DETROIT
JEWISH NEW S

friendly exchange

Israeli teen returns as TSS to Tamarack Camps and her old friends.

by Roni Shechori

ing experience is too near. Of course,
I want to go back to my family and my
country, but it is hard to get used to
another separation from my friends at
camp and the Tamarack community
as well as Rachel's warm and inviting
family.
It is clear to both Rachel and me
that it is now her turn to visit me and
my family in Israel next summer. We
can promise her, with confidence, the
summer of her life in Israel. t

M

y name is Roni Shechori
and I'm entering the 11th
grade at Yifat High School
in the Jezreel Valley, which is in Isra-
el's Central. Galilee, Michigan's Part-
nership 2000 region. As a young girl,
I had already heard about this special
connection-building relationship be-
tween my region and the Jewish com-
munity in Detroit.
My mom was an active volunteer
in Partnership 2000 and we seemed
to always be hosting and meeting with
people from Michigan. When I en-
tered eighth grade, my English teacher
started using the terms "Israeli Camper
Program," "Jewish Federation of Met-
ropolitan Detroit" and "Tamarack." It
didn't take long for me to understand
that only a few kids get to be part of
this special one-month experience at
Tamarack Camps in Ortonville; and I
was determined to be one of them.
I participated in the long interview
process and, after three weeks, I heard
I was accepted to be a camper. I was
thrilled, but I was nervous about the
month away from my family and what
would be waiting for me in Michigan.
The next five months until we left
for camp was spent at seminars and
regular meetings to prepare us for the
camp experience.
I left Israel feeling confident, excit-
ed, but still a little nervous. After the
initial shock, I started to meet more
and more Americans my age and I
really felt at home at Tamarack. I es-
pecially connected with Rachel Brun-
hild, a girl in my village and my bunk.
It has been over two years since that
summer and we are still in regular
touch by phone and Facebook. She
and her family have become an im-
portant part of my life.
This year, in 10th grade, after I had

For nine summers, the Jewish

Federation of Metropolitan Detroit

and the Fresh Air Society have made

the Israeli Camper Program possible.

This summer's program chair is Sherri

Ketal of Franklin, who helped bring 64

Israeli campers here. Thirty-three local

families acted as hosts for a weekend.

Since 2002, more than 1,000 Israeli

campers from Detroit's Partnership

2000 region in the Central Galilee have

Israeli campers Kam! Cohen and Hila Chiel, both of the Jezreel Valley, and Avital Funk of Migdal

come to our community.

HaEmek during Israel Day at Tamarack Camps

spent the last two years in "IsraCorps"
(a youth leadership program), we were
offered the opportunity to interview to
return to the Detroit Federation's Is-
raeli Camper Program at Tamarack as
a "TSS" (Teen Service Staff) or to par-
ticipate in Federation's Teen Mission.
I was thrilled to have been accepted to
the TSS program and could not wait
to return to camp and the Detroit corn-
munity.
One of the first Facebook messages
I sent was to Rachel. She and her fam-
ily insisted on hosting me during the
summer. How perfect! I would be at
camp and be hosted by a friend and
her family. Summer was looking very
exciting and I was counting the days!
I have been at camp now for seven
weeks and, sadly, the end of this amaz-

Hosts Robert Brunhild and Karen Schurgln of West Bloomfield, center, flanked by their daugh-

ters, Rachel and Alyssa, with Israeli teens Ron! Shechori of the Jezreel Valley, far left, and Amit

Perchuk of Nazareth lilt, far right

teen2teen August 19 . 2010 TT1