(JTA) — Two Orthodox overnight camps have canceled their 2020 summers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They appear to be the first two of that denomination to do so.
Camp Morasha in Pennsylvania, a Modern Orthodox camp, announced in an email Wednesday that it had come to the decision following “months of deliberation, alternative planning, reviewing all available policies from the CDC, ACA and the State of Pennsylvania, in addition to receiving guidance from medical experts and Rabbinic poskim,” or Jewish legal authorities.
Camp Moshava Ennismore, which is also Modern Orthodox, announced its 2020 closure on Wednesday after the government of Ontario, the Canadian province where it is located, announced that overnight camps would not be allowed to operate in 2020.
“The health and safety of our campers, staff, and families will always be our top priority and we fully understand why Ontario camps cannot run this summer,” the camp said in a message posted on its website. “This, of course, does not make it any easier to process.”
Over the past few weeks, dozens of non-Orthodox camps have announced that they will not be running in 2020. That includes nearly all Conservative and Reform overnight camps.
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