Honolulu’s Camp Gan Israel – or Gan Izzy as it’s affectionately known among participants and alumni – has just begun its eighth season. In business every couple of years or so, this year’s session features a whole new slate of exciting activities for Jewish kids between three and 12 years old.

The Hawaii camp is one of hundreds in the international Camp Gan Israel network, but it definitely has something going for it that the other sites don’t: sun, sand and the pristine coastline of one of the world’s top vacation destinations.

“Hawaii is a unique animal,” notes program director Pearl Krasnjansky, wife of Chabad-Lubavitch of Hawaii executive director Rabbi Itchel Krasnjansky.

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Two decades ago, the Krasnjanskys arrived to establish the state’s first Chabad House; today, similar centers exist on Maui, Kauai, and the big island of Hawaii.

“It’s American, but it’s a real conglomeration of Asian ethnicities,” she explains. “There are big Japanese and Filipino communities, but there isn’t a large Jewish population. There’s between 10,000 and 15,000 scattered throughout the state; 85 percent of those live in Oahu.”

The rate of intermarriage is about 90 percent, which can make reaching out to Jewish children challenging, admits Krasnjansky.

“Hawaii is a very transient place,” she says. “Often families are here temporarily for business or work-related stays. So getting families to commit to the camp is also something that we spend a lot of time working on.”

Campers take a break during a nature walk during a previous year’s session.
Campers take a break during a nature walk during a previous year’s session.

The camp, which runs for two weeks this month – from 9:00 am to 3:30 p.m. – attracts anywhere from 12 to 24 campers depending on the season. In addition to Krasnjansky, there are two junior counselors. Themed activities connected to Judaism and the Land of Israel take place on the grounds of a local school and sample field trips include an outing to a nearby water park and a hiking expedition in the mountains. Campers are exposed to all facets of Jewish life.

Last year Krasnjansky hired a kosher caterer to prepare a feast of nutritious and delicious Israeli foods: hummus, falafel, pits and salads.

“Camp Gan Israel provides an opportunity for children that do not go to Jewish day school – there’s only a very small one on the island – to spend their vacation time in a Jewish environment where Judaism is fun and alive and something that they can relate to – not just parts of it, but the whole environment,” proffers Itchel Krasanjansky. “In the past we’ve seen that the experience of the campers has an effect on the parents and siblings. It’s a wonderful way to reach out to families.”

But what makes Hawaii’s Camp Gan Israel camp such a special place, affirms Pearl Krasanjanky, is the attention paid to each camper and the time spent nurturing his or her Jewish identity through fun and spiritually-nourishing recreational activities.

“We feel that every Jewish child and every Jewish soul is so important that we want to spend a lot of time and resources on making their experience positive, even though we don’t have huge numbers of campers,” she explains. “Camp is only the beginning. We want them to come to Hebrew school, taste kosher food and, ultimately, bring their parents and families closer to Judaism.”