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The Scout Movement was established by a British army officer, Robert Baden-Powell, with the aim of educating youngsters in England toward a healthier lifestyle that would include sports and nature activities, thereby improving their fitness as future soldiers in the service of the British Empire.
He formulated the idea of founding the Scout Movement in 1899-1900 during the Boer War between the British and the Dutch settlers in South Africa. During this period, Baden-Powell was in charge of the defense of the city Mafeking, then under siege by Boer forces, and was assisted by a cadet corps of teenage boy volunteers who had been trained in auxiliary defense tasks.
In the summer of 1907, upon his return to England, Baden-Powell assembled a group of 21 boys and set up a week-long nature camp with them, implementing his ideas about youth activities.
In 1908, he published a book, titled "Scouting for Boys", to wide acclaim. Hisideas were disseminated by British educators and army officers, at first in the British Empire and later throughout the world, leading to the establishment of numerous scout groups in all parts of the world.
The Israel Boy and Girl Scouts Movement was established in 1919, and the first scout tribe, named "Meshotetei Bacarmel" (the Carmel Ramblers), was formed in Haifa by Arie Croch, who led the Hebrew Scouts Movement for many years.
The Principles of the Scout Movement
The Scout Movement is identified with the values of the society in which it functions. Educating toward love of homeland is a fundamental principle of scouting. The attributes demanded of the scout are to carry out such ethical values as honesty, love of one's fellow-man/woman, mutual help, and purity of act, speech and thought. An emphasis is placed on good deeds m
performed daily.
An important scouting ideal is education for service, meaning a life style in which the individual devotes his/her best efforts to the society in which he/she functions. In the Hebrew Scouts Movement, this forms the basis for graduates to undertake a year of service, namely, a year of community volunteer work and self-realization.
In recent years, the Scout Movement in Israel has designated the topic of social responsibility and equal opportunities as its top priority. Guided by professional bodies, the movement carries out educational projects tailored to the distinctive needs of children and teens, such as youth at risk, youth in the Ethiopian community, and youth with special education needs, with the scout principles underlying all these volunteer projects.
"The Israel Boy and Girl Scouts Federation"
This body represents all the scouting organizations operating in israel, namely: the Hebrew Scouts Movement in Israel, the Israel Muslim Arab Scouts, the Israel Arab Catholic Scouts, the Israel Arab Greek Orthodox Scouts, the Israel Druze Scouts and the Arab School Scout Association.
The goals of the Federation are to reinforce education for social principles, co-existence and tolerance between Arabs, Jews and Druze; and to educate for loyalty to the state through the development of democratic ideals, mutual help and respect for one another. Additionally, "The Israel Boy and Girl Scouts Federation" works diligently to develop close international ties with scout organizations throughout the world, and is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
Ruth Sapir
Spokesperson Hebrew Scouts Movement in Israel
