Video: Camp Ramah Gets Shout-Out on ‘Girls’

Zosia Mamet Image by Getty Images
Whether or not they are fans of the new hit HBO series “Girls,” former Camp Ramah-niks may want to tune into this week’s episode on Sunday at 10:30. In the episode, titled “Camp Friend,” their summer home-away-from-home gets a shout-out. Now, would that technically be product placement or guerilla marketing? Doesn’t matter — either way, it’s 15 minutes…well, more like 15 seconds… of fame for Conservative Judaism’s camping movement.
In the preview clip released by HBO, Shoshana Shapiro (played by David Mamet daughter Zosia Mamet) is stopped unexpectedly on the street by a guy who hopes she’ll recognize him. “Hey, Shoshana! Remember me? It’s me, Matt Kornstein. Camp Ramah,” he says. He goes on to compliment her by telling her, “You led the most intense kitchen raid I ever saw in my time as a junior counselor.” No spoilers here: The Shmooze merely notes that the look exchanged between Shoshana and Matt in that moment is also, to borrow Matt’s word, pretty “intense.”
“Girls” has been the subject of much commentary in the media from before it even began airing last month. “The show follows a group of very young women struggling to make it in New York City…It’s apparently real and unglamorous and skeptical of its characters,” Sarah Seltzer wrote in a post for The Sisterhood. She predicted correctly, however, that there would be criticism of the show’s “overwhelming whiteness.”
Regardless of those criticisms, it is nice to see some accurate Jewishness on the show. It’s not everyday that Ramah gets mentioned on TV, nor as part of what seems — at least from the clip — to be a successful pick-up line.
Watch the Teaser for Sunday’s Episode:
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
- 2
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 3
Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
- 4
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward AJC, USC Shoah Foundation announce partnership to document antisemitism since World War II
-
Yiddish יצחק באַשעװיסעס מיינונגען וועגן די אַמעריקאַנער ייִדןIsaac Bashevis’ opinion of American Jews
אין זײַנע „פֿאָרווערטס“־אַרטיקלען האָט ער קריטיקירט זייער צוגאַנג צום חורבן און צו ייִדישקײט.
-
Culture In a Haredi Jerusalem neighborhood, doctors’ visits are free, but the wait may cost you
-
Fast Forward Chicago mayor donned keffiyeh for Arab Heritage Month event, sparking outcry from Jewish groups
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.