גן ישראל

Camp Gan Israel

A Jewish day camp in San Jose — trips, swimming, sports and art, in a place where every kind of Jewish family is at home.

Gan Izzy is a hands-on day camp for children from every Jewish background. Days are full — trips, swimming, sports, nature, art, science, special events and shows — and the point of all of it is that a child comes home having made friends and feeling more sure of themselves than when the week started.

It is part of the Camp Gan Israel network, which runs day camps worldwide. What that means locally is a staff who take training seriously and a program refined over a long time. Mussi and Mendel Weinfeld direct it.

Divisions

Campers are grouped by age, and each division has its own schedule. Children move up as they grow, and the program gets fuller each time they do.

A day at camp

Camp runs Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM. After care runs from 3:45 PM to 5:30 PM for families who need it, at an extra weekly charge.

Trips are a regular part of the week rather than a rare treat — the older division goes out twice a week. Fridays are built around getting ready for Shabbat: baking, singing, and a celebration to close the week.

Lunch and snacks

A hot kosher lunch is included with registration, along with a morning and an afternoon snack. There is nothing to sign up for and no lunch tickets — nothing to pack in the morning either. Bagels with spreads and cereal are available every day alongside the menu.

No outside food is allowed on camp grounds. Camp is peanut and tree nut free. If your child has an allergy or a dietary restriction, tell the office before the first day so they can plan for it.

Getting there

Camp is held at the Chabad House, 5580 Almaden Expressway, San Jose CA 95118.

There is also daily pickup and drop-off from a few locations in Sunnyvale, for an extra weekly charge. A dedicated driver runs a 15-passenger vehicle; parents provide their own car seats.

Cost, and help with it

Families sign up by the week or by the day, and the rate includes a hot lunch. Transportation and after care are charged separately.

No child is turned away for lack of funds. That is the camp’s own sentence, not ours. If cost is what is standing in the way, call the office — it is a quiet conversation, not an application, and nobody is asked to prove anything.

There is also a first-time camper grant for children who have not been to a Jewish day camp in this area recently — last published as $250 off, for families enrolling for at least two weeks. It is run jointly with the Russian-speaking Jewish community of the Bay Area and EZRA USA.

When camp runs

Summer is six weeks, from late June through the end of July. This past summer it was 22 June to 31 July 2026, Monday to Friday each week, and families booked whichever weeks suited.

Winter camp is two weeks over the school break: 21 to 25 December 2026 and 28 December 2026 to 1 January 2027. Registration opens 1 October 2026.

Working at camp

A summer at Gan Izzy is a real job and a Mitzvah at the same time. We take counselors, junior counselors, lifeguards, coaches, workshop leaders and maintenance staff.

Junior counselors are roughly 15 to 17 and assist the counselors with supervision, activities and group management — learning safety, childcare and leadership on the way. It is a volunteer position that carries a weekly thank-you payment and a certificate of community-service hours, and there is a required training day in June. Other staff positions are for over-18s.

Ask about this summer on 408-910-2034 or info@ganisraelsj.com, and they will tell you what is open and what the terms are.

Winter camp

Gan Izzy also runs a two-week winter camp over the school break in December. See what is known about winter camp.

More

• How to register — what happens, and in what order
• Questions parents ask — what to bring, the bus, staff, a typical day
• Winter camp — the December session