At this time of year, countless American teenagers are returning home from summer camp, and some percentage of them will be returning home from Jewish camps, which were an outsize feature of American Jewish life in the second half of the 20th century, and have not yet lost their influence. Yeshua Tolle reviews a history of these institutions, titled The Jews of Summer, by Sandra Fox.

Jewish camping dates back to the turn of the 20th century, when “fresh-air reformers” in Europe and America invented summer camp to combat the apparently baleful effects of city living—but campers like me ended up at camp, according to Fox, because of what it became in the postwar decades. The Jewish educational summer-camp experience that emerged from that time struck parents and experts, communities and institutions as something that worked. A consensus developed over the decades, which was eventually confirmed by social-scientific research, “that Jewish camps largely succeed in their goals in transforming young Jews.” Indeed, studies show that camp alumni are more likely to marry Jewish, stay in the community, and feel connected. Outside the overlapping worlds of Orthodoxy and day school, there is hardly anything else with that effect.

The irony is that the camping experience in the age of abundance largely grew out of disapproval of mainstream American Jewry and dissatisfaction with its ways. Building on the research of historian Rachel Kranson, Fox points out that leading midcentury Jewish figures worried that “authentic Jewish life” was “incompatible” with suburban prosperity and lowered barriers to Jewish assimilation. The memory of the Holocaust compounded the feeling that American comfort was disreputable, even immoral. Like the fresh-air reformers before them, camp founders and leaders wanted to protect children from the long-term dangers of their environment. In this case, however, the principal danger was a loss of Jewish character.

Too often, Fox’s approach turns quotidian behavior into acts of ideological rebellion, often with unconvincing results. The chapter on Jewish languages, as you might expect, is full of kids griping about the language learning that their counselors believe will transform them into proud, self-assured Jews.

On Tuesday, representatives of Hamas met with their counterparts from Fatah—the faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) once led by Yasir Arafat that now governs parts of the West Bank—in Beijing to discuss possible reconciliation. While it is unlikely that these talks will yield any more progress than the many previous rounds, they constitute a significant step in China’s increasing attempts to involve itself in the Middle East on the side of Israel’s enemies.

By contrast, writes Tuvia Gering, Taiwan has been quick and consistent in its condemnations of Hamas and Iran and its expressions of sympathy with Israel:

Support from Taipei goes beyond words. Taiwan’s appointee in Tel Aviv and de-facto ambassador, Abby Lee, has been busy aiding hostage families, adopting the most affected kibbutzim in southern Israel, and volunteering with farmers. Taiwan recently pledged more than half a million dollars to Israel for critical initiatives, including medical and communications supplies for local municipalities. This follows earlier aid from Taiwan to an organization helping Israeli soldiers and families immediately after the October 7 attack.

The reasons why are not hard to fathom:

In many ways, Taiwan sees a reflection of itself in Israel—two vibrant democracies facing threats from hostile neighbors. Both nations wield substantial economic and technological prowess, and both heavily depend on U.S. military exports and diplomacy. Taipei also sees Israel as a “role model” for what Taiwan should aspire to be, citing its unwavering determination and capabilities to defend itself.

On a deeper level, Taiwanese leaders seem to view Israel’s war with Hamas and Iran as an extension of a greater struggle between democracy and autocracy.

Gering urges Israel to reciprocate these expressions of friendship and to take into account that “China has been going above and beyond to demonize the Jewish state in international forums.” Above all, he writes, Jerusalem should “take a firmer stance against China’s support for Hamas and Iran-backed terrorism, exposing the hypocrisy and repression that underpin its vision for a new global order.”