Herzl Campers Unite…in Morocco!
January 27, 2012 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts, Herzl, Beyond Webster, Letters from Staff, Where Are They Now.
Yonatan Dotan, Sam Kaplan and Jonathan Edelman in Rabat, Morocco
By: Jonathan Edelman
Herzl Camp staff members Jonathan Edelman and Yonatan Dotan are living in Israel for the year while participating in the KIVUNIM program. KIVUNIM, a program in international Jewish education, provides an intensive academic and experiential encounter with Middle Eastern, North African, Asian and European cultures.
This morning we had a unique and historic privilege. Because of KIVUNIM’s very special relationship with Morocco, we were invited to conduct a private Jewish memorial service at the tombs of King Mohammed V and his son, King Hassan II. As few know, Mohammed V through his courageous confrontation with the Vichy French was responsible for saving the lives of the 250-300,000 Jews of Morocco. I was asked to be the photographer of this event where the president of the community of Rabat and the President of the Jewish community. Outside the tomb, I asked a local guard how often people get to enter the tomb. He told me that some Moroccans spend their entire lives living in the country and never set foot near the tomb. It was truly an honor.
Afterwards, we made our way to the home of the American Ambassador to Morocco, the Honorable Samuel Kaplan and his wife Sylvia (Yes, Jewish Americans serving in an Arab country!). I did some research about Mr. Kaplan ahead of time and found out he is a Jew from Minneapolis. I figured I’d whip out my Jewish geography knowledge and see what we had in common. Turns out the US Ambassador was a ‘50-53 Herzl Camper! It was very fun comparing our experiences at the camp.
We then had a quick picnic lunch and headed up in the mountains to the city of Ifrane for a visit to the campus of the Al Akhawayn University and the home of the original Mimouna Club in Morocco. Here we were guests of Elmehdi Boudra, this unique college student who spearheaded the creation of the club and worked together with KIVUNIM to create and design the first conference on the Holocaust in the Arab World this past September. I was truly amazed at the beauty of this campus. We had a tour of the campus, a series of discussions with these very special Arab students, a vegetarian dinner and then an evening program before heading back to our hotel. The future of relations between Jews and Arabs was clearly being formed right here in Ifrane…there is a lot going on here.
We were also lucky enough to watch the Morocco vs. Tunisia Fütbol match with the students.
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Top 4 Kadimah Plays That Haven’t Happened
March 20, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Top 10 Lists.
By: Zander Abrams
Kadimah is the longest running program at Camp. It has many long-standing traditions, such as the Wall and the Canoe Trip. Kadimah is also my favorite program. I was a Kadimah camper in 2002, a counselor and play director in 2007, and the program director in 2008. Unlike other programs, Kadimah displays most of its traditions for all of Camp to see. Every summer, Camp looks forward to seeing Kadimah do the play. From my experience, picking the play is not easy. There are many competing factors that need to be satisfied, such as cost, roles, and overall difficulty. Here are my top 4 Kadimah plays that have yet to be performed.
4. Phantom of the Opera
Singing, dancing, drama, and comedy. This production would be both challenging and rewarding. I could imagine Joey Jaffe headlining as the mysterious and charming Phantom, with Madeline Rudin starring opposite as Christine. We’d have to keep the mask under lock and key in Drea Lear’s office. The only problem with Phantom would be that the younger kids may have trouble falling asleep after, but their counselors aren’t sleeping anyway!
3. The Lion King
One of the greatest Disney films of all time, and one of their most successful musicals too. This would give campers a chance to break from the mold of real people and embrace their inner animals. This would appeal to all ages, but the ending would have to be changed. I don’t think that Anne Hope would approve the part of killing Scar at the end.
Editor’s note: Rory Zamansky played a mean “Rory King” in the 1995 Ozo Play.
2. Wicked
This is a musical that both campers and staff would love. In 2006, my then camper Jonathan Edelman used to sleep with a copy of Wicked under his pillow. There are a great deal of different speaking, singing, and dancing parts. Amanute would have to put in overtime with putting costumes together. Luckily in Wicked, the witch is not evil, so we don’t need to worry about young campers getting scared.
1. The Producers
Is there anything more Jewish, more American, and more shticky than Mel Brooks? I grew up on Brooks’ films. My parents made sure my brother and I had a healthy ratio between him and Disney. I could see the Herzl production now, Yossi Kakou starring as Max and Brad Serber as Leo. Not only would Camp enjoy watching, but Kadimah would have fun at every play practice. There are some obvious reasons why The Producers is not currently a viable option, but with some careful editing and rewriting it could hit the Ulam as soon as 2014!