Introduction and Values
LJY-Netzer is a youth movement founded on Jewish values. We aim to create an atmosphere of respect and tolerance that allows every chaver/a (member) to flourish and personally develop. This short document outlines the brit (covenant) that we require all chanichimot (participants) and their parents/guardians to sign before coming on our events. It explains what we expect of you as chanichimot, what you can expect of us, your madrichimot(leaders), rashimot (head leaders) and ovdei tnua (movement workers). Together, we can build a community of purpose, meaning and fulfilment – a kehila kadosha (holy community) that we can all be proud of. In particular, LJY-Netzer affirms the Jewish values of kavod habriyot (dignity due to every individual), b’tselem Elohim (every person as made in the image of the Divine) and the importance of g’millut chasadim (acts of loving-kindness). We aim to act towards all chanichimot in a caring, reasonable, fair, honest, open and compassionate way, and in return we ask that chanichimot treat the tsevet (staff) and each other with respect, trust, kindness and honesty.
Your side of the covenant –– what we expect of chanichimot (participants)
Part 1 – our most basic rules
We expect you to abide by the law and to behave in a way which helps to keep yourself and every single person on camp safe at all times. Therefore:
- physical violence of any kind is forbidden
- alcohol, tobacco products and illegal drugs are forbidden
- anything that can be used as a weapon is forbidden. Potentially permanent modification of your own or other people’s bodies (for example ear piercing or tattooing) is also forbidden
- sexual behaviour between chanichimot or chanichimot and madrichimotis forbidden
- leaving the group or going into ‘out of bounds’ areas are forbidden
- vandalising or causing deliberate harm to the site is forbidden
- stealing is forbidden
- bullying and other forms of deliberate social exclusion are forbidden
- you must hand all medication to the medic at the start of the event
Breaking any of these rules can and will lead to serious consequences; see the section below. We hope that all parents/guardians will recognise the fundamental nature of these above rules, and help us to enforce them by making sure your child/ren are aware of them too.
Part 2 – rules based on LJY-Netzer values
This category of rules is those that are more specific to us as LJY-Netzer and our values.
Respect and the tsevet
- We expect you to treat each other, the tsevet, the site staff, and any visitors as we imagine you yourself would wish to be treated, with respect and kindness
- We expect you to appreciate that, when members of the tsevet ask you to do things, these requests are for reasons of safety, wellbeing or the general best interests of our community as a whole, and as such should be followed
- We expect you to tell the truth at all times to members of the tsevet
- We expect you to listen carefully when, at the beginning of the event, your rashimot will go over the rules and regulations, and to obey them
- The camp atmosphere and LJY-Netzer’s decisions
- We expect you to be considerate towards other people’s feelings and the values of our LJYNetzer community in the way that you speak (and in particular to not use language that is rude, offensive or inappropriate, such as sexist, racist or homophobic words and phrases)
- We expect you to appreciate that LJY-Netzer has made certain decisions to exclude particular items from our camp for ideological reasons, and as such not to bring onto camp or receive whilst on camp non-vegetarian food, Coca-Cola products, mobile phones with SIM cards in, or laptops or other devices that can connect to the internet
- We expect you to join in with activities and help everyone to have a good time in the way that they choose to
- We expect you to respect the fact that others might want to enjoy camp in a different way than you, and to be tolerant of difference
If you feel you are being treated unfairly
- We expect you to, if you have a complaint about how you are being treated (by either another chanichol or a member of the tsevet), in the first instance speak to your dorm leader, then to your rosh, and finally to the ozer hadracha (the movement worker assigned to your age group, who will be introduced to you at the start of camp)
- You can expect that we understand that nobody is perfect, everyone makes mistakes and we are all human. We hope that you will have fun and we will support you in growing and learning. We expect that you will appreciate the hard work that we all put in to making our events a success, and therefore to help us in creating our LJY-Netzer community
These are rules that make us distinct as a community, and we would ask parents/guardians to support us by explaining them to your child/ren. If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch with one of the movement work team.
Our side of the covenant – Our side of the covenant – what you can expect of what you can expect of the tsevet (staff)
- You can expect that we will endeavour to treat you with respect at all times
- You can expect that we will listen patiently and open-mindedly to any issues you might have
- You can expect that we will apply the rules equally and fairly, but that we will also take into account individual circumstances and situations
- You can expect that we will not hold grudges, and that we will tackle each situation on its own merits
- You can expect that we will endeavour to provide a full programme of fun, exciting, interesting and varied activities
- You can expect that we will try as far as possible to accommodate lots of different ways of having fun, learning and enjoying the event
- You can expect that, if we confiscate some of your personal property, it will be returned to you in the same state at the end of camp
- You can expect that we will be dugmaot ishit (leaders by example), and as such we will not expect you to do anything that we ourselves would not do
- You can expect that we will support you through any emotional difficulties you have during camp, with unlimited compassion
- You can expect that we too are not perfect, sometimes make mistakes and are all human. We may sometimes make decisions that you think are unfair or stop you doing what you think you should be able to do, even though these will always be intended for the sake of either the safety, wellbeing, or general best interests of the community as a whole. We cannot promise that we always get everything right, but we can promise that we care deeply about what we are all doing, and will try to make our events as good as they can be
Building a community together and consequences and consequences
Sometimes, chanichimot break the rules. We as LJY-Netzer have in place a range of measures to turn these negative actions into positive, community-building experiences.
For minor rules-breaking, you can expect:
- In the first instance, your madrichimotto have a quiet word, and for them to expect you to own up and apologise. We would hope this will be the end of it
- If things escalate, your rashimot might ask you to do constructive tasks that help to make the event a better place for everyone, for instance staying behind for a short period after a meal to help clear up, or helping a madrich/a to set up before a session. You should expect to miss a small amount of your free time
- If you continue to break the rules, more serious punishments might be given out by your rashimot, for instance missing the whole of a free time period, not being allowed to pick a certain option for a session or having to sit separately from your friends at a meal
- If these steps do not resolve the situation, if you break one of our basic rules or if you break the other rules in a more serious way, you can expect:
- Your rashimot will involve the ozer hadracha (the movement worker assigned to your age group, who will be introduced to you at the start of camp)
- Your ozer hadracha will have a more formal talk with you, explaining why what you are doing is wrong, and giving you due warning that if you continue, there can and will be serious consequences
- Your ozer hadracha and rashimot will work together to work out a suitable way to help you to improve your behaviour, and will monitor your progress
- The strikes system may be used
The strikes system is a last resort for either consistently poor behaviour or extremely serious individual violations of our most basic rules. The movement workers are the only staff members who can issue strikes. After each strike, they will ring your parents/guardians to inform them. If you get three strikes, you will be asked to leave the event, at your parents’/guardians’ expense, as soon as is reasonably practicable. There will be no refund if you leave camp for this reason. Movement workers will not give out strikes, except for extreme rules-breaking, without first having given fair warning to chanichimot about their behaviour. Although it is rare, we can and have given out more than one strike at a time. Indeed, for certain acts (serious physical violence, the use of illegal drugs or alcohol, if you are caught stealing), we may give you three strikes at once.
Conclusion
Like all britot (covenants), this is a two-way agreement. We have certain expectations of you, and you should have certain expectations of us. We have rules on our events in order to allow everyone to have a safe, enjoyable and positive experience. We do not expect to have to use the more severe end of the scale of consequences very often. We are proud that our events allow so many young people to have such a range of experiences, and we want you to work with us to make our events even better.
If you have any questions before an event about any of what is written above, please contact the movement workers: either call 020 7631 0584 during the day, or email us at camps@liberaljudaism.org