Young Australians are subject to powerful indoctrination and enticements to join the Israel Defence Forces. Yaakov Aharon investigates the links between youth group Hatzofim Australia and IDF recruiters.
While the Scouts typically wear a uniform emblazoned with the flag of their own country, Hatzofim Australia’s khaki uniform only has the Israeli flag. It’s a not-for-profit Zionist youth group and a wing of the Israeli Scouts.
Recently, MWM published an investigation into the Garin Tzabar Australia program, whose staff and services are closely intertwined with Hatzofim Australia. The Garin Tzabar program is the result of a joint venture partnership between the Israeli Scouts and IDF’s recruitment unit.
Hatzofim Australia provides services to children aged 8-25 and is granted special access to children through public and private Jewish schools. Their services include teaching classes and school activities, hosting regular weekend meetings and camps during school holidays, and sending children on Israel study tours.
Sometimes these Israel study tours are a one way trip. After all, Garin Tzabar translates to ‘seeds of Israeli identity’, and seeds are meant to be buried. Israeli immigrants who show they are willing to die for a foreign country are then enticed to stay for a lifetime.
Lone Soldiers. New Australian IDF recruits due to arrive in Israel in January
Criminal army recruiting
It is not a crime if an Australian chooses to join a foreign army.
However, S119.7 of the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995 states that “a person commits an offence if the person recruits, in Australia, another person to serve in any capacity in or with an armed force in a foreign country.”
It is a further offence to facilitate or promote recruitment for a foreign army and to advertise or publish recruitment materials. This includes information relating to how a person may serve, make applications to serve, or travel to a foreign country to serve with a foreign armed force.
The maximum penalty for each offence is ten years. MWM is not alleging any parties mentioned in this article have broken the law.
Hatzofim and IDF common goal
Hatzofim Australia is the local wing of the Israeli Scouts. Its mission statement says it intends to…
“to operate and develop educational programs and values, in which children and young adults – members of the Jewish-Israeli community in North America, Australia and Western Europe – will engage in a variety of social and educational Zionist experiences, which will help them build knowledge of and love for the Land of Israel. Weekly activities are planned and executed by high school children leading kids grades 3-9.
… [Hatzofim Members] take a meaningful part in Israeli society through our different programs, such as Shnat Sherut [national service volunteer work] Gap Year program and Garin Tzabar IDF service.”
Garin Tzabar is a program for Israel’s Lone Soldiers, or soldiers without parents living in Israel, who qualify for special benefits, including free accommodation, free plane tickets to Israel, better pay for their IDF service, and more time on leave. When they finish their service, they qualify for subsidised accommodation and university scholarships.
The official IDF website states that Garin Tzabar was founded through a joint venture partnership with the Israeli Scouts, the IDF Metav Unit for recruitment, and the Ministries of Defence and Immigration.
Recruiting Australians
The Garin Tzabar website specifically advertises to Australian recruits.
Prior to an MWM investigation into Garin Tzabar, the contact point was listed as Shoval Magal. Her LinkedIn listed her as ‘Executive Director Hatzofim Australia & Garin Tzabar Australia.’
MWM reached out to Magal on multiple occasions through multiple avenues, seeking clarification as to how Magal separates her two roles and at what age Hatzofim’s children are exposed to advertisements for Garin Tzabar’s services.
Magal did not respond to requests for comment, however she did scrub references to Garin Tzabar from her LinkedIn and Hatzofim Australia’s website. Magal was preceded in her Executive Director roles by Michael Manhaim (2018-2023), who continues to live in Australia, where he works as the Growth and Marketing Lead for Tzofim Tzabar Olami (Israeli Scouts and Garin Tzabar International).
Manhaim was also a leading organiser in the 2024 Better Council pro-Israel election campaign. During his army service, Manhaim served in Sayeret Matkal, Israel’s most elite Special Forces unit.
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In his former role as the ‘Shaliach [Emissary] and Executive Director of Hatzofim and Garin Tzabar Australia’, Manhaim wrote an article, ‘Becoming A Lone Soldier’, for an Australian Zionist youth group’s newsletter:
“How can we be Zionists but choose to live in the diaspora? While some will continue to live with this dilemma, some choose to take action. The Israeli Defence Force is the melting pot of Israeli society.
“The program starts with the unique preparation process in Australia.
…It only takes one step; you just need to choose which foot will lead the way. We will be there for the rest.”
Hatzofim Australia
In November 2021, Manhaim posted an advertisement for a job at Hatzofim Australia. The responsibilities included “maintaining mailing lists” for Garin Tzabar and “liaising with Tzofim Garin Tzabar and partners.”
When his 5-year contract as Emissary and Executive Director had finished in 2023, Manhaim wrote a lengthy farewell to those he worked with, reminiscing on how the Australian Zionist Youth Council coordinated with him to:
“Assist dozens of community members who made Aliyah [immigrated] to Israel.
Garin Tzabar [is] undoubtedly the most excellent Zionist enterprise of the 21st century. Young olim [immigrants] who choose to make Israel their home, influence Israeli society from within, and dedicate their best years to defending the land. I’m proud that a program fully supports these inspiring young people.
… To our partners in the Garin Tzabar: the Ministry of Aliyah [Immigration] and absorption, the Jewish Agency, the Israeli Consulate, the IDF Unit “Metav,” the Ministry of Defense.
… Thanks to everyone.”
IDF Service
During her time in the army, Magal worked as an ‘education guide’ for soldiers, but she did not teach them target shooting, fitness, or battle tactics. A job listing on an IDF e-store site describes Magal’s role as teaching the soldiers about Israeli culture, history, and ideology.
There is a concept in Zionism of ‘Hagshama’: that it is the responsibility of all Jews living outside of Israel to ‘actualise’ their ideology by making Aliyah (immigrating).
Some organisations – like the Israeli scouts – take it a step further. An Israeli immigrant of fighting age must respond to the conscription mandate. Therefore, Israeli Scouts ‘rank’ their members according to age groups. Those aged 17 to 18 are addressed as ‘Magshimim’ (‘actualizers’), both in Israel, where their members are subject to the draft and also abroad.
Prior to having scrubbed their website of references to Garin Tzabar, the first words on Hatzofim’s Hagshama page were an endorsement of the program.
Mapping the networks
Every Hatzofim Australia newsletter provides a link, “DONATE NOW – 100% of your donations go to Israel.” The link goes to the Friends of Hatzofim page, a secondary Australian non-profit, where visitors are asked to ‘Give $10,000 – Support a lone soldier full scholarship throughout the entire program.’ The tax-deductible donations are then sent overseas to Tzofim-Garin Tzabar.
The address of Hatzofim Australia and of Tzofim-Garin Tzabar in Australia is the building belonging to NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and the Zionist Council of NSW, the Jewish community’s peak roof bodies in the state.
Michael Gencher is a director of Hatzofim Australia and also served as acting CEO of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies from 2023-2024.
Hatzofim Australia is overseen, alongside nine other Zionist youth groups, by the roof body Australian Zionist Youth Council (AZYC), which is in turn represented and overseen by the peak body Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA).
MWM sought comment from AZYC and ZFA regarding their responsibilities for their constituent organisations, but we did not receive a reply.
The Zionist dream
In August 2020, Michael Manhaim congratulated four Australians who had become IDF recruits through the Garin Tzabar program. He wrote:
“There is nothing more powerful than fulfilling a Zionism dream!
…Those young adults are joining today to the Garin Tzabar program.
…‘For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and possess the land that your God is assigning to you.’ Deuteronomy 11:31”
In November 2023’s Hatzofim newsletter, Shoval Magal is smiling for a selfie. She is standing next to six Australians who look barely out of high school. “The participants are eager to have Aliya [immigrate] to Israel, start the program and join the army,” Magal said.
These six recruits are the attendees of just one of several seminars that Magal has organised in Melbourne for the summer 2023 cycle, having also organised separate events across multiple cities in Australia.
In Hatzofim Australia’s June 2024 newsletter, Magal said she was “in the advanced stages of the preparation phase in Australia for the August 2024 Garin.” In October 2024, she was “getting ready for Garin Tzabar’s 2024 December cycle.”
The Israeli welcome ceremony for Garin Tzabar participants is on January 12, 2025.
The Government’s response
MWM sought comment from the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Only the Department of Home Affairs spokesperson, Tarek Al Issawi, was willing to respond. He said:
- “The Australian Government is alert to the potential for Australians to travel to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and engage in hostilities.
- The Australian Government does not track the movement of Australians overseas.
- The Government encourages all Australians who seek to serve with the armed forces of a foreign country to carefully consider their legal obligations and ensure their conduct does not constitute a criminal offence.”
In July, Home Affairs stated it had identified only four Australians whom it suspects of having travelled to Israel since October 2023 with the intention of serving in the IDF. The Australian Border Force intervened with three of the four persons but did not necessarily prevent them from leaving.
Yaakov Aharon is a Jewish-Australian living in Wollongong. He enjoys long walks on Wollongong Beach, unimpeded by Port Kembla smoke fumes and AUKUS submarines.