In 1995, the first group of Israel Scouts were formed. This organization includes American and Israeli Jews who strive to strengthen the bond between North America and Israel. Yael Avni, senior, first got exposed to this program when she moved to the United States with her family two years ago.

“When we moved, my mom had friends here and so they told me about it and they told the people in charge about me,” Avni said.
Anyone can be a part of the Israel scouts as long as you speak basic Hebrew. Being from Israel, Avni fit right in.
Being Israeli is not a necessity to being in the Israel Scouts. They are trying to get more people involved from all different kinds of backgrounds.
“A lot of people who do it are not Israeli.” Despite the external differences in race, religion and language, the Scouts is a great way to get immersed in the culture of Israel. “We teach culture like holidays and language and stuff,” Avni said.
In other states across the United States there are hundreds of members in each Scout group. However, Missouri is lacking people.
“We don’t have a lot of people, 40 to 50. In California they have four different groups and one of them has 400 people.” Avni said.
The group’s lack of numbers in Missouri is why she thinks that it’s important to spread the word about this organization so more people can get involved.
Avni is a counselor which means she is in charge of her own group of younger scouts. The age ranges from 3rd graders to 12th graders. Meeting once a week, it’s a great way to socialize with friends outside school.
“It’s up to the counselor what they want their topic of activity to be about, it could be about friendship or Israel or whatever they want.” Avni said.
The freedom and flexibility that the counselors get while planning activities makes for a variety of topics which reaches all different kinds of interests. The scouts don’t just strictly talk about Israel and their religion, it can be about all different kinds of things.
Avni wants more people to get involved.
“It’s really bad that no one knows about it and we have 50 people instead of 400,” Avni said.
A lot of people don’t know about the Israel Scouts which could potentially be a reason why there are not a lot of members.
In addition to meeting new people, it’s a great way to get involved in more extracurriculars.
“Colleges love seeing it on your resume,” Avni said.
While hanging out with friends and doing fun activities, it’s also a great way to make yourself more appealing to colleges.
“If anyone wants to get involved they can talk to me and I can talk to the head person, Ariel, in order to help you get started,” Avni said.
For more information, visit www.israelscouts.org