MEET LIHI My name is Lihi Ben Ari. I am 17 years old. I live in Rosh Ha'ayin, a beautiful small town in the center of Israel. I have a younger brother named Yoni (16). My mother, Michal, is a graphic designer. Her grandparents were Holocaust survivors, arriving to Israel from Poland after the Second World War. My father, Dror is a dentist. His family goes back many generations to the old city of Jerusalem. Because of my special connection to Jerusalem, I wanted to celebrate my bat mitzvah there. I decided to give my family a tour inside the Wailing Wall tunnels in which I was the tour guide. I learned a lot about the history of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. In fact, I felt that this experience has deepened my bond to Jerusalem and to my country. I have been in the Israeli Scouts since 5

th grade. In the past year I have been a youth

instructor of 5th grade girls. They were very sweet and I'm still in touch with them. I'm currently an instructor of a lovely group of 8th grade girls. My role as an instructor gives me lots of satisfaction, as I get to lead, instruct and influence young kids in a very important period of their lives. I also have so much fun and happy moments with them. For many years I have been practicing sports in the Maccabi Tel Aviv running athletic team, specializing in running 2 to 5 kilometers (approximately 1.5 to 3 miles). Trainings were strict, demanding a lot of time and effort. I had to choose between the Scouts and the running team, since I didn't have time for both activities. I decided to reduce my trainings significantly and spend more time in the Scouts. However, I still enjoy sports very much. I also have a passion for medicine. My high school major is pre-med and biology. Who knows, maybe one day I will study medicine and become a doctor, helping other people. I am very excited to be a member of the Friendship Caravan this year. It has been my dream since my first year in the Scouts. I am looking forward to meeting with you and getting to know you.

MEET AMIT My name is Amit Melamed, I was born in Rehovot, which is a city very close to Tel Aviv. Ronit, my mother, is a lawyer, who specializes in Elder Law. My father, Ilan, has his own business, selling and fixing computers. I am the second child in my family. I have an older brother, Yotam, a younger sister, Ella, and a younger brother, Kfir. I am in 11th grade. I am a theater major at the Hashita High School, which is a school with a unique philosophy: children are naturally

curious and should choose to study, because it interests them, not for grades. There is no school uniform and no demerits for tardiness or absences. It is a Democratic School, which means that each pupil, from kindergarten, chooses whether to attend a class or to play outside. Like most of the kids in my school, I enjoy coming to school. My teach-ers are dedicated and they really care about their students. The atmosphere at school is warm, with lots of special activities. The Scouts are a major part of my life. I first joined the Scouts in 4th grade. Last year I was a counselor of 5th graders, this year I am a 7th grade counselor. The best part of the Scouts is taking trips in Israel. This year, at Hannukah, we took a trip to the south, to the "Small Crater" in the Negev desert. We slept in tents, under the desert skies. It was freezing at night, and hot in the day. We cooked for ourselves, built the campsite, and did everything by ourselves. I also enjoy the Scouts' summer camps. Last year's theme was "the Far East". I designed and built a life-size elephant (representing Thailand), that moved. When it raised its front feet and body, water sprayed out of its trunk, to water the flowers that I planted in front of it. It was the main attraction in our camp. My ele-phant won a special mention and I was very proud of it. In addition to being a Scouts counselor I love playing sports, playing my ukulele, listening to music, and spending time with my family and friends. I look forward to meeting you!

MEET MAYA My name is Maya Aviad, I was born in Sydney, Australia. I lived in Tokyo, Japan till age 4 and then in Sydney for 7 years. When I was almost 12 years old I moved to Israel and now enjoy the life on a moshav 40 minutes south of Tel Aviv. My neighbors are my grand-parents and my mum’s three sisters and my cousins. It’s a lot of fun living so close to my family. My mum, Efrat, grew up in the house I live in today. My dad, Yair, grew up in Tel Aviv. I have two siblings, Mika (19) and Guy (13). My family and I love traveling together all over the world. I also like travelling in Israel; my favorite place is the Kinneret. The long drive to the Kinneret is worth it because of the relaxed feeling you get when you get there, you’ll always find peace and quiet there. I have been in the Tzofim, scouts, since 6th grade, when I moved to Israel. Since then I’ve been taking part and attending many different programs and trips. Last year I was a 4th grade counselor and this year I am a 9th grade counselor. I really enjoy the Tzofim; it’s a very big part of my life. My parents know that if I'm not home, I'm probably in the shevet (tribe) and I still find the time to fit my hobbies in my day-to-day schedule as much as I can. I play the piano; I enjoy listening to music and playing different types of instruments. I also enjoy doing sports, in Australia I played soccer and competed in athletics and swimming. Last year I started swimming again; it’s the best place to relax after a stressful day or week. I love baking and decorating cakes, for me, every special occasion comes with a special cake! I go to Brenner high school with my friends from the moshav. I chose two electives, chemistry and art. I hope you got to know a little about me, and I can’t wait to meet you!

MEET GAL Hi, my name is Gal Zamir. I am 16 and a half years old, in the 11th grade, and I live in a small, central located town called Yehud. I am the oldest brother of three, I have two little sisters: Ori (12) and Noga (8). I love my two parents, Nir and Ifat, very much. They are really supportive, and we often do camping trips together – I have a cool family. I have been a scout since I was in the 4th grade. I mentored a small group of fifth graders in my first year as a mentor. As for now, I am a guide for a large group of eighth graders. ). The experience of guiding a group of children cannot be matched – It is fun, teaches you responsibility, leadership, and how to take care and consider someone else, and to put them first instead of yourself.

I am a surfer, and I love surfing, even in the winter. I like nice clothing, delicious and exciting foods, and I enjoy good music (Mumford and Sons, Kings of Leon) from every genre: I have a phonograph, and a lot of vinyl records, I go to concerts of Israeli artists (Hatikva 6, Mosh Ben Ari) now and then, and I play the guitar. I like old cartoons, old TV shows, old movies, etc. Moreover, I a fan of fiction books, especially Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit – I know every story well, and I try to finish every day with reading. I’ve participated in a program called Young Ambassadors. I had the honor to bring this program to Yehud and it lasted for two years. We have learned how to bridge gaps such as religion, place of birth, and language between different people. We also learned how to deliver a speech, and overcome our fears. In the end of the process, we flew as a delegation to Slovakia. The Slovaks were great, and we learned a lot from them, and immediately saw that our differences weren’t so big. We became good friends with the teen Slovaks, and kept in touch with them even after the delegation through social media such as Facebook and e-mail. We shared the Israeli story with the Slovaks – Youngsters and adults as one, and I would like to believe we made a change in the conception of Israel in the world for the better. I hope you enjoyed meeting me on pa-per, because I’m thrilled to meet you in person!

MEET NOA Hello, my name is Noa Lahav and I'm 16. I live in Aseret, a moshav in the south of Israel. I was born in Tel Nof, an Israeli air force base of the Israeli Defense Forces in the south of Israel. I’ve lived in four air force bases all over Israel (my father is a combat pilot) and when I was twelve years old my family and I moved to Paris to represent Israel in France for my father was appointed to be the Israeli military attaché of Portugal, Spain and France. Living in Europe was definitely an amazing experience for me, however there is no place that feels more home to me than my homeland Israel! I've travelled many places in Europe, yet nothing compares to the breathtaking view from the top of the Carmel mount next to Haifa! I joined the Tzofim in 10th grade. Last year, I was guided a kid with special needs in a group of 6th graders. Being a guide brought to me a lot of joy and satisfaction as I helped the kid open up to his friends and socially bloom and develop during the year. This year I am a member of a team who is responsible for the different Projects around our Shevet. So far we've organized several projects like building our Shevet's first recycling refreshment stand where the members of our Shevet can get food and candies for bringing us plastic bottles that we give our Moshav's recycling center! I love to dance. I’ve been dancing since I was four years old, and I enjoy ballet, modern, Jazz and Hip Hop. My favorite type of dancing is when I get to improvise on the spot, as I hear the music flow in my body, because I love to express myself through movement especially when there is a good song on! I also learned how to play the piano when I was seven years old for six years and took guitar lessons for a year and half when I was in 8th grade. Even today, I never stop hearing music and dance to thecsound of good bands like Coldplay and One Republic in my kitchen as I cook Shabbat dinner with my mother! I look forward to meeting you!

MEET ITAY Hello, my name is Itay Ron, and I am 17 years old. When I was 9 years old my family moved to Palo Alto, CA and we lived there for three years. Our family returned to Israel to a town called Kochav Yair in the center of Israel. My father, Lior works in high tech and is a human resources manager. My father is very talented with hardware and building in general, over the years he has done many projects for our family and over the past years I have gotten more involved with these projects and I enjoy working with him very much. For example, we built my bed and the table in my room. My mother, Sharon is a physical therapist, working with children that have developmental difficulties, she does amazing things with children and gives them the opportunity to have a much better life

and she has many stories of kids that walked for the first time with her. I have a broth-er, Amir, in the 9th grade, and my sister, Tal, is 19. Our family has traveled to many plac-es, some of my favorite places I have been to are Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia, the experience there was amazing and I was effected very strongly by the amazing views and cultures. When I was in the 9th grade we travelled to India which was another amazing experience, living the life- so simple and majestic at the same time. I am a counselor of 8th graders this year in the scouts and last year I counseled 5

th

graders, both experiences are very meaningful to me, last year was very tough but it has thought me many things about patience and counseling in general. It is very im-portant to me to effect and influence younger kids and to show them my way of think-ing and help them develop. Some of my hobbies that I like to do over the week is solv-ing Rubik's cubes and reading, I really like fictional and philosophical books. Some of my favorite books are Harry Potter, The Alchemist, Sherlock Holmes and many more. During the week I like running and playing basketball. Most of my friends are from the school and scouts although not many of them are in both categories. When I was in the 10th grade I competed in shot put and took first place in a few competitions. I am looking forward to meeting you and having a great time together!

MEET TAMAR Hey! My name is Tamar Daniely and I am 16 years old. I live in Ganey Tikva which is a small town near Tel Aviv. My mother's name is Michal and my father's name is Shmuel. I have an older brother named Ido. He is 25 years old, and he is serving in the IDF for 6 years as an officer in at the Intelligence unit. I also have an older sister named Noa, and she is 22 years old. Noa is like my best friend. Me and my family love having Shabbat dinners every week and to travel inIsrael together. I especially love when we are going to the beach together because I think that the Israeli beaches are the most beautiful and fun to be in the entire world. I love being in the Tzofim, the scouts, so much! This year I guide a group 7

th graders and

last year I guided a group of 4th graders. I have been in the scouts since I was 9 years

old. As a young member, I looked up to my guides and learned so much from them. It is very exciting for me that now I am the one that can influence my younger group members and share with them the values that I have learned only a few years ago. My favorite thing to do in the afternoon is acting in the theatre. I have been going to my theatre lessons for almost 9 years and I consider the kids there as family. Last year we performed the musical "Halehaka" (the band) which is based on a famous Israeli movie about a military band during the War Of Attrition. I also like to sing and listen to music. I like going to concerts with my friends and family and hear live music. I used to dance ballet and lyrical dance for 8 years. Even though I stopped taking dancing lessons two years ago, I still love to dance with my friends at parties and even at home just for fun. I really look forward to meeting you!

MEET OMER Hello! My name is Omer Lahav Ventura and I'm 17 years old. I was born and raised in Israel. I have lived in Kochav Yair, a small town next to Tel Aviv, since I was born. I am a student in Herzog High School in Kfar Sava. My dad, Mordechai, works as an advisor in the private sector. My father was a commander when he served in the IDF. He is the one who taught me the values and the beliefs I have today. My mom, Tamar, owns a private shop in Kochav Yair. Although my mother is Israeli, she lived for 6 years in the U.S., in Maryland. My mother is also a supportive and loving person. I guess I am a lucky guy! I have an older brother and sister. My brother,

Harel, is and my sister, Eden, is 18. Eden and I have a lot in common. We are very close friends. Last summer, my brother, my sister and I went on "Siblings Trip" and traveled to Germany together. It helped us grow even closer and was a fantastic time! Last year I was a troop leader for 6th grade scouts and this year I am in charge of the coordinating the supplies for the entire scout tribe in my town. Being a scout leader was and is a big part of my life. It taught me a lot about myself, about patience and counseling. Teaching values and influencing young people is very important to me. During the week I take part in a group which is called "Five Fingers". Five Fingers is a project which aims to educate teenagers through sport. Taking part in Five Fingers is one of my favorite activities for the whole week. Every Sunday we get together- all us good friends- in order to be with our friend who studies far from Kokav-Yair and we don't see during the week. I like running and traveling in Israel with friends and family, and in general I love visiting new places. I feel a very strong bond to Israel. Next year I'm planning to do "Shnat Shirut" - a year of volunteer work in order to help people in need. I can't wait to visit America, meet you all, and have amazing experiences with you!

MEET TOHAR Hello, my name is Tohar Waiss. I live in the south of Israel, in Omer. It's a little town where everyone knows each other. Omer is located in a desert area next to Beer Sheva. In my little town I like a place that called The Mitzpe, there I like to hangout with my friends. It’s on a hill where everything so calm and peaceful. My mother is Aanat Waiss and she is a high school teacher. My father is Rami Waiss and he works in a chemical factory. I have two brothers.My elder brother is Naor and he is serving in a special unit in the Israeli army. He is an officer, with a lot of responsibility. My younger brother is Yahav and he is in the sixth grade. He is in the scouts. Naor was also in the scouts. I am in the eleventh grade in Mekif Omer high school. I major in the chemistry and med-icine. I like those subjects very much. I like running and dancing, and I like being a scout leader. In my free time I also draw. I like to hike in Israel, especially in the Negev that include amazing views that I love. I am a counselor of boys and girls in the eighth grade. Last year I was a consoler of girls in the fourth grade. It is a special experience for me, to guide groups and teach values. Guiding groups in the scouts involves many thing s and a lot of responsibility. I am in charge of many activities. I lead and organize my group during scout trips, special days and projects. We often travel in Israel, during vacations. My scout troop is called Bamidbar. We have special activities for holidays like Purim and Hanukah. For all the special days, we build special contraptions for activities. I was in charge of those contraptions many times. I would like to contribute from my experience in the scouts to all of the people that I will meet. I hope to bring a little bit of Israel and the Israeli scout spirit to America for you. I look forward to meeting you!

MEET YUVAL Hello, my name is Yuval Moran, I'm 17 years old and I live in Meitar. Meitar is a very small town in south Israel (near Beer Sheva). My father's name is Gil and he is a chip architect and my mother's name is Bat-Sheva and she is a biology teacher. I have 3 sisters - 2 younger sisters, Carmel (14 y.o) and Maya (9 y.o) and an older sister, Yarden, who's 20 y.o and serves as a soldier in the IDF. I also have a dog named Nona- a 6 y.o Jack Russell Terrier. Between the array of amazing places in Israel, I like the northern part the best. I love the amazing views and the serenity of this amazing area. My favorite place in Israel is the Kinneret. In my family, we have an annual tradition of having a big vacation with all of my extended family over there.

I have been in the scouts since I've been in the 9th grade. Last year I've been through a counseling course, and took a few "head of project" parts, I led the Passover trip of my troop with another friend, and was responsible for the administration in the last summer camp. This year I was a counselor of 4th grade boys. I think that counseling is the most intense and satisfying thing I have ever done. Working with younger kids enriches you so much, and you get to learn from them just like they learn from you. I study at Branko-Weiss Meitarim high school in Meitar. I learn computer science and physics. I've also taken a few university courses of computers. I have many hobbies, but the main one is photography. For the last 4 years photography has been a significant part of my life. I started with a simple course with my friend, and since then we photo-graphed our school proms, birthdays and even a few concerts! Photographing family trips is my favorite kind of photography, they say that a picture worth 1,000 words, so in my opinion, a full album of photos is the most powerful way of sharing your feelings. I've played Hockey for 7 years. Hockey is a pretty rare sport in Israel, because there are only few ice skating arenas, but we played a different kind of hockey - Rollerblade Hock-ey. I used to play twice a week, and we had competitions every month. I had also played tennis and for 2 years I took guitar lessons too, but today the scouts and school take up a significant part of my life. I look forward to meeting you!

MEET STAV

My name is Stav Krayem and I am the Caravan Peleg’s leader for 2016! I am 23 years old and live in Ness Ziona—a small town in the center of Israel.

My whole childhood revolved around two main things: playing the trumpet and being in the scouts. I played trumpet since I was 10 years old. When I was older I joined my town’s orchestra and even participated in a competition in Israel and Europe. When I was 14 I and a group of friends founded the Tzofim chapter in Ness Ziona—Shevet Shahar. When I was 17 I was lucky enough to fly to the US as a member of the Tzofim Friendship Caravan in 2009.

After graduating from high school, I did one year of community service and volunteered in a boarding school for at-risk youth. It was probably one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. After that year, I joined the IDF and served for two years as a commander in the air force pilot academy. It was important for me to be in a role where I could influence people and serve my country in the best possible way.

My two biggest hobbies are traveling and photography. I love to see new landscapes and meet people from other cultures. All of this led me to a wonderful and challenging year in AFRICA! For the past year I traveled and volunteered in East and South Africa.

Since I came back I have been writing exams to be accepted to university next year, traveling in our beautiful country, and the most important thing—working with the wonderful kids of the 2016 Tzofim Friendship Caravan and preparing for our amazing experience this summer and meeting you!

MEET SHAHAR Hey! My name is Shahar Cohen and I will be a Madrich for Caravan Peleg. I grew up in Rishon LeZion, a city just outside of Tel Aviv. I have a wonderful family: I am the son of Kobi and Hadarit, both are running the family-run business Meitav, a factory for sauces and spreads (such as ketchup and mayonnaise). I’m the youngest brother of Merav, a strategic business consultant, and Noa, a psychologist. I’m also the proud uncle of Daniel, who just celebrated her first birthday. I’m excited about the upcoming summer, as it will be my seventh visit to the US. When I was young we used to travel and vacation in the beautiful sites of America quite often. Then, when I was 17, I got the chance to be part of the Tzofim Summer Delegation and be an Israel specialist in the Memphis JCC summer camp. It was an unforgettable summer, and it had (and still has) a huge impact on me. The summer in Memphis wasn’t enough for me; this meaningful experience led me to defer my military service and join the “Year of Service” (Shnat Sherut) project, as a Shaliach of the Jewish Agency to the Jewish Community of MetroWest, NJ. I taught at Jewish day schools and at Hebrew schools. I also led the local Israel Scouts chapter (Shevet Arava) and participated in many of the special projects and missions that the local Jewish Federation does in order to build living bridges between the Jewish communities of Israel and New Jersey. I became part of families that I didn’t know before and made friends that remain close to me to this day. I cam to teach about Israel and got taught the true meaning of Jewish peoplehood. When I returned to Israel I did my military service in the Intelligence Corps. I had such a thrilling and interesting time that I signed up for an extra six months after the end of my mandatory service. Then I returned to work for the Tzofim as a Merakez (Director) of the local Tzofim chapter where I grew up, where the youth educate the youth to be the best Israelis they can be.

I find nothing more relaxing than a good view, good music, and an episode of Friends. I’m a huge fan of Coldplay and Shlomo Artzi, and I love hiking and sightseeing. Just before beginning the training process of the 2016 Caravan, I traveled the world for a few months and got to see beautiful countries and cultures, such as Vietnam and India. Right now we are deep in the preparation process, working as hard as possible to prepare these wonderful kids for the adventure of their life. I know that although we do everything we can to prepare them for the challenges ahead, this will be the most demanding and meaningful experience they have ever faced. For most of them, this will be the first time away from their families and home. But I have no worries, as I know that thanks to you they will never feel alone. Thank you for inviting us to your communities. We can wait to share the Israeli spirit with you and to absorb some of yours. See you soon!