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Jewish Overnight
Camps Enhancing
Security JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
T he Tree of Life synagogue com-
plex shooting in Pittsburgh,
the deadliest attack on Jews
in American history, is now almost 4
years old. Each year, it seems, the Anti-
Defamation League reports a new record
for antisemitic incidents, with the 2021
number of more than 2,700 exceeding
the 2020 total by 34%.

It’s been well-documented that in this
environment, synagogues locally and
nationally are adding security layers, like
guards outside of services. Th e Jewish
Federations of North America even
made security a $54 million priority in
2021 with a new grant program to local
Jewish Federations and institutions.

Now though, the need for security is
reaching the perennial oasis of Jewish
childhood: overnight camp.

On June 30, Teach Coalition, an edu-
cation non-profi t affi liated with the
national Orthodox Union, announced
a new security initiative for sleepaway
camps in its Pennsylvania network. Th e
Teach Coalition Summer Camp Network
is a group of PA camps that will collab-
orate on security eff orts, according to
a press release from Teach Coalition.

Th e group includes several Pocono-based
operations like Camp Ramah and Camp
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8 JULY 14, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Camp Morasha kids enjoy a summer day.

Courtesy of Camp Morasha
Morasha and represents more than 4,000
campers. Its fi rst big eff ort was landing $1 mil-
lion in grant money from Pennsylvania’s
Nonprofi t Security Grant Fund Program.

Camps in the network are already put-
ting those dollars to use.

“Teach is no longer looking out for you
and your children just from September
to June,” said Arielle Frankston-Morris,
the executive director of Teach PA, in the
press release. “We are taking care of them
in the summer too.”
But what does that entail? Jeremy
Joszef, the director of Camp Morasha in
Lakewood, was kind enough to explain
his operation’s new security layout to the
Jewish Exponent.

Morasha is an Orthodox camp with
about 1,300 campers and 500 staff mem-
bers. Joszef, 37, is in his 11th year as
director. Using money from the grant
program, the Pocono operation spent
$200,000 on security cameras, lighting,
a security barrier and an armed guard.

“It’s like a mini city here,” Joszef said.

Cameras Morasha offi cials installed security
cameras both inside and outside of camp.

As the director explains, cameras serve
a dual purpose. Externally, they monitor
who is entering camp and who is leaving.

Internally, “we need to make sure every-
body is staying safe,” he said.

Lighting Before camp offi cials added light posts
and lights all over the property, the
Lakewood grounds were dark at night.

Now though, Morasha at night is like a
neighborhood in a suburb.

Th ere’s enough light to make things
visible and to make everybody feel safe. By
the entrance, it’s also now possible to see
people and cars coming in and going out.

A Security Barrier
Since Morasha is situated along a main
road, offi cials want to deter unknown
outsiders from gaining access to the
grounds. A new landscape barrier on the perim-
eter of the property prevents people from
seeing into the camp, according to Joszef.

Th e barrier is necessary to protect what
is to a large degree an outdoor operation.

“It’s not like a school where it’s easy to
enclose,” he said.

A 24-Hour Armed Guard
Cameras and lights allow camp leaders
to see what is going on. Th ose two and
the barrier can also act as deterrents.

But they couldn’t do the responding if a
security situation were to arise.

At the same time, neither could the
local police department because there
is none. Lakewood is a village with a
population in the hundreds. Th e nearest
police department is 40 minutes away,
according to Joszef.

“If there’s a security emergency at
camp, we can’t aff ord to wait 40 min-
utes,” he said.

So instead, the camp created its own
police force. A 24-hour armed guard posi-
tion is manned by a few diff erent locals on
rotation. It is an offi cial camp position.

“Th ey are patrolling 24/7,” said Joszef.

But while security is a feeling of safety
as much as safety itself, the director still
needs to try to maintain the blissful feel-
ing that oft en defi nes a camp summer.

He believes one guard is enough.

“We’re not going to have an armed guard
every fi ve feet in this camp,” the director
explained. “It would scare the kids.”
But even Joszef acknowledged that
kids today are already used to making
security considerations in their everyday
lives. In schools, “active shooter drills
have become as common as fi re drills,”
he said. Now something similar is com-
mon in camp, too.

While Morasha leaders try not to be
too specifi c, they do teach campers how
to react in case of emergency. As Joszef
explains it, kids know that if this hap-
pens, this is where you go and how you
communicate. “We relay to them what they need to
know but not in a way that will create
fear,” he said. JE
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com