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A group of young people standing in a circle with their arms around each other
News
August 20, 2026

Marking BCI’s 85th Anniversary, Jewish Leaders Reflect on a Program That Shaped Their Lives

Years ago, Rabbi Sara B. Arias was showing Camp Alonim’s Israeli delegation around American Jewish University’s Brandeis-Bardin Campus in Simi Valley when she asked the young visitors what the landscape reminded them of.

Learn more about Marking BCI’s 85th Anniversary, Jewish Leaders Reflect on a Program That Shaped Their Lives
Headshot of Gidi Grinstein in white shirt and black jacket
News
July 8, 2026

‘I Went as an Israeli and Came Back a Jew’: How BCI Shaped Community Leader Gidi Grinstein’s Life

In the summer of 1994, Gidi Grinstein arrived at American Jewish University's Brandeis Camp Institute (BCI) as a 24-year-old Israeli naval officer preparing for what he expected would be a long military career. Twenty-eight days later, he left with a …

Learn more about ‘I Went as an Israeli and Came Back a Jew’: How BCI Shaped Community Leader Gidi Grinstein’s Life