Honoring Our Collective Mission

Our hearts go out to the entire Los Angeles community suffering from the ongoing devastating wildfires. We express gratitude to the firefighters and first responders and pray for everyone to remain safely out of harm’s way during these extremely difficult conditions.

Amid all the heartache watching the growing devastation, loss, and fear across Los Angeles this week and experiencing the ongoing plight and trauma on day 462 of Israel at War, hope has felt out of reach. But by now, we all know “hope is mandatory”. And so, I want to share with you something that gave me hope this week.  

On Wednesday evening in Jerusalem, I had the honor to attend a moving ceremony hosted by Israel’s 11th President, Isaac Herzog, at the President’s Residence. The event recognized seven global leaders for their outstanding contributions to the State of Israel and the Jewish People.  

Among the recipients of the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest civilian award, was Foundation for Jewish Camp’s (FJC) Immediate Past Board Chair, Julie Platt. We were beaming with pride as Julie accepted this well-deserved recognition of her tireless work over many years not only on behalf of our field, but also for her inspired leadership as the current Board Chair of the Jewish Federations of North America.

As President Herzog bestowed this prestigious accolade to the distinguished individuals, he described each one’s long-standing commitment to strengthening Israel and global Jewry, especially since the traumatic events of October 7th and thereafter. Each in their own way and in their own countries serve as powerful role models overcoming obstacles and challenges while advocating for Israel.  

 I couldn’t help but connect their outstanding achievements with the aspirations we feel in our work at FJC – to help foster a strong Jewish identity and pride among our Jewish young people today. Study after study affirms that Jewish camp continues to be one of the most effective means for doing so.  In 2024, we finally surpassed our pre-pandemic enrollment record, with 190,000 young people participating in over 300 Jewish day and overnight camps across North America.  Even more, our annual camper and staff satisfaction surveys revealed increased levels of engagement, Jewish pride, and connection to Israel – among both campers and staff. Among these may be future Medal of Honor recipients!

Our vital work continues. Last month, at FJC’s 10th biennial Leaders Assembly, we brought together almost 950 leaders to celebrate our collective achievements and to dream about an even brighter future. For a great perspective on our record-breaking convening in Chicago and FJC’s Israel-connection efforts, I encourage you to read Howard Blas’ recent article published in The Jerusalem Post, Jewish summer camps: Connecting between Israel, global Jewish community.  

Even as we congratulate Julie, we thank you for all you do to help our field advance our collective mission of strengthening our Jewish future.