Do You Know Where Your Kids Are?

December 4, 2008 - 10:43 AM by

While Israeli kids are as much a part of the global “mall culture” (where kids hang out a the mall for endless hours) as any place else, kids still join youth groups in droves here. By “youth groups,” I mean groups of younger kids getting together at a clubhouse once or twice a week, where (some) educational and (mostly) fun activities are led by an older (16-17 year old) teenager. It’s informal education – actually, socialization – at its best, giving kids something to do other than watch TV and IM each other.

There’s a “flavor” of youth group for everyone’s taste, from the generally Zionist Tzofim (Scouts) to the Labor/kibbutz affiliated No’ar Oved Velomed , the socialist Shomer Hatza’ir, and the modern-Orthodox Bnei Akiva. Bnei Akiva (which my kids belong to) this past weekend celebrated the culmination of a month long frenzy of play, song and dance production (“Chodesh Irgun”), in preparation for Saturday night’s presentations, which parents and graduates around the country came to see. Because it was such an intensive weekend – following an intensive month – most state religious elementary and high schools gave the kids a day off on Sunday.

Nearly all the youth groups (except for the Scouts, for the most part) are affiliated with a political movement that kids are expected to graduate into, and those movements are of course affiliated with political parties. Even though there are major differences between these movements, it’s easy to get confused, because on paper, all espouse very similar ideologies, activities, programs, and ideals. For example, the decidedly non-religious Shomer Hatza’ir prominently features on its web site a commentary on the Weekly Portion read in synagogue. All the groups sponsor trips and hikes around Israel, with kosher food for all the kids, and the Sabbath is generally commemorated by each group in its own way. As an Orthodox group, Bnei Akiva adheres to Halacha, with the major difference between it and the others being that most activities are not co-ed. All the youth groups are eligible for public funds, and membership is encouraged, with Scouts organizing inside state high schools, and Bnei Akiva holding activities in state religious schools.

Cynics (there are always going to be some!) would attribute Israel’s encouraging of youth groups – with “troops” organized around a “leader,” who answers to a “secretary” – as preparing kids for Army life. There is definitely a bigger push to “belong” here than there is among kids in the U.S., but preparation for the IDF it ain’t – it’s more about finding a place in society, meeting new kids (which you get to do on major hikes and activities that include kids from around the country), and just feeling comfortable with others their own age. Not that I have anything against the mall, but this is a lot cheaper – and healthier!

Tags: , , , • Category: Israeliness, Life, Profiles 

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