Building What Endures
By Adam Kolett
Three years have passed since Oct. 7, 2023, but the consequences of that horrific day continue to shape Israel and Jewish communities around the world. In the weeks and months that followed, we moved with urgency. We gathered. We mourned those who were murdered. We prayed for the return of the hostages.
Across the Federation movement, Jewish communities mobilized on an extraordinary scale, collectively raising more than $ 900 million to provide emergency relief, trauma care, economic support to help communities recover and rebuild. Those actions mattered. Yet the intensity born of crisis cannot sustain commitment over time.
On this anniversary, our responsibility is not only to remember Oct. 7, but to ask what comes next. Can our connection to Israel remain strong when the headlines change or when the immediacy of crisis recedes? Can it hold pride and joy alongside grief and concern? I believe it can. But that kind of relationship must be rooted in more than tragedy, war, antisemitism or crisis.
That conviction is at the heart of the Israel Center, which Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte is preparing to launch. Its work is guided by a simple premise: Lasting connections to Israel must be discovered and cultivated, not prescribed. That does not mean Israel is incidental to Jewish life. Israel is part of our shared history, our peoplehood and our Jewish inheritance. But each of us must find our own way to that relationship and determine how it takes shape in our lives.
For some, the doorway is travel. Others find it through Hebrew, music, food, history, Jewish texts and traditions, or a sense of Jewish peoplehood. A friendship with an Israeli may bring the country closer. So might learning about the forces that shaped the modern State of Israel or experiencing the country firsthand. Each path offers another way to make Israel personal and meaningful, in a way that can endure over time.
This matters especially for younger Jews. We should not assume that connection will simply be inherited. We must teach that Israel is part of the Jewish story while giving them ways to encounter Israel for themselves. Through study, travel, relationships and lived experience, that bond can become personal and lasting.
The Vakil family celebrates Israel’ s Independence Day at Shalom Park
The Israel Center will bring ment in Charlotte. that work to life through learning, relationships and travel, indelible place in our Jew-
Oct. 7 reminded us of Israel’ s including upcoming opportunities to visit Israel and connect build on that commitment,
ish lives. Our task now is to with Israelis. On Nov. 19, Matti Friedman will join us for the ery generation to strengthen
creating opportunities for ev-
Israel Center’ s launch, where that relationship and make it the community will meet Tobias its own. Crisis can bring us Siegal, its new director. Together, they will help us write this experience and build together
together, but what we learn, next chapter of Israel engage- will sustain us over time.
Finding the Right Fit at Camp Fair 2026
By Jessica Goldfarb
For many children, summer camp is where lasting memories begin. It is where they gain independence, make lifelong friends, and discover new interests and parts of themselves. At Jewish camp, those experiences unfold in an environment where Jewish life is woven naturally into the fun, friendships, and traditions that make camp special.
Summer may still feel far away right now, but for families considering camp, now is the time to start exploring. On Nov. 5, Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte( JFGC) will host its second annual Camp Fair, bringing Jewish overnight and day camps together in one place and giving families an easy way to begin that process.
Recognizing the role camp can play in shaping a child’ s connection to Jewish life, Federation made Jewish summer camp a priority in 2025 and is continuing that commitment this year. Jewish camp creates space for joy, learning, friendship, and belonging. Studies show that children who attend Jewish camp are more likely to grow into adults who value their Jewish heritage, participate in their communities, support causes they care about, and take on leadership roles.
With camps offering different sizes, settings, activities, traditions, and experiences, Camp
Abby Harkavy is all smiles during Family Camp at Camp Judaea in Hendersonville, N. C.
Fair gives parents and children the opportunity to meet camp directors and staff face-to-face, learn what makes each camp
The Charlotte Jewish News- October 2026- Page 5 Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte
unique, ask questions, and begin imagining what next summer could look like. Families can also learn more about One Happy Camper grants and the financial incentives available to help make a first Jewish overnight camp experience possible.
While parents gather information, children will get a taste of camp for themselves through camp-style activities including friendship bracelet making, Shrinky Dinks, a s’ mores activity, and other camp-inspired fun. It is a chance for children to get excited about what camp has to offer while families explore the possibilities together.
There is no single version of the Jewish camp experience, just as there is no single way to be Jewish. With a wide variety of camps available, families can find an environment where their child feels comfortable being themselves, trying something new, building meaningful relationships, and exploring what being Jewish means to them.
Through Camp Fair and One Happy Camper, Federation is helping more families discover those opportunities and making Jewish camp a more accessible part of growing up Jewish in greater Charlotte.
Camp Fair 2026 will take place Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6 p. m. at the Camp Mindy Rec Hall at Shalom Park. For more details or to register, please visit www. jewishcharlotte. org.