This summer Youth Aliyah’s villages will hold a wide range of summer camps. These camps will provide summer educational enrichment, fun and prepare new students for life at Youth Aliyah residential schools. In addition, the camps keep these youngsters off the streets – a double danger with terrorist attacks and a deepening economic recession. Kiryat Yearim will repeat last year’s highly successful archeological summer camp at Sussita in the Galilee with funding from the Swiss Committee. Kiryat Yearim would like to convene a scouts (tzofim) camp, take students down to Nitzana, and hold science summer camps as well as orientation programs for new students.

Ramat Hadassah Szold will hold its annual young leadership camp for stronger students as well as specialist camps in biology and sport. There will also be preparatory camps for new students.

At Ben Yakir there will be a wide range of summer camps specializing in horseback riding, carpentry, computers, ceramics and soccer. A special two-week camp will include trips to fairgrounds and other treats. Ben Yakir will also hold preparatory camps for new students.

At Hadassah Neurim in addition to camps for the students, the campus will be used by outside organizations providing an additional source of income for the village and offering students the chance to earn money by working in catering and cleaning. More than 1200 Magen David Adom students will attend a course at Hadassah Neurim, as well as two groups of 600 scouts and 400 students in a soccer program arranged by Maccabi Netanya. Following last year's successful summer camp for youth from Petach Tikva's Yoseftal neighborhood, the Jewish Federation of Greaster Houston will again be funding a camp at Hadassah Neurim. The Federation is enhancing its partnership with both Yoseftal and Hadassah Neurim with whom it also partners within other programs.

At Nitzana there will be over 1,000 youth mainly from southern development towns participating in science seminars. This program is also supported by the SACTA-RASHI Foundation.

Tamuz 5763 - July 2003