If your family won’t be spending this summer in Israel, the next best option is this: Bnei Akiva’s Moshava Ba’ir Long Island day camp.
With its premises at the expansive HANC Uniondale campus, which features three outdoor pools, sports fields, a huge gymnasium, and a gaga pit, children of all ages will immerse themselves in a love of Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael, and Torat Israel, all while swimming, playing sports, dancing, gardening, hiking, enjoying woodworking and arts and crafts, exploring technology, participating in field trips, competing in Color War, celebrating Shabbat, and so much more.
This summer, the camp, which launched in 2023 to much excitement, will be rolling out a range of enhancements — including a smaller staff-to-camp ratio, a new Director of Early Childhood, Dr. Eric Taber, Psy. D., and a brand-new program for incoming pre-K children that’s designed to introduce them to a well-rounded camp experience while meeting their developmental needs.
A summer program that’s designed with each age group in mind
As a full-time school psychologist who served as a leader at Moshava Ba’ir Long Island last year, Eric Taber is looking forward to his new role in making the Bnei Akiva experience accessible, as well as pedagogically sound and enjoyable, to some of the youngest members of the Jewish community.
“The summer is a unique opportunity to open up a whole new world for children in a non-academic space — to give them a deeper love of Israel, a love of camp that will continue for years to come, and to just have fun,” said Taber.
In addition to developing the Early Childhood program at camp, Eric will mentor early childhood division heads, ensuring that staff has the training they need to meet each child in pedagogically and developmentally suitable ways. This year, all staff will take part in continuous leadership and skills training with a specific focus on child development, as well as a deep connection to Bnei Akiva’s mission of truly connecting to the land and people of Israel.
“The starting point for any good educational environment is a real, deep love for children and a commitment to their growth — it is and must be characteristic of all of our leadership and sets the tone for our entire program,” said Malka Fleischmann, Director of Moshava Ba’ir Long Island.
An Israel experience that’s more important than ever before
Fleischmann, who was raised in the movement — first spending summers at Bnei Akiva’s Camp Stone from the time she was just three months old, attending as a camper and then serving on staff and in leadership for 17 sessions– believes that the Bnei Akiva experience especially answers a critical need for families and children at this time.
“Following October 7, it has never been more important to give our children roots in a love for Israel, to instill a level of literacy in them about our unbreakable ties to the land, and to engender a sense of belonging, as well as a sense of responsibility, for the Jewish future. As parents, how better to ensure your child has a profound and sophisticated Zionist education?” she said. “While many of us may not be able to be in Israel at this moment, we can be active members in Am Yisrael and support Israel through tzedakah, volunteering, and education.”
This summer, the camp curriculum will be entirely Israel-focused both at Moshava Ba’ir Long Island, as well as at other Moshava camps across the country and the world — connecting generations and making the community experience feel like family.
“While this is one of the darkest times in Jewish history, it’s also a time of unity for the Jewish people and Israel,” said Fleischmann. “Our responsibility is to make our campers and staff fall in love with their roles as essential members in this chain — and we can’t wait to continue doing so this summer at Moshava Ba’ir Long Island.”
