The Cohen Camps Legacy
The Cohen family’s dedication to summer camps as a way to nurture and educate Jewish children began over 75 years ago when Eli and Bessie Cohen founded Camp Pembroke. The Cohens believed that education in its many forms was essential to strengthening the Jewish community. They realized the power of the immersive experience of summer camp and its ability to engage, teach and develop children in an informal setting. Expanding on this idea the Cohens founded two co-educational camps, Tevya and Tel Noar, to reach even further into the community.
For nearly 40 years, Eli and Bessie managed the camps. Today their legacy continued with Eli’s son Arnold, wife Annebelle, and now grandson Jonathan running the camps. The mission is still to provide children with an exciting and traditional residential camp experience which instills Jewish identity and community.
Generations of children from a wide range of backgrounds have experienced this legacy at Camps Pembroke, Tevya and Tel Noar and have created for themselves identification with Kol Yisrael and a lifetime of memories.
The Cohen Camps integrates the operations of all three camps within a single organization. Throughout the year the three camp directors collaborate with each other to share ideas and best practices they can apply to their individual camps.
