“It’s a life-changing program.”
Adina Genni is the mother of three children. They are a family from Nahal Oz, one of the Kibbutzim attacked by Hamas terrorists on October 7th. Two of Genni’s kids spent part of the summer, the first since the attacks, in Canada with the Israel Victims of War (IVOW) program.
Since 1984 IVOW has been giving Israeli kids who have been touched by war, mostly bar- and bat-mitzvah age, but some 15 or 16 years old, the opportunity to come spend a few weeks at summer camps in the Laurentians, and then to travel through Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa.
“The program gives these kids the chance to forget for a while,” Genni said on a recent episode of the Federation CJA 360 Podcast, “to just be kids, to enjoy to laugh, to dance.”
These are kids – teens – who might otherwise have spent the summer living normal teenage lives, hanging out with friends, spending days at the beach. But October 7th changed all of that, said Genni, who is also an IVOW organizer.
After living through the trauma of October 7th many kids in Israel were afraid to leave the house, afraid to leave their parents’ side, afraid to go out, afraid to take the bus or the train by themselves, let alone travel halfway around the globe to spend the summer away from family. As they considered the possibility of coming to camp in Canada, many of the kids worried about their parents, feeling like their parents needed them at home. “They feel they have the burden to take care of the parents,” Genni explained. They worried about what might happen to their parents at home while they’re away enjoying a summer in Canada. Still, they found the resilience to put it behind them, at least while they were here, and enjoy the summer as much as possible.
There were more than 200 kids on the trip, this year – more than double the usual number. But there was never any question, either from IVOW or from any of the camps, about accommodating all of them. But they realized they would need community assistance, so for the first time in 40 years IVOW approached Federation CJA.
Partnering with IVOW made perfect sense, said Natana Shek, Federation CJA’s Chief Jewish Identity and Engagement Officer. “It really aligned with our mission and the work that Federation does,” said Shek. “It’s as much about supporting our children in Montreal to go to and experience Israel, as supporting Israeli children who need the respite and the support of the Montreal Jewish community.”
The cost of bringing these kids to Canada is $5400 per kid. Federation CJA committed to $300,000. The value of that contribution, coming from donors, is immeasurable.
“It was a hard year,” said Or Louk, whose sister, Shani, was murdered at the Nova Music Festival. But coming here as a group and meeting new friends made it easier for him to forget. “You’re in a different world, here,” said Louk. Ella Shani, another participant, agreed, citing the isolation and the detachment from the world. “You don’t hear about the news, you don’t have to be on social media, you just have your own camp to focus on.”
Genni explained that IVOW kids end up forging strong friendships not with the Canadians that they meet in camp, but with other IVOW kids. In fact, on October 7th, while hiding in a bomb shelter that echoed with terrorists’ bullets still firing outside, Genni’s daughter was texting friends not from school or from her kibbutz, but friends she’d met through IVOW.
This was the first time some of these kids have been away from home for any real length of time. Genni, who accompanied the group as an IVOW organizer, says that of course it’s hard for the parents to let them go. But all the families are grateful for the opportunity.
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