Hashomer Hatzair

We offer the highest quality informal education to prepare young people for real life, as they practice leadership skills, advocate for social and environmental justice, and build connection to progressive Jewish values and Israel. In our youth-led community, our chanichim build life-long friendships as they take ownership over their experience, as... they develop their sense of agency and responsibility for shaping the world in accordance with their values. We believe that all people deserve to live in a society that treats them with humanity (and not merely as capital) and empowers them to live their best lives. This positions us in opposition to all oppressive forces that systemically reinforce inequality and exploitation of peoples and resources. In practice we imagine a society where all people have a strong sense of community and can flourish as individuals. This is the vision we are working towards, so that all people may one day be free to pursue projects that bring them purpose and be able to participate equally in our democracy and civic society. At camp, we practice this value in the form of communal living, free from the pulls of materialism and consumerism. Additionally, each age group (kvutza) forms a shared fund (kupa) that they collectively decide how to spend, whether on their trips into town or for their end of summer party (mesiba). The fund itself is entirely communal no matter how much any individual camper (chanich) contributes. Beyond that, campers engage in activities where they gain exposure to contemporary injustices and challenge each other to consider what it means to be an activist in our time. We believe all peoples deserve the right to self-determination. For many decades, Shomrim manifested this connection through aliyah (moving to Israel) and founding kibbutzim. Today, our focus is more on having our chanichim appreciate the power they have to shape a vision for Israel's future which advances equality and justice for all. As with all our educational content, we believe young ...Read More