metro >> on the cover Enduring Experience After 11 years, Federation's Israeli camper program reaps benefits for all. Vivian Henoch I Special to the Jewish News CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 "We never finish our reading;' he says. "From the last word, we jump right back to the first word. Our story is never- ending." From the rabbinic teaching moment, there's a "family moment" immediately following the service, as Camp Maas Director Lee Trepeck gathers Tamarack's 48 Israeli campers for their weekly update on news from home. "Mishpachah! That's who we are. A family:' Lee affirms. Just Like Home Now in its 11th season, Federation's Israeli Camper Program is a partnership of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, Tamarack Camps and the Detroit Partnership 2GETHER Region of the Central Galilee in Israel. Its goals are to build Jewish identity and create connec- tions that foster lasting friendships in the Detroit-Israel community. The program started as a "mission in reverse" in 2002, the year of the Second Intifada. With normal family activity in Israel severely restricted, security impos- sible to guarantee, and Israeli camps and school programs closed, Detroit commu- nity leaders had no choice but to cancel the Teen Mission set to leave in June. Instead, they devised a plan to bring Israel home to Michigan by providing 320 Israeli teens a camping experience at Tamarack. What happened that summer was a defining moment that demonstrated to what measures the Jewish community would go to support summer camping experiences and cultural exchange for its children. To date, more than 1,000 Israeli camp- ers have come to Tamarack to share a transforming Jewish experience with their Michigan brothers and sisters and their host families. What started as a community outreach initiative has blossomed into a full- 8 August 2 • 2012 fledged leadership training program for youth, supported by a growing circle of family and friends from Jewish Detroit and the Israeli partnership region in the Central Galilee. Leadership Growth The key to the program is the learning curve from year to year. Israeli camp- ers now compete for the opportunity to come to Tamarack and are selected based on their social, language and leader- ship skills. For instance, the 84 campers attending the two sessions this summer were recruited from a pool of nearly 400 students; the 12 elite 16-year-olds who comprise the Israeli "TSS" Teen Service Staff were selected from a pool of 40. Upon their return to the region, these young people continue on their journey to enroll in community service projects in preparation to serve on the Israeli staff of Federation's Teen Missions or to return to Tamarack as "TSS" counselors. Or Klein, from Nazareth Illit in the Central Galilee, and Naama Beeri, from the Jezreel Valley, are two TSS who returned to camp this year under the supervision of TSS Director Tomer Moked. Tomer can be strict, they say, but the relationship they share with him is built on trust and confidence. Poised and outgoing, speaking English with only a hint of their Israeli accents, Or and Naama observe how life has changed for them since entering the program. "Spending a month away from home has helped me become more mature, independent, responsible and able to cope with problems:' Or says. Naama agrees. "I knew about the pro- gram from my sister, Noga, and just knew I had to be part of it as well. This summer I am working with Avodah campers — a program for adults with special needs. The lessons I have learned will not fade away. They have inspired me to do more." Family To Family Through the program, parents of camp- ers also step up to become active leaders in the Israeli region and Detroit. The Findling family is an example: Darren and Alyson Findling, Darren's brother, Daniel, and wife, Lisa, all of Huntington Woods, and Darren's parents, Fred and Luba Findling of Farmington Hills, together have hosted more than 30 Israeli campers and Scouts over five summers of the program. Recently, in celebration of their daugh- ter Emily's bat mitzvah, Darren and Alyson took their family to Israel where they were able to reunite with their extended Israeli campers' family for a Seder supper. Like so many families here in Jewish Detroit, the Findings continue to open their homes to welcome Israeli campers and staff members as family. In visits to Israel, the connections between hosting families and Israelis can manifest themselves in surprising and touching ways. Darren recalls a mis- sion to Israel several years ago when, by coincidence, he ran into a group of Israeli officers on Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem, the site of a fierce battle dur- ing the Six-Day War in 1967. He heard a Top: Camp Maas Director Lee Trepeck with Israeli campers Bottom: Israeli Teen Service Staff members Or Klein and Naama Beeri young woman call out to him, "Darren?" He turned to find a former camper his parents had hosted standing before him, a grown woman, now a soldier and offi- cer in training. "I will never forget my experience at Tamarack," she told him. "In fact, that experience made me an officer and the leader I am today." "It was just amazing;' Darren recalls. "When I first met her she was a kid away from home for the first time. To see her in Israel, transformed to a confident young adult, was so gratifying, and more thanks than I could ever ask for." ❑ Vivian Henoch is editor and writer for MyJewishDetroit.org , powered by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, where this story first appeared. Follow on Twitter @MyJDetroit.