Announcing: The Combatants for Peace Ramah Community Summer Tour!
Some good news: today I am happy to join with other Ramah alumni to announce the dates and locations of the Combatants for Peace Ramah Community Summer Tour!
Here they are!
- July 21: DC (near Ramah Poconos)
- July 28: LA (near Ramah California)
- August 8: NYC (near Ramah Berkshires)
Now for some bad news: So far, the directors at these camps have refused to host the tour, forbidding their campers and counselors to get a first-hand education on one of the most important parts of modern Israel: the Occupation of Palestinian communities in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. This refusal comes after thousands of dollars have been raised and hundreds of petition signatures collected by members of the Ramah community who want to see this tour happen at Ramah camps.
Now that the dates and locations have been announced, there is one final chance to get these camp directors to change their minds and allow their campers and counselors to have an honest education.
On Sunday, as our team of Ramah alumni were putting the final touches on this announcement, I found myself at an ICE detention center in New Jersey surrounded by hundreds of American Jews. 36 of us were arrested as we tried to shut down the detention center for as long as possible.
As I sat in the police van in Elizabeth, NJ I thought of the values that got me there: Supporting the most marginalized, holding my Jewish community close and accountable, believing in the world as it should and could be.
Those values were both formed and strengthened in the 17 summers I spent within the Camp Ramah movement. I believe whole-heartedly that standing up for the oppression and treatment of immigrants in the United States goes along with those values — and I know that the majority of my Ramah community agrees with me. And I believe whole-heartedly that listening to Palestinian voices who are resisting life under Occupation goes along with those values.
Many in the Jewish community have spoken out about these horrors happening at the border and in our backyards. And yet our leaders continue to silence Jews like me who speak out about the Israeli army’s use of similar tactics — restriction of movement, indefinite detention, family separation — to communally punish Palestinians.
I know that we need to work towards a vision of a new reality, here and in Israel/Palestine.
Combatants for Peace recognizes and embodies that future. They know that co-existence will be built on co-resistance to the occupation. Their work is guided by the understanding that a solution must allow both Israelis and Palestinians to live in freedom, security, democracy, and dignity in their homeland.
I have a sincere hope that, once they hear from us, the Directors of Ramah Poconos, California, and Berkshires will change their minds and allow that vision to be presented to their camps. Just take a moment today to email the Camp Directors with our one-click tool!
Looking forward to a summer full of learning!
Aviva Schwartz
Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, 2005–2016
Rosh Aidah (2014–2016)
P.S. Thankfully, alumni and friends of Ramah have stepped up to ensure that even if camp leadership turns down this final opportunity, that won’t keep our community from learning about the Occupation. We will have Ramah community events this summer so that Israeli and Palestinian members of Combatants for Peace will be speaking publicly in L.A., NYC, and DC! These events are open to all — check out this facebook event for more info.
P.P.S. Live in LA, NYC, or DC and want to help plan one of these events? Just reply to this email!
