen to. She opts to take a shower or listen to music because the sound of an explosion takes her back.

“We decided that the next time we will hear fireworks, we will just have a little party in one of the cabins and just play music so that we won’t hear anything that goes on the outside,” Zipori said.

During Maccabiah—a beloved camp sports competition—team captains typically bang on cabin doors to wake everyone up. Local kids don’t think twice about it, but Israeli campers and staff can be re-traumatized by the raid-like commotion, Zipori says, adding that this year captains were asked not to bang on the doors. Just in case, first session staff members that might have been triggered were advised to wake up early and leave the cabins.

Zipori says she is grateful for the efforts of Diaspora Jews in educating the general public about the situation faced by Israelis.

“The support that we see helps so much. It is motivating everybody who is working in and outside of Israel, so it means a lot.”

It bothers Zipori that so many people react to fake news, much of which she describes as “Hamas PR,” eventually taking to the streets and shouting epithets like ‘from the river to the sea.”

“It’s not their fault for not knowing. We know, because we are involved, but they saw one thing and decided to chant for it,” said Zipori. “I hope we can be good in explaining things to the outside world.  Hopefully we’ll get better.”

Shaked has been doing her part to help educate her peers at Camp BB Riback, including non-Jewish international staff.

During staff training, she and her friend and fellow staffer Avital created a fact-filled presentation explaining what took place on October 7 and subsequently and, as importantly, providing historical information about Israel and the Middle East to prepare staff for camper questions and concerns about family members living in Israel or antisemitism here at home.

“I feel that it worked. We saw a lot of crying faces in the presentation that we made. Some of them didn’t even know that there were hostages in Gaza. So it was important to prepare the staff for that.”

Zipori, wise for her years at 21, says that she has seen much compassion among the international staffers, many of whom have asked her questions about the war, her own army service, the risk to her home town, and the hostages still held captive in Gaza.

“After our presentation, they understand the situation way better. They know the truth, basically,” Zipori said. “This was a big part of me coming back at this difficult time.”

Having already served two years in the IDF and an additional four months in Miluim—the reserves—Zipori was already at Camp BB Riback when her commander asked her to again report for duty the next day. She managed to defer her return to the reserves until the fall and plans to eventually attend university, either in Haifa or Beer Sheba, where she will study Bioinformatics.

Zipori does not yet know whether she will return to the shores of Pine Lake for a third summer, but it is clear that she will continue to keep the camp community in her heart.

Registration is now open for the summer of 2025. Campers registered prior to September 30 will get the summer of a lifetime at 2024 prices. For more information about Camp BB Riback, or to register, go to www.campbb.com.