It is almost fifty years since my first summer working at a camp. I confess, I get nostalgic about those carefree teenage days when all we had to worry about were evening programs and colour wars. I didn’t know it at the time, but my first summer job would be very much related to my later passion for the history of Israel.
In 1977, I was 16 and was the head of land sports at Camp Katonim, a day camp for the children summering at cottages in Balfour Beach and neighbouring communities.
Balfour Beach was founded in 1926 by Rose Dunkelman, a passionate Zionist, philanthropist and community organizer. She purchased 100 acres of land on Lake Simcoe through an intermediary, bypassing restrictive covenants that prohibited Jews from buying cottages. Thirty cottages were built on the property which was named Balfour Beach as a tribute to Lord Arthur Balfour, the architect of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which stated the British government’s support for the creation of a Jewish national home in Palestine.
In 1932, Dunkelman and the cottage association founded Camp Katonim (k’tanim means little ones in Hebrew), which continues to operate to this day. This is a swim badge from the 1970s. Although I don’t recall what the criteria were to achieve the turtle level, I would expect that speed was not one.
But even a peaceful cottage area created in response to the antisemitism of a century ago is not immune from anti-Israel initiatives. In March 2025, one person proposed to the local Georgina town council that Balfour Beach be renamed Gaza Beach. The proposal was quickly rejected by the council whose spokesperson said, “We cannot allow a single, politically motivated request to undermine the values and traditions that have bound us together for generations.”
As we celebrate Canada Day on July 1, let us recall all of the friends and allies that we have across this great country with whom we have shared values and traditions for generations.
Happy Canada Day and wishing a great summer to all campers (and their parents).
