Tzofim Friendship Caravan 2009

On Monday, July 13, 2009, the Israeli Scouts friendship caravan performed an hour long concert at Congregation Cnesses Israel in Green Bay.
For over 35 years the Tzofim (Israeli Boy and Girl Scouts) have been sending troops of 10 Boy and Girl Scouts to North America, called the Tzofim Friendship Caravan. These troops put on a show which gives a little taste of Israel: its history and its current state, its people and cultures, its hopes and aspirations, its everyday life and special occasions.
As the Caravan Scouts meet with people from all walks of life, they allow you to get to know Israel better. The Caravan Scouts were selected out of thousands of candidates to serve as ambassadors, representing Israel’s youth and in fact, its future. Their first task in each community they visit is to put on an exciting and moving show, and also meet the American people to exchange ideas and make new friends.
There are 4 Caravan troops visiting the U.S. this year and they are named after four of the seven species of plants indigenous to Israel: Caravan Rimon (pomegranate), Caravan Tamar (date), Caravan Gefen (grapevine), and Caravan Te’ena (fig).
Caravan Te’ena was in Green Bay and the cast members included:
Lee Joe Barak, Lia Mader, Tal Ofir Been, Bofar Kohen, Limor Maya Gadot, Eyal Givon,Omer Golan, Omri Zemler, Kobi Arni, and Yossi Akrish. These fine young men and women gave a high energy performance and interacted with the audience throughout the entire show and on many occasions had the people on their feet dancing and clapping to the music.
Most touching was the promotion of the Israeli Scouting program which lives up to their motto:”No Child Left Behind.” And these scouts believe in the program and it certainly shows with the smiles, the outgoing personalities, and the passion for what they do.
Highlighting their stop in Green Bay was a tour of Lambeau Field.
Tomorrow, the caravan will make for Milwaukee, then onto Chicago, Minneapolis, and stops that the members could not recall as they have spent 3 months touring in the states.
I had an interesting conversation with Eyal Givon, who was gracious enough to grant an interview prior to the show and I found him to be as fascinated with the workings of Bay-Lakes Council as I was in the Tzofim.
We both tried our best to get all of the answers to our questions before show time but I fear neither one of us succeeded as time ran out or we would still be there for hours.
If there was a downside to the event it would be that these scouts can’t stay in Voyageur District longer.