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Anyone familiar with the Boy Scouts or Girl Guides of North America will instantly see similarities in Israel's Tzofim. After all, the Tzofim is also a youth organization that involves uniforms, neckerchiefs, and lots of fun activities.
Take a closer look though and you'll see a major difference in how the group operates compared to the Scouts and Guides we're used to in North America. Look through pictures of any Tzofim group and you'll notice the conspicuous lack of adults organizing things. While in America and Canada it's normal to have camps and activities directed and supervised by an army of college-aged councilors and adult leaders, in the Tzofim, the youth of Israel set their own pace.
And they are sprinting.
From necessity
One of the key differences between the Tzofim and other youth movements is the unique conditions of its origin. The Scout movement was first established in 1907 Britain as a way to energize young Britons, teach them practical skills, and instil them with the confidence that would allow them to grow to be productive adults. The Tzofim, on the other hand, was born out of a necessity to mobilize the Israeli youth to be productive right then.
Established in 1918 and taking many of its cues from the Scouts, the Tzofim was created to teach its youth the skills they needed to help their families survive. It wasn't about giving them a path to an eventual payoff, but as a way to disseminate and spread useful information and skills to as many Israeli children as possible so they could immediately be of use.
Practical skills such as farming and construction helped young Israeli's contribute to the home in a meaningful, direct way. As schools and formalized places of education could be few and far between depending on location and conditions, the Tzofim helped pass crucial knowledge to children in a relatable way and fill-in some of those educational gaps. Personal values such as a strong work ethic, a positive self-image, and pride in tradition and Judaism were stressed to help Israeli children withstand hardships and prejudices common at the time.
There are houses and walls still standing in Israel today that were in-part constructed by those early Tzofim children. Fields that still produce food today that were tilled by youth groups nearly 100 years ago. This is the living legacy of Israeli youths and an idea that still inspires the Tzofim of today.
Leading from within
Since its founding, one of the key pillars of the Tzofim has been self-sufficiency. To this end, many of the leadership positions within the organization are given to the youths in the program themselves. These children are not just passive participants, waiting to be handed their craft supplies or led on a tour. No, they are thrust into the spotlight, responsible for setting the direction and example for other leaders-in-waiting.
Divided into separate tribes and sub-groups, the youngest children are guided by middle-school-aged team leaders who are in turn led by seniors, teens 16-17. Adults are kept in supervisory and administrative roles, detached and slightly removed from the actual activities and day-to-day operations of the different tribes. Volunteer parents might be on hand to respond to a real emergency, but they're encouraged to use a light touch and only intervene when absolutely necessary.
Surely, this must all devolve into chaos, right? The typical teenager can't be trusted to take out the garbage on their own, let alone come up with a summer's worth of activities and lessons for a group of ten or more children to participate in. Not the case when it comes to the Tzofim!
In the Tzofim, there is an acute awareness of tradition and opportunity. As the teen leaders only have a two to three year period where they get to steer the direction of the group before graduating out of the organization, and an appreciation for what previous leaders have done before, there is an emphasis on leaving a unique mark. These teens, raised through the Tzofim to value self-reliance, confidence, and respect for others are highly motivated to make the most of their leadership years. They'll dedicate themselves to creating novel and unique activities, tune the lessons to match the personality of their group, and organize elaborate year-end projects such as carnivals, presentations, and entire summer camp experiences.
A set of inspiring values
The Tzofim is for children of all backgrounds, means, and ability. Enshrined in the organizations core goals is a commitment to generating understanding, cooperation, and tolerance. This means groups are made of all types, Jews, Arabs, Druze, and more. They are taught the value of communication, mutual respect, and the necessity for cooperation between peers.
While mindful of tradition and legacy, the Tzofim is also a forward-looking organization. Novelty, creativity, and spontaneity are all highly esteemed and encouraged among tribe leaders. It is a particular goal of many teen-leaders to not just lead a successful and happy tribe, but to do something that has never been done before in the history of the organization. This leads them into everything from ambitious civic programs designed to help their community, to elaborate stage-plays, inventions, and projects. In this way, the Tzofim never stagnates or becomes overly caught up in its own past – the Children of Israel are encouraged to build a better tomorrow than worry about what was done yesterday.
It's a inspiring, touching, and uniquely Israeli way to run a youth organization. There may not be any other Scout program like it in the world, but there should be.
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