Whether you’ve been to camp or have heard countless stories about it, there’s no denying that Jewish summer camp is a touchstone of the modern Jewish experience. Summer camp is a place where Jewish cultural and religious identity flourishes, lifelong relationships are forged, and kids get to be kids. But the experience isn’t just for us mortals! Many notable Jewish celebrities have also attended Jewish summer camp.
In celebration of summer and Hey Almaz Camp Week 2024, we’re introducing you to some Jewish celebrities who have attended Jewish summer camp.
Ben Platt
Before Ben Platt was a Broadway star and recording artist, he was a camper at Camp Ramah in California. According to Ben, Camp Ramah was “the first place I was allowed to decide for myself what kind of Jew I was going to be,” so it clearly had a huge impact on his life.
His highlights at Camp Ramah included winning the Color War against the Adom (Red) team and performing musicals such as “Guys and Dolls” in Hebrew. All of his brothers also attended Camp Ramah, including the equally talented Jonah and Henry Pratt.
Ethan Slater
On the other side of the country, Broadway actor Ethan Slater attended Camp Ramah in New England. Ethan grew up quite involved in the Conservative Jewish community; his family was part of Congregation Ohr Kodesh, and he later had his bar mitzvah there. He also attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School through middle school, and took classes at Shoresh Hebrew High School through his synagogue while in secular high school. Yet, he only attended Camp Ramah in the first place because his father was the camp’s physician.
“I originally went there as a staff member’s kid and was there until I was 16,” he explained.
Bryan Greenberg
Like Bob Dylan, Bryan Greenberg, star of “One Tree Hill” and the Hallmark Hanukkah movie “Round and Round,” also attended Camp Herzl in Wisconsin. He attended the camp from 1989 to 1993.
Seth Rogen
Jewish summer camp isn’t just an American experience. Canadian Jews like Seth Rogen also spent childhood summers surrounded by Jewish culture and nature. In the “Knocked Up” actor’s case, he attended Miriam Camp Canada, which is affiliated with Habonim Dror, a Labor Zionist youth movement.
“I loved summer camp. It was so formative for me. Everything that’s evolved about how I act as an adult comes from my summer camp friends,” Rogen said in conversation with Interview Magazine’s Nick Kroll.
He jokingly said, “Yeah, I went to a far-left Jewish summer camp, and I don’t think there were only Jews there because the Jews were far-left, which goes against their very liberal values.”
Doug Emhoff
Hopefully this statement will never go out of style: Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, was likely the first husband to attend Jewish summer camp.
As a teenager, Emhoff attended Cedar Lake Camp in the Poconos, where at age 13 he was voted “Most Athletic” in his age category. As writer and Hey Alma contributor Sophie Vershbow astutely pointed out on Twitter, “Being voted ‘Most Athletic’ at Jewish summer camp says very little about Doug’s athleticism and only about his ability to woo girls in the eighth grade.”
The Second Gentleman will return to the camp in 2023 to speak to current campers about Jewish life and anti-Semitism.
Ralph Lauren
Old Jewish Men (OJM) is here to remind you that iconic Jewish fashion designer Ralph Lauren was born Ralph Lifshitz, but we’re here to remind you that he attended Jewish summer camp. More specifically, he spent time at Camp Massad in the Poconos.
Plus a few honorable mentions…
Adam Sandler
Apparently it is a mystery whether Sandmann attended Jewish summer camp at URJ Camp Eisner in Great Barrington, Mass. Adam, if you are reading this please confirm or deny!!
Nick Kroll
Camp Wildwood, where comedian Nick Kroll and “Big Mouth” co-creator Andrew Goldberg, who is Jewish, spent their summers, was not an explicitly Jewish summer camp. In a conversation with Seth Rogen for Interview Magazine, Kroll said the camp was “Jewish-ish.” “It was 90 percent Jewish, but it wasn’t a Jewish camp,” he explained.
Beanie Feldstein
Like Nick Kroll, Beanie Feldstein didn’t attend Jewish summer camp. She spent her summers at the famous acting camp, Stagedoor Manor. Still, summer camp is an important part of Beanie’s life.
“I grew up going to summer camp for 10 years. My parents and grandparents met at summer camp, so camp is an intergenerational lineage of love in my family,” Beanie said when Vogue reported on his summer camp-themed wedding to Bonnie Chance Roberts. While we could be wrong, it seems likely that Beanie’s grandparents met at a Jewish summer camp.
Welcome to Hey Alma’s 2024 Camp Week! We’re celebrating the unique experience that is Jewish summer camp. Check back all week for personal essays, pop culture moments, and amazing memes that epitomize Jewish summer camp.
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