Israeli teens use disco, smiles to spread love of homeland

Yotam Zach has a boyish face, big eyes and a small build that make him look far younger than his 17 years. When the Israeli talks about why he has come to San Francisco -- the opportunity to restore the faith some Americans have lost in his homeland -- he seems to be carrying a heavy load for his narrow shoulders.

Zach and 29 other teens are undaunted in their mission. Chosen out of thousands, they make up the Tzofim Friendship Caravan. Supported in part by the Jewish National Fund, it is a 30-year-old Israeli Scout troupe of singers and dancers that tour the United States every summer spreading a message of Israeli solidarity.

The Caravan performed last month at Camp Newman in Santa Rosa, where 16-year-old San Franciscan Joel Swedlove has been a regular most of his life. He is one of the campers swelling Newman's teen enrollment because of the cancellation of organized trips to Israel. For Swedlove and his peers, the Caravan is their closest connection to Israel this summer.

"If all the teenagers in Israel were that cool, I'd never want to leave," says Swedlove. "When you look at the TV you see violence, but with this you see a community, and people that really care about it."

Says Zach: "You have to remind people we are still in Israel, dancing and singing."

The Scouts dedicate five months to training after school and on weekends, with little time to see family and friends. In June, this year's group of Caravans began a 1-1/2-month tour around the United States. Often homesick, traveling and working up to seven days a week, the Scouts learn to rely on each other for support.

Their hard work seems to be paying off. "People are excited," says performer Adi Lerner. "They cry, they laugh; we come here and we bring Israel."

Which is what happened when the crowd in front of a Baptist church in Memphis stood up and danced to songs about Israel and Jerusalem -- places most of the congregants had never been to. Jerusalem is like an international city, the Scouts say. When they sing about it, Americans of Christian and Jewish faiths seem to respond.

"I really feel that I took something, and I changed it," says Zach with a look of excitement. "That was one of our strongest performances."

The show starts with traditional songs done in peasant costumes with projected landscapes in the backdrop. The rest of the production ranges from goofy Disney selections, "Imagine" by John Lennon (in Hebrew and English), folk songs one would sing while hiking in Israel today, and favorite discotheque rhythms wearing glittering magenta and gold outfits.

By the end everyone is dancing along. In fact, they are told to do so. The Scouts teach the chorus of a song such as "Salam" ("Peace" in Arabic) give dance instructions, head into the stands and the audience jumps from their seats, and keeps jumping...

"It's not 'Jerusalem of Gold,' unless the audience asks for it," says Rami Ganor, JNF's special emissary from Jerusalem. "The best choreographers in Israel work with them...They have their own songs that are different every year...Everyone who watches them feels like they can take you flying with them to Israel."