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Israeli song-and-dance program will return to US for first time since pandemic to mark 50th anniversary

“The first Caravan came to the United States in 1973 with a goal of bringing a message of hope and peace for Israel,” said Eran Tzivon, the Tzofim Friendship Caravan’s director, noting the program is “a unique way to have the American community experience a taste of Israel.”

The Tzofim Friendship Caravan. Courtesy of Friends of Israel Scouts.
The Tzofim Friendship Caravan. Courtesy of Friends of Israel Scouts.

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the Tzofim Friendship Caravan, a song-and-dance performance program from Israel, is returning to the U.S. next summer as part of its 50th anniversary celebration.

The traveling theatrical show features songs in Hebrew, English and Yiddish, with the Tzofim Scouts performing in uniforms, Middle Eastern garb, festive blue-and-white outfits and in attire characteristic of shtetl life. Each performance runs about 45 minutes.

The 10 performers must be fluent in English and are chosen after several rounds of competitive auditions and interviews. They spend a year training and rehearsing.

“The first Caravan came to the United States in 1973 with a goal of bringing a message of hope and peace for Israel,” said Eran Tzivon, the caravan’s director, noting the program is “a unique way to have the American community experience a taste of Israel.”

“We offer up to three shows in two locations in one day. There are plenty of ways to have interactive shows, whether it be with a school, a camp, a synagogue or anywhere else,” he said. “And the best part is that no two shows are the same.”

The Tzofim Friendship Caravan is being supported by Friends of Israel Scouts and the Jewish National Fund.

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