Being a Scout in Israel is not quite the same as being one in the United States.
Yes, Israeli Scouts wear khaki uniforms with neck scarves. They learn outdoor skills. They learn about loyalty to country.
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But there is no such thing as a Girl Scout or a Boy Scout in Israel. Children who join Scouting there are part of one organization.
Yael Segal, a 17-year-old girl from Tel Aviv, and Orni Meer, a 17-year-old boy from Jerusalem, are evidence of the difference.
The two are among 50 Israeli Scouts who have spent the summer as something of Scout ambassadors to the United States.
Segal and Meer visited Highland Park for several days on a tour sandwiched between weeks of serving as counselors at a Zionist camp in Wisconsin and a tour of the East Coast before heading home.
A conversation with the two on Monday reveal differences in Israel`s style of Scouting. Youths there often have concerns that their American counterparts would never face.
They learn about war.
For instance, Segal helped teach elderly people in Tel Aviv how to wear gas masks. She helped them seal their dwellings from possible poison gas attacks.
Troops helped staff phone banks that gave Israeli residents information during the Persian Gulf war. Residents could call to find out whether school would be held on a given day, and whether they should seek cover in a sealed room or in a bomb shelter.
Segal and Meer counsel younger Scouts, who this year chose to ”adopt”
young Russian immigrants to help ease the transition to life in their new country.
The two say they come as ambassadors of more than Scouting.
”You see too much about war and the occupied territories,” Segal said.
”It`s not all like that.”
Meer agreed. ”We are coming here to bring another Israel,” he said.
Another group of 10 Israeli Scouts will be in the Chicago area later in the week, performing a revue of Israeli and American music and Yiddish folklore. Shows are scheduled in Morton Grove, Chicago, Highland Park, Long Grove and Deerfield.