On Friday while I was scrolling through my Facebook an article caught my eye. The person sharing it was the CEO of the camp I had spent my whole life at and I knew right away it was important. In the article, it discussed how their might been an executive order issued that will not allow Israeli staff members to work at Jewish sleepaway camps. After reading the article many times, so many ideas began to spin in my mind. Each year, the Ramah camps bring in staff members from Israel who teach the culture of Israel to the campers and help build a connection to a place many of these children have never visited. However, that might all change if this order is signed. For Israeli staff members to be able to work at camp they need to have a visa and specific paper work which allows them to travel to another country and work.

This might change soon — and it sounds like my worst nightmare

According to the article, “If implemented, the policy would affect 23,000 international participants who come to the US through the Camp Counselor program.” Many thoughts ran through my mind when reading this phrase. Such as who does this benefit or why does this matter but another thought ran through my mind as well and it was would the camps be like without the mishlachat (the Hebrew term for Israeli staff)? Each year staff members who were once campers return to become counselors and many staff members from Israel are paired with them as co-counselors. My second summer I was placed with a staff member from Israel and immediately he became one of my good friends and someone who I still keep in touch with. Bringing in the mishlachat isn’t just beneficial for the campers but also for the staff members.

Every year that I was a camper I always had at least one counselor who came from Israel and when I worked at camp the past four summers I befriended many of them as well. For someone who grew up with virtually no connection to Israel until I was 9, I have these counselors to thank. I can now look at this country that is smaller than the state of New Jersey and say that this was home.

Israel is one of the most important things to me in my life and I owe this to the staff from the Israel who work at the camps each summer. Without them, there wouldn’t be as strong a connection for me and I owe so much to them. It isn’t just me as many campers have felt the connection and many staff even spend a year in Israel before they start college. Having this visa isn’t just as a way for people to work but it's as a way to help inspire the future generations. A love for Israel goes beyond just what we learn at camp to where people can inspire others. People can bring the importance of Israel everywhere they go and this can all start with the staff at camp. This visa can be life changing and we need it in our lives.