Hello, my name is Karen (a.k.a. “Joe”) Ben-Israel, and this year I will be managing the office at Camp Kadimah. 

Here are some quick facts about me.  I reside in my hometown, beautiful Toronto, Ontario, where I am completing an Honours Bachelor of Arts in linguistics, with minors in psychology and anthropology, at University of Toronto. 

2007 will be my 9th summer at Camp Kadimah; 7 summers as a camper, and one summer on staff—beginning in 1995 as a Gibbie, and ending in 2004 as a staff member.  I am very excited to return to Kadimah after a two-summer hiatus.  My interests include singing, acting, writing, skiing, and visual art.  I have come to be known as “Joe” at Camp Kadimah (v.s. “Karen”); this, interestingly enough, was due to my requests for this unconventional nickname when I was nine-years-old.  I would simply like to take this opportunity to clear the air of any confusion, and stress that “Karen” and “Joe” are the same person. 

Thank you for taking the time to get to know a little bit about me, and I look forward to spending an amazing summer with the Kadimah family.