The Politics of Summer: Belonging, Zionism, and the Land at Jewish Sleepaway Camp

For many American Jews, no institution was more central to their sense of Jewish identity—and Jewish politics—than camp. Why did Jewish summer camps become so important, and how can we see their legacy in contemporary Jewish life? Join Sandra Fox, author of The Jews of Summer: Summer Camp and Jewish Culture in Postwar America, and Aaron Kreuter, author of the recent novel Lake Burntshore, in conversation about the histories and politics of Jewish summer camps in the US and Canada.

Fox will discuss how these influential Jewish institutions met—or failed to meet—the postwar fears and hopes of American Jews, and Kreuter will explore the tensions shaping Jewish summer camps today, as well as their potential as transformative sites for reckoning with settler colonialism both at home and in Israel/Palestine. Moderated by Marjorie Feld, this panel discussion will reflect on young people’s active role in shaping the culture and politics of Jewish summer camp and the wider Jewish world. Register for this online event today.

Jewish Currents programs made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

This live event and its recording will have automated closed captioning. For accommodation requests or questions about accessibility, please reach out to events@jewishcurrents.org. Please register at least one hour before the event begins to ensure entry.

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Dr. Sandra Fox is the Robert S. Rifkind chair in American Jewish history at the Jewish Theological Seminary. She is the author of The Jews of Summer: Summer Camp and Jewish Culture in Postwar America. She was previously a visiting assistant professor at the Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish History at New York University and director of the Archive of the American Jewish Left in the Digital Age, where she worked to preserve the recent history of Jewish Currents. Fox is the founder and executive producer of the feminist Yiddish-language podcast Vaybertaytsh and is on the editorial board of In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies.

Dr. Aaron Kreuter is the author of six books, including his recent novel Lake Burntshore and the poetry collection Shifting Baseline Syndrome, a 2022 finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award. His work has been shortlisted for two Vine Awards for Jewish Literature, a Raymond Souster Award, and a ReLit Award. Kreuter’s award-winning academic work explores contemporary Jewish fiction, Israel/Palestine, settler colonialism, and diaspora; his monograph, Leaving Other People Alone: Diaspora, Zionism, and Palestine in Contemporary Jewish Fiction, is available from University of Alberta Press. He lives in Toronto and teaches literature and creative writing at Trent University.

Marjorie N. Feld is professor of history at Babson College, where she teaches courses on US social history, gender, labor, and food justice. Her most recent book, The Threshold of Dissent: A History of American Jewish Critics of Zionism, was named one of National Public Radio’s “Books We Love” for 2024. She serves on the Academic Council of Jewish Voice for Peace and is a member of Concerned Jewish Faculty and Staff–Boston.