To Our Beloved Camp Ramah(s), 

We spent our childhoods basking in the warmth and safety of the community you offered to us. Many of us found our great solace and comfort when we were at Ramah. The Jewish education you provided to us was stunning. It was thorough and rooted in the intent of making us braver and kinder.  Our summers were gorgeous, with the most serene and holy settings. We have made lifelong friends and were sent on trajectories that led us to vocations in the Jewish community and beyond. We are grateful for all the beautiful things you gifted us. 

At Ramah you taught us Jewish values like B'tselem Elohim, Pickuach Nefesh, and Tikkun Olam. We are all made in the image of Hashem. It is moral imperative to save a life whenever it is possible. The world is broken and we are charged as Jews to repair it. "We do not have to finish the work but neither may we desist from doing it." (Pirkei Avot 2:16) "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for me, what am I? If not now, when?" (Pirkei Avot 1:14). 

You raised us well. You gave us a safe place to pursue Torah and ask important questions. We are the outcome of a strong Jewish upbringing, steeped in the nuance and tradition of the Conservative/Mastorti movement. We are proud Jews. We are practicing Jews. We are raising Jewish families and keeping Jewish households. We are proof that the bush was not consumed.

The devastation and mass murder which occurred on October 7th has left us in terrible pain. We mourn every single life lost to the Hamas massacre. Every life is precious. We think constantly of the hostages and we pray for their safe return. 

In this present moment however, our feelings of grief and fear and rage go beyond geo-political minutiae. We are concerned with the state of Judaism itself within the communities that raised us and beyond. As people who are grateful for what Ramah gave to us, we have been sincerely disheartened by the ways that many of our role models and leaders have taken such narrow-minded, life-denying stances. 

We mourn and we pray for the 1,200 dead and call for the 200+ Jewish hostages to be released, and at the same time we are devastated by these facts: 

• Since October 7, 2023 at least 1 in every 200 Gazans has been killed. (Washington Post)

• Around 70% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have had to flee their homes. (AP News)

• At least 10,000 Palestinians with Israeli work permits were recently returned to their families in Gaza. Many report being beaten, tortured, and left without food and water. (Washington Post)

• Within the West Bank, Jewish settlers are increasingly emboldened to commit violence against Palestinians, in an attempt to drive them out of their homes. (New York Times)

• And the violence by Israel onto the Palestinian people is not new, but rather is a continuation of 75 years of violence that has robbed thousands of Palestinian people of their lives and the lives of their family members, as well as their familial homes, the land they tended to for generations, and so much more.

These facts stand in direct conflict with our Jewish values – the values you taught us. We believe that everyone was created B’Tselem Elohim and should be treated as such. We believe that “When strangers reside with you in your land, you shall not wrong them” (Exodus 23:9). We believe that only “If you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever” (Jeremiah 7:6-7). We agree with Rabbi Hillel, that the entire Torah can be summed up as this: that which is hateful to you do not do to another. And, as many in the Jewish community call out “Never Again” to attempt to justify Israel’s response to the October 7th attack, we too call out “Never Again” and call on our communities to extend that cry to the lives of Palestinians, as well.

Since October 7, we have been putting the Jewish values you taught us growing up into practice, only to find that those who taught those values to us were no longer fighting alongside us. We are heartbroken to think that Ramah and its leaders are failing to act on these Jewish values that we hold so dear. We have seen so many of those close to us have their hearts harden during this time, just as Pharaoh’s did when we were slaves. In order to move the soul of our community in a direction of peace, we ask the following:

• We ask that our Jewish clergy, teachers, leaders, and community members publicly voice support for a ceasefire.

• We ask that our communities put pressure on elected officials to support a ceasefire and send aid to Palestinians, through phone calls, email, or direct action.

• We ask that future statements, programming, or other teachings about Israel and Palestine contain diverse perspectives, including Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and the diaspora, and are made with a good faith effort to avoid cherry picking facts.

Tzedek, Tzedek tirdof! May we all live lives according to our Jewish values, especially when it is most difficult to do so.