Yom Yisrael 2025: A Day of Joy, Storytelling, and Honest Conversation (Plus a Few Photos)

Yom Yisrael, a special day at camp set aside to learn and talk about Israel, took place this year on Thursday, July 3. We began with a festive breakfast of bagels and shakshuka and launched into a full day of activities designed to explore the history, culture, and complexity of Israel—and to create space for big questions and meaningful conversations.

In the morning, the camp split into groups to “build their own kibbutzim.” While our original goal was to explore the evolution and privatization of the kibbutz system, the kids leaned hard into capitalism right out of the gate—turning our socialist thought experiment into a surprisingly lively marketplace. As always, we followed the energy and made space to reflect on what that shift revealed.

After that, younger chanichimot (campers in groups Sayalimot, Chotrimot, and Shomrimot) wrote letters to hostages and victims of the violence in Gaza. They turned these letters into kites—with help from their madrichimot (counselors)—and spent the late morning flying them around camp, letting their wishes take to the sky. Meanwhile, our older chanichimot (Bonimot and Bogrimot) gathered to learn about Israel’s parliamentary system and coalition politics from our wonderful Shlichim (Israeli counselors), who offered a grounded, engaging entry point into how Israeli governance actually works. Lunch was a celebration of Jewish food culture: matzo ball soup, falafel, latkes, and Israeli salad filled our plates and our bellies as we prepared for the heart of the day.

A First Meeting: Ruba Alami and Elad Nehorai

After lunch, we welcomed two remarkable guests to camp: Dr. Ruba Alami and Elad Nehorai, both alumni of the NewGround fellowship—a Muslim-Jewish partnership for change that equips professionals and teens alike with tools to build honest, courageous relationships across difference.

Dr. Ruba Alami is a licensed clinical psychologist and adjunct professor in Los Angeles. She was born and raised in East Jerusalem and the West Bank and often speaks about her experience growing up as a Palestinian under occupation. This was the first time many of our chanichimot had ever met a Palestinian, let alone heard someone share firsthand about that reality in such an open, personal way.

Elad Nehorai is an Israeli-American writer, activist, and former member of the Hasidic community. As a progressive Jew and outspoken pro-democracy advocate who writes extensively about antisemitism and Islamophobia, he helped provide a context based in Jewish values for what many of our campers were hearing for the first time. Seeing Ruba and Elad speak not only with honesty but with genuine friendship and mutual respect made a deep impression on our kids.

Campers were divided into older and younger groups for the conversations, with each group spending time with both Ruba and Elad. They listened attentively, asked thoughtful and often brave questions, and then debriefed in kvutzah with their madrichimot. Many of these conversations have continued informally throughout the camp day. For many of our chanichimot, this was a profound and possibly transformative experience—getting to witness what it looks like when two people, from two peoples, come together to share truth, pain, and hope. It was challenging, yes. But it was also inspiring. This is what education at Gilboa is about.

We encourage families to continue these conversations at home. If your child brings up what they heard, we hope this post gives you some helpful context. And if you’re interested in diving deeper, we highly recommend checking out NewGround’s work with teens—many of our campers have participated in their high school program and gained invaluable tools for dialogue and leadership.

You can also watch this short video, released last year, which features Mack Cooley, one of our current madrichim, speaking about his experience with NewGround.

The day wrapped with chofesh (free time) and a joyful round of rikkud (Israeli dance) led by our Shlichim. We ended as we began: in community, with music, movement, and a lot to talk about.

We'll be back in the next day or two with more photos, talk soon!