For 60 years, Camp JCA Shalom has been the “Camp for All Seasons,” providing thousands of campers and counselors with the adventures, friendships, and memories that last a lifetime.
Located on the Shalom Institute's gorgeous Malibu campus, only 5 miles from the Pacific ocean and 45 minutes from Los Angeles, Camp JCA Shalom offers expansive facilities that include an Olympic-size swimming pool, two outdoor amphitheaters, conference center, retreat house, archery and sports fields, ropes course, climbing wall, two waterfalls, nature center, the Marla Bennett Israel Discovery Center and Garden, miles of hiking trails, and so much more. Camp JCA Shalom's vision of Tikkun Olam (creating a better World) is fulfilled through a positive Jewish living experience. In our warm and supportive community environment, campers are able to live, learn, and play in a group setting that encourages personal growth and self-discovery.
Campers participate in a variety of dynamic programs and activities that develop a wealth of new skills and interests. From our youngest campers, to our counselors-in-training, Camp JCA Shalom promises a fun-filled adventure that will have you coming back year after year. We invite you to come and enjoy the beauty of nature, the feeling of community, the comfort of friends, the joy of learning, and the experience of a lifetime!
Starting at Camp JCA Shalom in 1988 as a TASCer, then as a CIT, Counselor, TASC Unit Head, CIT Director, Tiyul (Teen Travel Trip) Director, Etgar (Israel Trip) Director, and Program Coordinator, Joel returned to the Shalom Institute in 2001 and has been the Camp Director since 2003. Joel graduated from the University of Arizona (go Wildcats!) and went to graduate school at Colorado State University, and earned his MBA at American Jewish University. Joel is married to Rachel and their son is Jonah. They look forward to watching Jonah grow up at camp!
Assistant Director | Allison David
Allison joins us from Toronto, Canada, returning to Camp JCA Shalom after a 5 year hiatus. She started off with us as the Habonim Unit Head and Camp Teva Program Director in 1999 and 2000 and then spent the next couple of years as our Head Counselor. Allison studied social work at Ryerson University in Toronto, while also working as a children's entertainer/exotic animal wrangler, leading interactive and educational programs featuring live animals. She has been the Assistant Director of Camp since 2006
"Hosting Shlichim during the summers remains a wonderful experience for our family. Each year we meet dynamic and fascinating young Israelis with whom we maintain contact long after the summer has gone. Our kids are the greatest beneficiaries of the experience, finding in the Shlichim individuals who they come to regard as older siblings. It is an event we look forward to every year with good reason and plan on continuing for years to come."
- Soberman Family, The Jack and Pat Kay Centre Camp, Prosserman JCC
Connecting with Israel
“Although it was so new, Israel brought upon me a familiar sense of belonging much like what I feel at Camp Chi every summer. The ability to be in a place where one feels so free and proud to be a Jew is a feeling that makes me so proud to be involved in my Jewish heritage.”
- Joshua Krawitz, 17, Camp Chi, JCC Chicago
- Joshua Krawitz, 17, Camp Chi, JCC Chicago