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At Camp Koby, Israeli Kids Beat Back Loss

(New York Jewish Week) - Joshua Mitnick By all appearances, Camp Koby seems like what you'd expect from the sleepaway camp experience. But all of the kids at the free 10-day camp have had their childhood marred by the loss of parents and siblings in terrorist attacks. Here, the personal nightmares of loss become a meeting point for the campers rather than a terrible secret to be concealed. As the Palestinian violence grinds on, the children here are part of a growing subset of Israelis who must figure out how to continue on after family members become the victims of terrorism. "In Israel, the people continue but the grief is covered up," said Sherri Mandell, who helped her husband, Seth, found the camp as a memorial to their eldest son, Koby, after he was murdered by terrorists two years ago. From their grief came the realization that by creating communities of survivors, they could help others grapple with mourning. Ensuring that relatives of terror victims do not remain isolated became the Koby Mandell Foundation's mission. It also sponsors midyear retreats for children and adult women survivors.
2003-07-18 00:00:00
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