That seems like a fitting title for this blog entry since everyone "of a certain age" sang that song at camp. "Our bags are packed and we're ready to go..." but before we leave on a jet plane for Israel we first head out to one of the several Jewish summer camps across the Former Soviet Union (FSU) run by the Jewish Agency for Israel and funded in part by the Federation system. We actually didn't go to the camp since it was several hours away, but we met the counselors and had a taste of the camp experience at a lake.
The point of the camps is to connect Jews in the FSU with their heritage and with Israel. Having lived under Soviet rule, many of these children have had no Jewish cultural experiences prior to going to camp. Here, they learn about their history, they sing songs, they dance...in short, they are at Jewish summer camp! It is just one of many ways that the Jewish Agency is restoring Jewish culture in eastern Europe and connecting Jewish children to their Jewish past, present and future.
Exhausted, hot and filled with emotions and memories, we all boarded the bus one final time in Georgia and headed for the airport. Next stop, Tel Aviv.
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