Jewish Youth Camp Is Up for Sale

For nearly 50 years, Camp Swig has offered cultural and spiritual teachings to Jewish children. And since 1981 it has been the site of a Holocaust memorial.

Now the Union of American Hebrew Congregations wants to sell the property, saying that the buildings are decrepit and that the septic and water systems need to be upgraded. The Rembrandt Group of Los Altos wants to buy it and turn it into a corporate retreat and winery.

Meanwhile, the Jewish Federation of Greater San Jose is leading a $4-million fund-raising drive in the hopes that it can buy the camp.

“The camp and the memorial have become sacred ground for two generations of Jewish people,” said Jon Friedenberg, executive director of the federation. “If it ends up being sold outside the Jewish community, we will never be able to replace the memorial, as it is, someplace else.”