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<\/a><\/p>\nA search and rescue team looks for people along the Guadalupe River near a damaged building at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, on July 7, 2025. (Photo by Ronaldo Schmeidt \/ AFP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cIn the Jewish community, we know the power of camp. We know it as a sacred space where children find their voice, counselors discover their purpose, and lifelong friendships are formed under starry skies. We know it as a refuge where values are lived, joy is abundant, and community is built in song, sweat, and spirit,\u201d the interim CEO of the Foundation for Jewish Camp, Jamie Simon, said in a statement on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why our hearts are broken alongside the camps in Texas who are grieving unimaginable loss after this week\u2019s devastating flood,\u201d Simon continued.<\/p>\n
Amid a death toll nearing 100 across Texas, the tragedy at Camp Mystic stands out. The Christian camp, beloved locally, lost 27 children and counselors when the nearby Guadalupe River spilled over its banks early Friday morning. Three days later, 10 girls and a counselor were still missing. A photograph circulating on social media showed a bunk of smiling grade-school girls with their counselors \u2014 all of whom had been killed.<\/p>\n
Two camp directors, Jane Ragsdale of Heart O\u2019 the Hills and Dick Eastland of Camp Mystic, have also been confirmed to have died while trying to rescue the children in their charge.<\/p>\n
The tragedy has resonated across the robust Jewish camping sector. In the United States, over 190,000 Jewish children attend Jewish camps annually. Jewish camps tend to run longer and draw children for more consecutive years than camps in other communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t stop thinking about this tragedy in Texas. I am sitting here desperately missing my girls, feeling the emptiness without them, but I have the gift of knowing that they are safe at camp,\u201d Lizzy Savetsky, an Orthodox Jewish mother and social media influencer, posted on Instagram. \u201cAnd I\u2019m trying to wrap my head around the fact that not every mom gets that gift this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jewish camps were quick to express their solidarity with those in Texas \u2014 while also reassuring anxious families that their own children were protected.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur hearts are broken for everyone impacted by the devastating floods in the Texas Hill Country. We are, especially, sending out thoughts and prayers to the entire camp community affected by the flooding here in Texas,\u201d Camp Young Judea-Texas wrote on Facebook, in one representative post. \u201cTo the brave camp directors and staff who gave their lives protecting children, we honor you. Their heroism reflects the very best of our camp community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Facebook post added, as more rainy weather was predicted, \u201cWe are grateful that CYJ remains safe and unaffected by the flooding, and will continue to monitor weather conditions closely as we prepare for the remainder of our summer sessions.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Mystic tragedy affected Christian campers, at least one Jewish family lost everything in the Texas floods. Crissy Eliashar was home in Jonestown, Texas, about 30 minutes from Austin, with her three children and a friend who was sleeping over when the flood waters began surging into their home. They fled after a neighbor alerted them to the danger.<\/p>\n
Now, other families at the Eliashars\u2019 Jewish day school, Austin Jewish Academy, have been sharing an online fundraiser meant to help the family rebuild.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast night we narrowly escaped the floods with our lives. My brave babies held on to each other and their beloved dogs while we waded out of our sliding house and into a raging river formed under and behind us,\u201d Eliashar wrote on Facebook. \u201cWe need everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shalom Austin Jewish Family Services, a social services agency that like Austin Jewish Academy is housed on the Shalom Austin campus, announced it would offer free support sessions, emergency assistance and community processing spaces with licensed clinicians in the wake of the flooding.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Shabbat ends, our hearts are with all those impacted by the devastating floods in Central Texas, including the families of Kerr County and Camp Mystic,\u201d the organization said in a statement on Saturday. \u201cThis tragedy has touched so many lives, with members of our own Shalom Austin community among those affected. We offer our deepest thoughts and prayers for healing, comfort and strength to the families and communities facing loss and rebuilding.\u201d<\/p>\n
The crisis resonated far beyond Texas, as Jewish camps across the country sent condolences.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur hearts break for our extended camp family in Texas and for all those impacted by the floods. May the memories of those lost be for a blessing,\u201d Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, New York, wrote on Facebook.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs part of the camp community, we understand the profound impact of summer camp, not just as a place of play, but as a nurturing environment that fosters growth, belonging, and joyful memories,\u201d JCamps Baltimore, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore\u2019s day camp organization, said in a statement. \u201cWe offer our deepest prayers for healing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simon said in an interview that the crisis had left her \u201cheartbroken\u201d \u2014 and reflecting on the ties that cut across communities when it comes to summer camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile our traditions and affiliations and identities may differ, we\u2019re united by the belief that camp shapes lives in times of joy and in times of sorrow,\u201d she said. \u201cWe obviously are heartbroken that the time of sorrow is now, and are sending our prayers and healing thoughts, and we want them to know they\u2019re not alone, that across the country, Jewish camps and Jewish camp leaders are holding them in our thoughts and prayers.\u201d<\/p>\n
An Instagram post by a veteran of Jewish summer camp that went viral over the weekend echoed that point.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you choose to send your child to sleepaway camp, you join a small, quiet, powerful club. It doesn\u2019t matter the religion of the camp \u2014 Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Catholic \u2014 or the focus of the camp \u2014 sports, theater, nature, health,\u201d wrote Sarah Cytryn, who travels from her home in Israel each year to send her children to Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, where her family has longstanding ties. \u201cWhat unites us is a shared faith: in the power of camp, in the people who dedicate their summers to shaping young lives, and in our belief that this experience will help our kids grow, thrive, and discover who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
To the families of Camp Mystic, Cytryn wrote, \u201cYou are not alone. We are all standing with you.\u201d<\/p>\n