Intensive	Rakaz		Bio
CampSight Photography	Itzik Navon		Itzik Navon is back for his second summer at Tel Yehudah to lead the CampSight photography program. After graduating from the distinguished Bezalel School in Jerusalem with a degree in art and photography, Itzik moved to Tel Aviv where he now lives, works, and plays. Itzik has brought a wonderful goofy and fun energy to camp, which makes sense as he works full time in Tel Aviv as a kindergarten teacher.
Arts@TY	Edan Fitterman		Edan Fiterman first came to Tel Yehudah as a camper 15 years ago and he hasn’t been able to escape the pull of this magical place. He’s back for his third summer in a row, having served as the Rosh Omanut (head of the Arts program) the last two years. This year he’s leading the new Arts@TY intensive, helping campers unlock their inner artist. Edan has studied art his entire life and loves passing on his knowledge and experience to campers. In addition to paints and pastels, Edan also makes incredible art through his not so secret passion—vegan baking.
Writopia Lab	Milana Meytes		Milana is a creative writing and essay instructor at Writopia Lab in NYC. She is really excited to be joining the TY community, teaching the creative writing intensive and adding her voice to the conversations about identity and heritage at TY. She has published creative nonfiction, OpEds and poetry in various journals but is really excited about someday writing a children's book about a wayward slug 🙂
Ba'Mitbach: Cooking Intensive	Jonathan Posner		Jonathan Posner is a Chef, a Shochet (a Kosher animal slaughterer/butcher), and currently studies in the Rabbinical School at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Jonathan grew up in the greater Chicago area fondly known as Chicagoland, and is proud to call the city his home. In 2015, Jonathan founded the culinary events company Wandering Foods Productions as project to challenge himself as a cook, an entrepreneur, and a Jew. Raised in an observant community, Jonathan saw Judaism and Jewish culture as a given. It wasn't until going to college in southwest Michigan, traveling in Europe, and returning to Chicago did he realize that the Jewish culture he loved was in need of preservation. Wandering Foods was founded to breathe some youth and life back into Jewish cuisine, but its mission has grown to focus ever-more on using food and cooking to open doors into a life of meaningful Jewish culture and practice for those who have yet to find their way in. He hopes that the productions Wandering Foods puts on will inspire you, make you feel proud of who you are, and that you leave full and fulfilled.
Krav Maga: Israeli Self-Defense	Yulia Sachkov		Yulia Sachkov is taking a break from her Israeli Defense Forces service to instruct our Tel Yehudah campers in Krav Maga. Yulia started training in Krav Maga when she was 14 years old and quickly discovered that she had both the passion and talent to become a martial arts expert. Yulia is already a Krav Maga instructor in Israel and this past year won the World Cup Kickboxing Championship for her weight class in both the youth and adult divisions.
Hamamah: Advanced Leadership Institute	Yana Balakireva		Yana Balakireva is back for her third summer at Camp Tel Yehudah to lead our Hamamah leadership program. Yana was born in Russia and made aliyah by herself in high school, later helping her parents and the rest of her family through the aliyah process. She attended the same agricultural boarding school as Yitzchak Rabin, but she was there a few years after him. Yana is currently at Tel Aviv University where she is pursuing a degree in management and communication.
Xtreme Outdoors	Nir Cohen		Nir Cohen is back for his second summer at Camp Tel Yehudah to work with North East Wilderness Experiences leading our XTreme Outdoors trip. Before joining the IDF, Nir spent a year living with Young Judaeans on Year Course and then finished his shnat sherut (year of service) by working at TY as a staff member. Nir came back this year to work during first session as a merakez (unit head) and is now extremely excited to go on the XTreme trip next week. He hopes he won’t have to put his skills as a licensed paramedic to use, but he will definitely be using his fantastic snapping ability as he hikes, bikes, and kayaks through upstate New York.