Israeli man who had worked at camp in Poconos died in Hamas attack on music festival

An Israeli man who previously worked at a Jewish children's summer camp in Monroe County has been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas.

Ilay Nachman, who worked at Pinemere Camp in Jackson Township in the summer of 2022, was killed during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, according to Eytan Graubart, executive director of the camp.

Nachman "was a large part of our community," Graubart said. "He was a village counselor and also one of our ropes instructors, taking kids up on the zip lines."

Graubart said Nachman, 23, was born in Israel and is survived by his mother, Ifat Nachman; his father, Eyal Nachman; and his brother, Ravid Nachman.

"While exact details of his death have not been disclosed, I was told he was at the music festival where he died during the massacre," Graubart said.

At least 260 people at the festival were killed when Hamas launched its attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

"When you have someone like Ilay, that you can literally trust every single day with kids' lives, where part of his job was to help people climb … well, you get to know them, and I saw that this was a character and a soul that would do anything to help out a friend, to help out a camper. I mean, this was someone who lived to make other people smile," Graubart said.

Graubart said Nachman's friends and family are struggling, but he is getting updates from friends Nachman met through the camp. "This is exceedingly powerful because these are friends he only met that one summer at Pinemere and they were the first ones there," Graubart said, adding that they have been coordinating meals for the family and helping to make sure that his mother gets out of the house.

"She hadn't left the house in several days, and it's really quite powerful to see the impact of camp friends," Graubart said. "These friends are all from Israel, but they met in the Poconos. They came together in our tiny little pocket of land, on our beautiful little lake and it turns into you on the other side of the world. They're the first people there for the family."

Pinemere Camp, established in 1942, just finished its 81st season. Every summer, campers, families, staff and alumni from around the world gather to create a "safe space" for children, where they can leave behind the fast pace, pressure and technology of their everyday lives and just be kids.

"It was a phenomenal summer and as always, one of the real highlights was the fact that we were able to bring in about 30 Israeli staff," he said. "They bring a whole different approach to teaching youth about Judaism and understanding Israel and also bring an international flavor and a whole lot of excitement and life and character to our camp."

Graubart said over the course of a summer, the camp typically cycles in about 500 kids and about 200 staff members.

Graubart said that on Oct. 12, just days after the attacks on Israel, he was part of a call with more than 250 other Jewish camps across the country, "to share what's going on, the impacts and share our stories to the group. It was a very solemn. It was organized for all the camp professionals to come together, who are navigating this process. It's all been very tragic."

Two former staffers of Camp Moshava in Wayne County have also died in the war.

More: Wayne County Jewish summer camp director recalls 'fine young men' killed in war

"Ilay was a peace-loving, anti-violence type of person, and so to think that he would pass in such a horrifically violent way. … It's just not fair. I mean, his whole purpose in life seemed to be to help children overcome fears. And he was a staunch environmentalist, always telling us how lucky we are to have this beautiful land where kids can go and play in the trees, and he really cared deeply about the good stuff. He wasn't caught up in politics or violence, he just wanted to make the world a better place," Graubart said.

Maria Francis covers K-12 education and real estate, housing and development for the Pocono Record. Reach her at mfrancis@poconorecord.com.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Israel-Hamas war: Pinemere staff member died in music festival attack