OUR COMMUNITY

22 | JUNE 30 • 2022 

D

esigned with Israeli 
flavor and values, 
Camp Kimama Half 
Moon is set to welcome 
its first year of campers in 
the U.S. this summer. Just 
opened, Kimama Half Moon 
includes campers ages 6-17 
who visit from both the U.S. 
and countries worldwide.
Camp director Abby 
Levine, who has worked 
for numerous Jewish 
organizations 
throughout 
her 25-year 
career, says the 
100-year-old site 
that Kimama 
Half Moon sits 
on is nestled 
deep in the 
Berkshires, offering a scenic 
retreat, including a lake, in 
Massachusetts.
“It’s beautiful,” says Levine, 
who joined Camp Kimama 
in February and is based in 
Charleston, S.C. “The camp 
is about 40 acres and it’s just 
a really nice, calming, clean 
and good atmosphere that 
we’re in.”
Kimama Half Moon 
includes four sessions 
and 25 activities, such as 
photography, water sports, 
arts and crafts, a skate park, 
archery and traditional 
sports, like soccer and 

volleyball. It offers both day 
camp and overnight options 
for campers.

AN OPEN-AIR 
EXPERIENCE
Levine says the site was in 
good condition and came 
with great history. To prepare 
for its first summer, Kimama 
Half Moon staffers have been 
working around the clock 
on renovations, painting and 
resurfacing sports courts. 
 “We’ve freshened it up to 
give it that Kimama flavor,” 
Levine says, “that we wanted 
to have.”
With Hebrew-speaking 
counselors, Kimama 
Half Moon will offer a 
similar experience to its 
international summer camps 
in Israel, which launched in 
2004 with the goal of making 
connections between Jewish 
children around the world. 
Now, Kimama camps can be 
found in numerous countries, 
including Spain, Italy and, 
most recently, the U.S.
The biggest challenge, 
Levine says, has been 
working around the timing. 
“We bought a camp around 
the first of the year, and 
we planned to open for the 
summer in June,” she says. 
“It was our goal and our 
challenge, but one that we 

achieved to start our camp.”
At Kimama Half Moon, 
Levine explains the day-to-
day experience leans heavily 
on giving children a chance 
to be in open-air nature 
without any screens. It will 
also incorporate an expanded 
Jewish experience that Levine 
says is through “an Israeli 
lens.”
“We’re looking at 
everything through Israeli 
culture,” she describes. 
“Campers will be exposed 
to music, art, different 
sports and food. We’re even 
bringing in an Israeli chef.”

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS 
AFTER A PANDEMIC
In Kimama Half Moon’s 
communal-like atmosphere, 
campers will learn how to 
build relationships and thrive 
in nature — an experience 

Levine says is more necessary 
than ever.
“For the past two years 
[during the pandemic], some 
kids have gone to school, 
some kids haven’t gone to 
school, and some kids have 
done a little bit of both,” she 
explains. 
“This is really the first 
time in two years that kids 
have a consistent opportunity 
to be with each other in 
an outdoor environment, 
so Kimama is taking that 
seriously because it’s our 
responsibility.”
Bringing kids back to 
the basics, Kimama Half 
Moon will give campers an 
opportunity to learn about 
themselves and each other 
in a direct way, rather than 
through electronic screens. 
It’s an experience Levine says 
will be entirely bilingual, 

Abby 
Levine

Camp Kimama Half Moon welcomes 
its first year of campers in the U.S.

Israeli-inspired 
Summer Camp 

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Campers are expected 
from all over the world.