A company that runs a network of Jewish summer camps across the United States has filed for bankruptcy, raising concerns about potential cancellations, even as camp operators insist that programs will proceed as planned this summer.

The news broke just weeks before many overnight and day camps are set to begin the summer. Camp organizers have been gearing up for a record-breaking season, after nearly 200,000 youths attended Jewish-affiliated camps in the US last summer, according to the Foundation for Jewish Camps.

Earlier this month, New York-based brothers Michael and David Shabsels filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey, both personally and through their TASE-traded umbrella company, Simad Holdings. The brothers own 22 overnight camps and eight day camps across the Northeast, including Camp Lavi in Pennsylvania, New York camps SHMA, Achim and Mesorah, and Blue Star Camps in North Carolina.

These camps operate as for-profit businesses, and are not affiliated with youth movements like Bnei Akiva, Ramah, or the Union for Reform Judaism. Many charge upwards of $8,000 per camper for overnight programs, with some costing over $15,000.

According to company filings, Simad has assets of nearly $500 million,........

© The Times of Israel