JTA — When Guy, a 15-year-old Israeli, arrived at Camp Ramah, a Conservative Movement US camp in Ojai, California, in July, it didn’t take him long to pick up on California’s chill vibes.

“The first thing I saw was the amazing scenery of Southern California — the mountains, the forests, all the wild animals,” Guy said. “I felt calm. Everything died down.”

For Guy, that sense of calm was deeply needed. In the wake of Hamas’s horrific invasion and massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Guy was evacuated from his home in Eshkol, a region bordering Gaza that was heavily targeted. He lived in a hotel, then moved to a place next to Tel Aviv, before returning home after nearly a year and a half.

Guy is one of 770 Israeli teens who attended American Jewish summer camps in 2025 through Campers2Gether, a Jewish Agency for Israel program aiming to provide Israeli teens with a respite from the war. (The teens’ last names were omitted to protect their privacy in accordance with the Jewish Agency for Israel’s security policy.)

Established in 2024, the program brings rising ninth and tenth graders from the Gaza envelope area to 35 summer camps in North America. Camp Ramah in California hosted a delegation of 20 teens from Eshkol.

Campers2Gether enables cross-cultural connection between Israeli and American Jewish teens — a rare opportunity amid decreased travel to Israel due to regional conflict. The camp provided the Israelis a window into Conservative American Jewish practice.

Ella, a camper from the Eshkol delegation, was raised in a Masorti, or Conservative, community. She appreciated the camp’s inclusion of girls in religious practices.

“I liked it because the Americans were treating girls putting on tefillin like it’s normal,” said Ella, 14. “I’m not used to it, but when I saw everyone react to it in that way, then I was like, of course it’s good that girls are putting on tefillin.”

“It was the first time I saw girls singing the Torah,” said Guy, who was raised in a secular community. “It was very nice and pleasant.”

The Jewish Agency originally intended for Campers2Gether to be a one-time program to support teens in the immediate aftermath of October 7. After witnessing its reciprocal impact, however, Chief Impact Officer Dr. Shelley Kedar established Campers2Gether as an annual program.

The second year of the program brought........

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