Since the start of the war in Gaza, life for Tzofim — the iconic, khaki-clad Israeli Scouts — looks different. In Israel, members of the youth group in the north and south of the country have evacuated their homes, while other chapters have pivoted from their typical activities to cook meals for Israeli soldiers and participate in other community service opportunities. The impact of the war has also ricocheted through the group in North America, now over 5,000 scouts strong and rapidly expanding, according to Yaniv Biran, chair of Tzofim North America.  

At first, like most Israelis post-Oct. 7, the North American branch of the Jewish Agency-supported youth group, which provides cultural education, community building opportunities and scouting skills for Israeli American youth, was absorbing the initial shock of attack and the war.  

“The first few weeks were just waiting for the next phone call, this was extremely hard on Israeli communities,” Biran told eJewishPhilanthropy. 

As the full picture of the horrors of Oct. 7 emerged and the war in Gaza escalated, the team started to consider Tzofim’s role within the Israeli American and North American Jewish communities overall, Biran said. The organization restructured its protocols in the wake of the war, hosting activities in enclosed spaces or incorporating security guards. Once that infrastructure was developed, it started to look outward.  

Now, said Biran, the organization is looking for opportunities to develop bonds with North American Jewish communities, and to provide support to Israelis across the country, at a time when many Israelis are looking for a sense of community, but do not necessarily feel comfortable in the religious settings of synagogues. 

“Usually they’re more secular. They don’t go to synagogues, and they’re not part of a religious community here, and so Tzofim really answers that specific need,” Biran told eJP.  

This past year, Tzofim of North America has seen a participation increase of about 10%, said Biran, around twice what they see in a typical year. Biran attributes the growth to rising antisemitism in many of the schools that scouts attend, and a growing desire for community among Israeli expats. That growth, and increasing need, has inspired the organization’s goal of starting 10 new chapters within the next three years. 

Tzofim, which currently has 28 chapters across North America, has historically been a fee-for-service-based operation — requiring new chapters to meet certain criteria in terms of size, demonstrated interest and resources. Growing naturally, said Biran, one new chapter is typically established every two to three years. Amid rising antisemitism in North America, Biran and his team are hoping to invest in new chapters that don’t yet meet the organization’s criteria. They just need to find the resources.

“Usually we say, this is a lot of commitment. It’s time-consuming, and it demands a huge amount of resources. We do it one at a time,” Biran told eJP. “But this is something we are going to put our foot down on in the next year or so. We’re going to raise money for this. This is something the communities need.”

Tzofim’s newest chapter, which opened in Denver last year, started with 15 participants, quickly doubling in size. According to Tuly Segman, co-chapter head, the Tzofim chapter has been a lifeline for Colorado-based Israeli expats this year. 

“They have a safe space to…call themselves Zionists, without the need to live in Israel. And it’s a liberal and nonpolitical place, creating a better conversation among a lot of us,” Segman told eJP. “We want to give them the power to stand on their own very unique history and identity.”

According to Roy Shaul Morgan, who directs Tzofim’s international delegation and Jewish scouts international, the program also creates opportunities for partnership between American and Israeli scouts. Each year, Tzofim typically sends around 2,000 Israeli scouts to camps and Jewish communities around the world. 

This past year, through support from the Jewish Agency and local philanthropists, Tzofim in partnership with NJY Camps was able to bring 100 displaced Israeli scouts to spend two weeks in the U.S. For the Israeli scouts, many of whom were unable to participate in Tzofim in the same capacity after being evacuated, coming to America was a much-needed change of pace, said Morgan.

“Teens who had an entire year of worrying and not living in their homes, who left with suitcases if they were lucky and if they weren’t lucky, with nothing at all, and [this program just gave] them the experience of being teens again,” Morgan told eJP.