NAPLES, Fla. — A group of Israeli teens brought their message of peace, friendship and cultural understanding to Southwest Florida.

The Israeli Scouts came to Naples this week as part of a national cultural exchange. They sang, danced and told stories to church groups and YMCA summer campers. They also performed at the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples.

The federation’s president and CEO said the touring teens’ message is particularly important here after several troubling incidents of antisemitism in the community and around the country.

“It’s bringing the notion of Israel to the Jewish community, to the general community of bringing peace and love to everybody,” said Jeffrey Feld, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples.

The Israeli scouts first came to the United States on a friendship tour in 1958, 10 years after the middle eastern nation’s founding.