Peoplehood & Community
Summer Camp Content
What would you do if one of your former campers or counselors were taken captive? How could your camp community take action on behalf of the hostages?
We’re in the midst of summer camp season, and we encourage camp counselors and staff to run activities with their campers on behalf of the hostages. In memory of Omer Neutra. His story can inspire reflection and action.
Omer Neutra, who was born and grew up in the United States and went to many Jewish summer camps is a story that many campers can identify with. He grew up very similarly to many of them- spending summers with other Jewish kids- playing sports, singing songs, celebrating Shabbat and doing color war! After high school, Omer went on a gap year in Israel and later on decided to stay and volunteer for the army. He excelled in his army unit, became a commander, and was stationed on the border of Gaza on October 7th. Unfortunately, on December 2, 2024, the Israeli army announced that it had evidence that Omer was killed on October 7th, and his body was taken captive by Hamas.
Together with Omer’s family, we’ve prepared a “Fact & Resource” sheet about Omer’s Story, which provides camp counselors and staff with much information about Omer: his life story, his interests, his summer camp experiences, as well as his family’s advocacy on his behalf. It includes a slide show presentation and videos. We encourage facilitators to review the information on this pdf and decide which materials they’d like to share with their campers in order to connect them with Omer’s legacy and reflect on the importance of standing together as a community.
Camp Friendly Educational Resources
Below we have consolidated a list of all the educational resources on this website that can be adapted or appropriate for a camp setting. Please note the appropriate age groups defined in each facilitator guide. You may decide to only use the source sheets or only do the “Take Action” sections in some of the resources. Choose the ones that fit your educational setting and adapt them accordingly.
Dedicate this activity in honor of
