The Healing Power of Camp, Art and Community for Israeli Campers
This summer at Tamarack Camps was truly transformative, with over 200 Israelis at Camp Maas, including nearly 140 campers from the Elaine and Michael Serling Israeli Camper Program and 70 shlichim (Israeli staff). It served not only as a well-deserved escape to the “Fresh Air” but also as a much-needed source of healing.
A significant aspect of this experience was expressed through poignant — and often therapeutic — art projects created by Israeli campers, including those from Kibbutz Be’eri, and shlichim, along with North American and European staff. These pieces memorialized friends and family lost since October 7 and honored the hostages still in Gaza.
The Tamarack Camps Israeli Art Show is currently featured in the lobby of the conference room at the Max M. Fisher Federation Building and debuted at the Jewish Federation of Detroit’s Women’s Philanthropy meeting earlier this month, where community Shaliach (emissary) Lior Zisser-Yogev and I had the honor of sharing our accounts and the powerful stories of Israeli campers from this impactful summer.
While the campers’ art will eventually return home to their creators in Israel and staff pieces will be displayed at camp, we are currently showcasing these meaningful works around our community:
- From Sunday, October 6–Thursday, October 15, the exhibition will be at the Charach Gallery at The J in West Bloomfield, open from 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
- It will also be on display at the community-wide October 7 One-Year Commemoration event and at the JFD’s Major Donor Fisher meeting, and we are planning for additional venues across the community.
We invite you to experience these moving creations in person and to peruse the photo gallery and descriptions below.
Through the Emergency Campaign for Israel and the Serling Israeli Camper Program, along with various initiatives and stories throughout the year, our community takes pride in its ongoing commitment to our mishpacha (family) and the State of Israel. Am Yisrael Chai.
