In 1938, at the height of the depression and with much trepidation because of the lack of finances, the Philadelphia haverim. rented the old anarchist Camp Germinal near Jamison, Pennsylvania (for the then large sum of $1,500), for the summer, and the first Camp Galil came into existence. Yak Rycus was imported from the Midwest to act as rosh Kvutza, and staffed mainly by older haverim of Habonim, a very successful summer program was carried out.
Our appetites were whetted, and immediately upon the close of the summer, plans were made for finding, a per- manent site for a Philadelphia camp.
One must recall the times in which this thinking took place. War clouds were gathering. The White Paper was soon to be issued and the horror of Hitler-Europe was soon to be upon us. In 1939, it was impossible to raise the necessary funds or to evoke sufficient interest on the part of the Philadelphia movement to even rent a camp site, let alone talk in terms of developing a permanent camp. During the summer of 1939, as many of our members as possible spent the summer at Moshava near Baltimore.
Upon returning from Moshava at the end of the 1939 summer season, we were determined to have a camp of our own. Fortunately, we were able to convince enough members of the senior movement of the importance of a local camp for them to organize a camp committee to seek a site. After much searching, a site was found near Pipersville, Pennsylvania, which could be rented for the summer. It included a well-constructed farm house, a magnificent barn, and a number of cabins which at one time had beeii4 chicken coops. The site, however, had two unfortunate deficiencies. A county highway divided the cabins from the rest of the 'site, and the swimming facilities were reached by climbing a very steep hill at a considerable distance from the cabins. Undaunted, the haverim of Habonim, with the help of some adults, began intensive construction projects to make the site as serviceable as possible for the summer. Irv Sternberg and his wife, Edie, were the roshim.
Construction went well, notwithstanding the broken arm of one of our baverim who managed to fall off a roof while shingling it. The summer itself was full of interesting and varied experiences. At that particular period, the GermanAmerican Bund was active in the area. So much so that at the beginning of the summer, it became a nightly occurrence for a truckload of these hooligans to drive slowly through the camp hurling epithets, and frequently more, at the younger haverim. In addition, they managed to deface and almost destroy the dock we had built at the creek. Guard duty became an important job. To counteract these activities, Irv approached the local sheriff and received a permit to carry guns. Word was passed around and fortunately, no further incidents took place. The rampant anti-Semitism which existed and which was manifested so clearly made a deep impression upon our younger haverim. This unpleasantness, however, did not detract from a very fine summer.
In retrospect, one recalls a most interesting and unusual Hebrew program. Dr. Meyer Cohen, a principal of a Philadelphia Talmud Torah, was a member of the staff, and daily Hebrew sessions were a part of the program. The group was small-I doubt if there were more than fifty at any one time-but the spirit was high. One remembers nostalgicaBy the first contact with shlihim. The most striking memory of this summer, however, had to do with the last three weeks of camp which was devoted to what, I believe, was the first national mahaneh madrichim.
The purpose of this particular mahaneh madrichim was to train madrichei tzofim. Haverim came from all over the country and friendships were created which were to last to this very day. The effectiveness of this endeavor paved the way toward the utilization of the summer camp for serious and intensive discussions of mutual problems which were to transfer themselves to each city and each Camp Kvutza in the country.
Conditions brought about by the imminence of war 'unfortunately dictated against a camp of our own in 1941. Most of our haverim spent that summer either at Killingworth, Connecticut, or returned to Moshava. From 1941 through 1945, this pattern was repeated. The movement suffered accordingly, for without a camp, it became clear that the local mahaneh could not really grow. The impetus of the Camp Kvutza, whether as a culmination of a year's work, or as inspiration for a new year's activities cannot be minimized. When the war ended and Habonim haverim, returned from the service, this dedication to the importance of the summer Kvutza soon manifested itself. All efforts were bent toward getting a camp for Philadelphia and vicinity. Happily for Habonim, this dream of having a camp of our own, was shared by one haver of the senior movement of Philadelphia, Abe Segal, without whom there would have been no Camp Galil today.
Almost singlehandedly, Abe Segal spurred on the efforts of the movement to raise the necessary funds to purchase a most beautiful site at a relatively small cost. The camp was purchased for the sum of $30,000 from the YWCA. The camp was quite primitive-there was no electricity, the kitchen had an old wood-burning stove, and the water supply was dependent upon an old gasoline engine which worked on occasion. The realization that Philadelphia finally had a camp of its own proved a tremendous incentive in the determination of the young adults to create as fine a camp as possible. It can truthfully be said, that the young Labor Zionist movement of Philadelphia grew and was strengthened because of a program which revolved around the camp. The young branches, whose membership came from ex-Habonim members, supplied the necessary labor and technical knowledge to begin improving the camp site. The electrical engineers in the group planned, designed, and installed electricity; the civil engineers in the group directed the building of the necessary footbridge to cross the stream; and the general membership supplied the muscle-power to dig the ditches so that all electric wires would be underground. Interest in the camp was further heightened by the events of 1947-48, during the struggle for Statehood.
The next few years were filled with gradual growth and improvement. Because of the weakness of Habonim in the city, it was at first difficult to utilize the camp to its fullest extent. While eighty children could be accommodated, camp rarely, if ever, serviced that number-this, despite the fact that campers came from as far as Wilmington and the Vineland-Toms River areas. The cycle was rather vicious. Few children came to camp-the camp leadership was not from Philadelphia and, consequently, there was no leadership for the winter mahaneh, which would in turn provide children for the summer season.
In 1952, the New York mahaneh was having its camp difficulties. Killingworth could no longer be used and the Amenia site was not adequate. To solve this dilemma an arrangement was made whereby the New York haverim registered at Galil for the summer. Interesting results followed. Aside from the fact that Philadelphia haverim acquired Brooklyn accents, they were somewhat overwhelmed by the influx of the New Yorkers. We are all part of one movement, but there are many local differences and loyalties which can be positive. The experience for Philadelphia, however, was somewhat unnerving. The lessons learned that summer were to be utilized during the following year.
In 1953, haverim of the Camp Committee were approached by the national office with a proposition to use the site of Camp Galil for the Hebrew-speaking Camp Amal. The idea as finally formulated called for the establishment of two camps on the Galil site; one would retain the name Galil and would accept campers from ages nine through twelve only. Registration would be limited to forty campers. Camp Amal would register children ages thirteen through sixteen who met the Hebraic requirements, and could register up to sixty children. This meant that the facilities of Galil were to be used to their maximum.
The idea of two separate camps with separate staffs and differing orientation was too difficult an undertaking to be of any real success. The best that can be said of that summer was that, despite all the handicaps, quite a bit was accomplished in both camps. It was, however, quite clear at the end of the summer that such an arrangement could never be repeated.
It was during this year that the movement crystallized its thinking with regard to a central Hebrew-speaking camp. It was agreed that every Habonim camp should have as much Hebrew as possible in its program, and while the eamps might never become completely Hebrew-speaking, they should become Hebrew centered. During our camping history, a great deal of Hebrew was always used. Camp terminology was almost exclusively Hebrew. But this was not enough. The idea now evolved to include, in addition to the everyday terminology, actual classes for study of the language. The Camp Committee of Galil wholeheartedly endorsed this approach and determined upon a course which would make Galil a truly Hebrew-centered camp and, at the same time, make use of its facilities by improving the physical plant so as to be able to attract more children.
The future of Habonim in Philadelphia was therefore dependent upon those unaffiliated children who could be brought to spend a summer at camp. Galil was helped considerably in registering children by the fact that because of the emphasized Hebrew program, the Council on Jewish Education of Philadelphia approved Camp Galil as one of three Hebrew camps for which it provided scholarships. Being on the approved list of the Council brought help from other quarters. Several of the largest congregations in the city also announced to its membership that it would grant scholarships to children desirous of attending Galil.
A Hebrew Educators Advisory Committee was organized and the Hebrew program of Galil approved. In addition, a number of staff members of Galil were employed from the student body of Gratz College, the Hebrew teachers' training institution of Philadelphia. In most cases, the Gratz College students were, if not directly connected with our movement, at least sympathetic to our program and completely cooperative in carrying it out. It should be noted that the national office was never able to supply the total staff needs of Galil, especially in the case of boys. Supplementing the Habonim staff were Gratz College students working to our mutual advantage.
During the past three summers many of the campers at Galil have made considerable progress in their Hebraic studies. In some cases, they have covered the equivalent of a full year's work in the city. Many of the youngsters bring with them specific requests from their teachers and principals as to material to be covered. The Hebrew program at Galil is flexible enough to be able to provide for these individual needs. In 1956, for the first time, camp was full, and in 1957, registration was closed by the end of March.
Improvements to camp continue. The swimming pool was completely rebuilt. A second well was dug primarily to provide water for the pool and to act as a supplementary water supply for general use, if necessary. In previous years, Galil depended on the creek for water for the swimming pool. During the past few summers, the water level of the creek continued to fall so that there were times when the pool could not be properly filled. Not only will this be avoided in the future, but the well water will be purer and free of algae so that the pool need not be emptied and cleaned as frequently as heretofore.
The future of Galil seems assured. It has made its mark in the Philadelphia Jewish community and its prestige is at its highest point. All of this, however, is to no avail unless it leads to an invigorated and expanded youth movement in the city. All members of the Camp Committee are dedicated to this purpose. They are not interested in running a camp just for the sake of a summer business. The Camp Comtnittee has assumed all of the responsibility of a Chay Commission, and every meeting has on its agenda a report from the rosh mahaneh of Philadelphia Habonim, and the problems of the youth movement are an integral part of each camp meeting.
Habonim camping has traveled a long road in the past twenty-five years. In the "old days," primitive sites and difficult conditions were almost a matter of principle. " The road of the halutz is a long and difficult one and if it isn't, make it. " This in a sense represented our thinking. We wanted to simulate the life of the Kvutza in Eretz Yisrael as closely as possible. But, the Kvutza in Israel has also undergone some metamorphases and the American Kvutza must reflect these changes. I well remember the heated discussions which took place among haverim in Philadelphia when Galil contemplated installing an automatic dishwashing machine. Haverim cried that this would violate the principle of self-labor.
But problems have arisen. We are raising a new generation of children and a new generation of parents. Our parents, immigrants themselves, deeply committed to Labor Zionism, were no less concerned about our welfare during the summer than parents today. But they were neither shocked nor disturbed by "primitive" conditions. Parents today seem more concerned for the material aspects of camp life and, like it or not, those of us now responsible for our camps must take this into account.
Educationally, however, the program we offer has been tried and tested for twenty-five years and reflects our philosophy of life. In cannot be changed without destroying the very basis for which our camps were created.
Daniel Isaacman, 1957