PALESTINIAN FLAG FLIES OVER CAMP SOLOMON SCHECHTER

THE MIKE REPORT

Some campers and staff were upset by the raising of the Palestinian flag.

For over six decades Camp Solomon Schechter alongside the Placid shores of Lake Joshua Stamper has been the gateway to Judaism and love of Israel for generations of young Jewish campers in the Pacific Northwest.

For some Schechterites though, their blissful camp experience was jarred late last week by the raising of the Palestinian flag over the storied campgrounds. An email sent to camp families by the Schechter administration (link here) acknowledged the incident this past Friday, describing it as one designed to “help develop empathy” and a “teachable moment”. Whatever the intent, the raising of the Palestinian flag over the camp was unexpected and disturbing for some campers, who according to the email expressed “sadness and anger” at the sight. The email sent by the camp noted that this feeling of “uncertainty” was especially true for some of the Israeli campers and staff.

Some campers and staff were upset by the raising of the Palestinian flag.
Solomon Schechter administration indicated in their email that they raised the flag as a sign of “friendship and acceptance” for a group of visiting Palestinian Muslims and Christians. The Palestinian delegation, which also included some Israeli children under the auspices of Kids4Peace have joined the camp for the first five days of the new session.

Elena Alberstone told TMR that this is not the Schechter where she once sent her son. “It’s sad how much things have changed” said Alberstone, “my son – currently serving in the IDF – loved Schechter when he was young. Very Zionist, with Israeli scouts, gaga, Hebrew, Israeli food, the whole package. I would never send a child of mine there now.”

David Jacoby, a lifetime Seattleite and longtime member of the Jewish community expressed disappointment at the actions of the camp. “Solomon Shechter flying the Palestinian flag is a feel-good bromide that creates the illusion of problem-solving” said Jacoby. “It’s well intentioned, but it misses the point. Two decades of peace negotiations between Israel and Palestinians have failed primarily because of the Palestinian’s refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.” Jacoby’s wife, Beth concurs, adding that “the time to raise the Palestinian flag over our summer camps is when they stop burning the Israeli flag at theirs”.

Generations of campers attribute their love of Judaism and Israel to their summers spent at Camp Solomon Schechter. Photo Credit: Camp Solomon Schechter via Facebook.

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