Meet Our Rosh Ropes: Gadi Djangoly

We met Gadi last summer when he was a ropes course staff member. We are thrilled to welcome him back as the Rosh Ropes (Ropes Director) for his second CJ summer.

As a camper, Gadi attended Blue Star. As he saw on social media that his former camp friends were returning to camp to become staff members, his camp memories inspired him to, one day, work as a counselor. He contacted Tom Rosenberg, who he knew from Blue Star, and fell in love with CJ through their conversations, pictures, and videos on the website. He knew it would be the perfect fit. The decision for Gadi to return to Camp Judaea this summer was made easy because he had “the perfect summer” with us in 2015.

“The staff members were great and motivated, and the campers were hungry for excitement. The Ropes activity area is one of the most challenging activities a camper can do at camp both physically and mentally. Helping a camper achieve his/her goal, whether it’s going down the zip line, climbing to the top of the hard wall or just simply to face their fear of heights, gives me the best feeling.”

Gadi admires Camp Judaea for its constant devotion to Zionism. He intends to incorporate as much of Israel as he can into the Ropes activities. On the Migdal (tower) there is a full-scale map of Israel that the campers will be able to climb in order to locate and reach specific cities. He is also a fan of using Hebrew vocabulary like hevel (rope) and casda (helmet) to help the campers learn.

Gadi is originally from London but made Aliya to Raanana, Israel when he was sixteen. His hobbies include running with his dogs, playing guitar, and Krav Maga. He served in the elite Israeli Paratroopers from 2011-2014. Over the last year, he has been living and working in London as a personal trainer and outdoor boot camp instructor specializing in functional training.

“I like motivating people. That is why I became a personal trainer, and that is why I am returning to CJ: to help motivate the campers to achieve their goals.”