Scouts were jumping and jiving, rhythmically rhyming, and moving as one to the beat of israeli music, as well as to popular Disney tunes, when, for one hour on the evening of Tuesday, August 3, the Tzofim Friendship Caravan performed song and dance numbers and presented personal stories and games.
Nearly 100 community members poured into the Simon Family JCC to join the fun.
Each summer, the Tzofim israeli scouts visit Hampton Roads to perform at the JCC and to build bonds with the local Jewish community. This year, as always, audience members participated. The scouts’ energy was infectious, and language was not a barrier. The audience easily picked up on the lyrics to the mostly Hebrew songs, and a mash up of songs from the hit movie Frozen had even the smallest audience members on their feet. in fact, everyone was up, dancing and singing along.
The performance is more and more impressive each year. And this year, a couple of children even joined the scouts on stage and sang, says Erika Eskenazi, Camp JCC director.
For 40 years, the Tzofim Friendship Caravan has shared their musical talents with North America. Each caravan consists of 10 scouts and two leaders. The caravan is split into groups of five boys and five girls. To become a Tzofim Friendship Caravan scout in israel is a competitive process. Scouts are chosen based on their English fluency, maturity, and talent in the performing arts. Each member goes through a series of auditions and interviews before being selected to train and rehearse for an entire year in North America. The mission of the Tzofim is clear: to tour in America to strengthen the relationship between israeli and North American Jewry. While singing songs of joy, they promote brotherhood, tolerance and respect among people of all faiths, and form strong bonds of friendship between the israeli youth and their American counterparts.
Gaby Grune