The Tzofim Garin Tzabar program celebrated its 30th anniversary on Friday with Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata (Blue and White) in attendance.In its 30 years, some 6,000 lone soldiers from Jewish communities all over the world have joined the program in order to serve in meaningful positions in the IDF, the program announced.
Some 89% of combat-eligible male soldiers (and 78% of all male soldiers) from Tzofim Garin Tzabar (literally, sabra seed scouts) eventually became combat soldiers, while 40% of eligible women chose to do so.
The guests of honor at the ceremony included Tamano-Shata and OC Meitav Recruitment and Sorting Unit Col. Alon Matzliach.
President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid sent prerecorded congratulatory video blessings. The event was broadcast live to Jewish communities and Tzofim Garin Tzabar all over the world.
The event also served as a celebratory opening for this year's 300-strong Tzabar contingent. The group arrived in Israel over the past few days, and will prepare and eventually serve as lone soldiers in the IDF. It hails from 27 countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Russia, Thailand and Mexico.
The lone soldiers will live in dozens of host kibbutzim as well as at the lone soldier's center in Ra'anana, the largest of its kind in Israel. For the first time, a group was opened specifically for new immigrants from South America.
"We are marking 30 years of the activity of Garin Tzabar, a program that expresses in its actions the core idea of Zionism," Tamano-Shata said.
"I was delighted to meet the soldiers of the program and express our appreciation for their efforts. The IDF is an army of the people, and as such serves as a melting pot for Israeli society," she said. "[Tzabar's] soldiers come from different backgrounds but serve together in an equal manner and for a shared goal: defending the country and people of Israel."
"You who have come from all over the Jewish world represent the nation of Iisrael's beautiful diversity. I applaud you for 30 years of magnificent activity," Tamano-Shata said.
"Under my leadership the Aliyah and Integration Ministry will continue to support the program so that it can focus on its main goal - the safeguarding of Israel's security," she concluded.
"Every group and every lone soldier reminds us of what true Zionism is," said Elad Sandrovitch, CEO of International Tzofim Garin Tzabar. "Even after 6,000 new immigrants, the entire Tzabar staff is excited as these young adults arrive to fulfill their dreams in Israel," he said.
Matzliach also spoke at the event about Tzabar's contribution to the IDF.
"The State of Israel needs good men and women to defend the country. Garin Tzabar is in my eyes a symbol of commitment, dedication, selflessness and true Zionism," he said. He pledged that he would do his best to ensure that the program's participants end up in important and meaningful units.
According to the organization's website, the program was founded in 1991 and "is the best solution existing today for young Jewish adults who make aliyah and wish to make Israel their home and serve a meaningful service in the IDF as lone soldiers."
It provides "a 360° support system and framework before joining the army and throughout and after their army service, including full accommodation, assistance with Israel civil services and IDF bureaucracy, integration into Israeli society, building a family within a host community in Israel (kibbutz/Ra’anana) and crafting a new Garin family – A Family For Life."