Baltic Summer Camps Prepare Jewish Youths for Life in Israel

By: ICEJ Staff
Over one million Russian-speaking Jews have immigrated to Israel since the Iron Curtain fell in 1989, but hundreds of thousands of Jews are still left in the former Soviet republics. This summer, as the war keeps raging in nearby Ukraine, several hundred Jewish youths are preparing for their own move to Israel by attending Aliyah summer camps being held in the Baltic states with the help of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.

The series of summer camps were run by the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) with support from the ICEJ. One Aliyah camp opened in late June in Latvia with 101 Jewish participants from ages 7 to 17. Among them were 30 young Ukrainian Jews displaced from the war, with the rest coming from the Baltic states.

Another summer camp just concluded in Vilnius, Lithuania, with 141 Jewish youths participating, including 133 Ukrainian Jews. A third Aliyah youth camp was held in Latvia in August and two more in major Russian-speaking cities elsewhere. In total, over 1,000 Jewish children took part in these summer camps.

Throughout the week, the youngsters not only learned more about Israel as their future home but also reconnected to their Jewish faith, which was suppressed during Soviet times. The camps provide special Aliyah preparation seminars where trained staff and volunteers encourage and advise on various aspects of immigrating to Israel.

But these Jewish kids and teenagers were not without plenty of planned time for fun—including swimming, volleyball, and foam parties. They learned Israeli folk dances set to Middle Eastern music that echoed through the surrounding forests, producing smiles and laughter. In addition, they participated in traditional Shabbat observances on Friday evenings, like candle lighting and kiddush (a blessing said over grape juice before the meal).

At the recent Aliyah camp in the Latvian seaside resort of Saulkrasti, campers stayed in an idyllic vacation complex, and everyone quickly made new friends. Located at the edge of an impressive nature reserve, the camp offered various programs, and amid the hot summer weather, a dip in the Baltic Sea was most refreshing.

Camp counselors shared insights about Israel—the innovative Start-Up Nation and haven for the Jewish people. And as the Russia-Ukraine war was dragging on not so far away, the youngsters had time and ample reason to reflect on what a move to Israel will mean for them.

The young campers also learn about special Aliyah youth programs run by JAFI, which offer them the opportunity to complete their high school education in Israel and/or study at top universities in the country. JAFI’s investment in these SELA and NAALE programs has born great fruit, as more than 30,000 Jewish teenagers have graduated from these programs over the past 30 years. Most choose to remain in Israel for good, with parents and siblings soon following.

Currently 700 Jewish youths are expected to enter the SELA program and another 700 in NAALE over the coming year. Many decide to join at these Aliyah summer camps, proving how valuable the camps can be.

At the same time, the Christian Embassy also is sponsoring Aliyah flights from the Baltic states, and the numbers along this route are strong at 178 Jewish newcomers so far this year. This includes not only Jews from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia but also Jews from Russia and Ukraine.

Overall, more than 86,000 Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet republics have arrived in Israel since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the ICEJ is there sponsoring Aliyah flights along these other routes as well.

These can often seem like mere statistical numbers, but every one of them has decided to take a big step in their lives, and each one brings unique potential to the nation of Israel. Indeed, God has not lost sight of a single one.

The Aliyah process costs around $1,000 per person which helps cover pre-Aliyah preparations, the actual flight, and integration needs. Your gift today will help change a life.

波羅的海夏令營為猶太青年在以色列的生活做好準備

作者：ICEJ 工作人員

自1989年鐵幕落下以來，已有超過一百萬講俄語的猶太人移民到以色列，但仍有數十萬猶太人留在前蘇聯加盟共和國。今年夏天，隨著烏克蘭附近的戰爭繼續肆虐，數百名猶太青年正在準備搬到以色列，參加在耶路撒冷國際基督徒大使館的幫助下在波羅的海國家舉辦的阿利亞夏令營。

該系列夏令營由以色列猶太機構 (JAFI) 在 ICEJ 的支持下舉辦。 拉脫維亞的一個阿利亞營地於 6 月底開放，有 101 名 7 歲至 17 歲的猶太人參加。其中有 30 名因戰爭而流離失所的年輕烏克蘭猶太人，其餘來自波羅的海國家。

另一個夏令營剛在立陶宛維爾紐斯結束，共有141名猶太青年參加，其中包括133名烏克蘭猶太人。 8 月，第三個 Aliyah 青年營在拉脫維亞舉辦，另外兩個則在其他主要俄語城市舉行。 總共有 1000 多名猶太兒童參加了這些夏令營。

在這一星期裡，年輕人不僅更多地了解了以色列作為他們未來的家園，而且重新建立了他們在蘇聯時期受到壓制的猶太信仰。這些營地提供特別的回歸準備研討會，訓練有素的工作人員和志工在研討會上就移民以色列的各個方面提供鼓勵和建議。

但這些猶太兒童和青少年並非沒有大量規劃的娛樂時間，包括游泳、排球和泡沫派對。他們學習了以中東音樂為背景的以色列民間舞蹈，這些舞蹈在周圍的森林中迴響，帶來微笑和笑聲。 此外，他們還參加週五晚上的傳統安息日慶祝活動，例如點蠟燭和kidush（飯前喝葡萄汁表示祝福）。

最近在拉脫維亞海濱渡假勝地紹爾克拉斯蒂舉行的阿利亞營地，營員們住在一個田園詩般的渡假勝地，每個人很快就結識了新朋友。營地位於令人印象深刻的自然保護區邊緣，提供各種活動，在炎熱的夏季天氣中，在波羅的海暢遊是最清爽的。

營地輔導員分享了對以色列的見解——創新的初創國家和猶太人的避風港。 隨著俄羅斯與烏克蘭的戰爭持續不遠，年輕人有時間和充分的理由思考搬到以色列對他們意味著什麼。

年輕的營員也了解 JAFI 營運的特殊 Aliyah 青年計劃，該計劃為他們提供了在以色列完成高中教育和/或在該國頂尖大學學習的機會。JAFI對SELA和NAALE計畫的投資已結出豐碩成果，過去30 年來已有 30,000 多名猶太青少年從這些計畫畢業。大多數人選擇永遠留在以色列，父母和兄弟姊妹也很快就會跟隨。

目前，預計明年將有700名猶太青年加入SELA計劃，另外700名猶太青年將加入 NAALE。 許多人決定參加這些阿利亞夏令營，這證明了這些夏令營的價值。

同時，基督徒大使館也贊助從波羅的海國家出發的 Aliyah 航班，今年迄今，這條航線上的猶太新移民人數高達178人。這不僅包括來自拉脫維亞、立陶宛和愛沙尼亞的猶太人，也包括來自俄羅斯和烏克蘭的猶太人。

總體而言，自 2022 年 2 月俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭以來，已有超過 86,000 名來自前蘇聯加盟共和國的猶太移民抵達以色列，ICEJ 也贊助了這些其他航線上的 Aliyah 航班。

這些通常看起來只是統計數字，但他們每個人都決定在自己的生活中邁出一大步，每個人都為以色列民族帶來了獨特的潛力。確實，上帝沒有放棄任何人。

回歸過程的費用約為每人1,000美元，這有助於滿足回歸前的準備、實際飛行和融入需求。您今天的禮物將有助於改變生活。