Consortium for the Teaching of Hebrew Language and Culture

March 10, 2026

Summer 2025 was a year of real momentum for Kayitz Kef. From Asheville to Austin, from Cleveland to Cupertino, and from Brooklyn to the Berkshires, more than 7,000 campers experienced Hebrew as a joyful part of camp life. We trained over 180 shlichim and local counselors, and Kayitz Kef grants fueled innovation through music, art, cooking, and sports, and deepening connections to Israel and Israelis.

This year, we also grew our presence in the Bay Area, began working with the Chabad Israeli community in Cupertino and with a preschool camp in Austin, and expanded our work within the Zionist youth movement through HaShomer HaTzair’s Camp Shomriya.

Keep your eyes on Kayitz Kef in 2026 as we continue to grow, with new camps in Pittsburgh, Scottsdale, Baltimore, Columbus, Tulsa, and Connecticut, a return to Atlanta in partnership with In the City Camps, and we are adding a third language to Camp Biluim in Montreal (English, French, and now Hebrew!)

August 1, 2025

“For us as a family, in today’s daily reality, the program truly provided a sense of home and belonging.”

“Even families whose campers weren’t fluent expressed surprise at how much Hebrew their kids picked up naturally through play.”

Again and again, camps and families told us the same thing: Hebrew did not stay at camp. It came home with the campers.

One camper said camp was “the best thing” because she could learn “a language that none of her family knew at home” and then “play school at home and teach them how to speak Hebrew.” A parent shared that hearing her son come home “singing Mashina is nothing short of spectacular,” adding that camp was “probably the most immersion he can have to Israeli culture outside of Israel.” Another camp put it simply: “Children definitely came home and spoke Hebrew at home.”

Parents and campers had even more to say about their summer experience. Thank you to all who contributed to this article!