Birthright Israel: Difference between revisions

Taglit-Birthright Israel

Formation	1999; 25 years ago (1999)
CEO	Gidi Mark
Budget	$46.9 million (2011)
Website	birthrightisrael.com

Taglit-Birthright Israel (Template:Lang-he), also known as Birthright Israel or simply Birthright, is a not-for-profit educational organization that sponsors free ten-day heritage trips to Israel for young adults of Jewish heritage, aged 18–32.^[1]

Taglit is the Hebrew word for discovery. During their trip, participants, most of whom are visiting Israel for the first time, are encouraged to discover new meaning in their personal Jewish identity and connection to Jewish history and culture.^[2]

Since trips began in the winter of 1999, more than 600,000 young people from 67 countries have participated in the program.^[3][4] About 80% of participants are from the United States and Canada. The number of participants has not grown beyond 40,000 a year due to budgetary constraints.^[5]

The Birthright Israel program was initiated in 1994 and founded in cooperation with Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt, as well as the Israeli government, private donors, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and Jewish communities around the world.^[6] Tours are held in the winter and summer, for which demand is very high. Registration is conducted online and each round there are usually thousands more applicants than spaces available.^[5]

In 2007, annual capacity was increased to 20,000 participants a year.^[7] That year, Sheldon Adelson pledged $25 million to Birthright Israel to take applicants off waiting lists and to increase annual capacity from 25,000 to 37,000 in 2007 and 2008.^[7] The Adelson Family Foundation has contributed many millions of US dollars annually to Birthright Israel since 2007.^[8] In 2011, he pledged an additional $5 million toward the effort. In 2013, Adelson doubled his past annual commitment to Birthright Israel, announcing a $20 million challenge grant that will match new and increased gifts or pledges through 2015. This raises Adelson's total support of the program to over $250 million as of February 2015.^[9]

In 2010, Birthright launched an extension program called Birthright Excel.^[10] Birthright Excel is a 10-week summer program where students can either create a venture or intern with a business.^[11][12]

Eligible individuals are those who have at least one parent of recognized Jewish descent, or who have converted to Judaism through a recognised Jewish movement, and who do not actively practice another religion. They must also be between the ages 18 to 32, post-high-school, have neither traveled to Israel before on a peer educational trip or study program past the age of 18 nor have lived in Israel past the age of 12.^[13] A Taglit-Birthright Israel trip includes airfare from major cities, hotels, most meals, all transportation within Israel, and costs associated with touring the country for the ten-day trip. A US$250 deposit is required which is refunded upon return from the trip. Airfare or transportation from a participant's home to the gateway city is not included, although the trips depart from multiple cities.

Trips are organized by different organizations and companies accredited by Taglit-Birthright Israel, which sets the logistical, educational, and security standards. All groups are led by licensed Israeli tour guides, all groups are accompanied by an armed security guard, and include visits to the Western Wall and Yad Vashem, as well as other sites determined by Taglit-Birthright Israel. Tours may vary according to age group and the religious background of the participants. Trips may be geared for graduate students, undergraduates at a particular university, participants from a particular city, participants who identify with a particular stream of Judaism, tours for hiking or music enthusiasts,^[14] and a diverse array of other interests, such Birthright's 12-day internship experience with Israel Tech Challenge.^[15][16]

El Al, Israel's largest airline company, is the major operator of the trips' flights.^[17][18]

Registration is conducted twice a year, in the winter and summer, and during each round there are thousands more applicants than spaces available. Trips are conducted throughout most of the year.

A Taglit-Birthright Israel trip includes airfare from major cities, hotel accommodation, two meals per day, security, all transportation within Israel, and other costs associated with touring the country during the ten-day trip.

Tours travel throughout the country to religious and cultural sites, including in Jerusalem, the Western Wall, and the Dead Sea.^[19] Trips also often include a Mega Event, which unites thousands of participants from around the world together with Israelis for a celebration featuring speeches by dignitaries and musical performances.

A major feature of the tours is a 5- to 10-day mifgash (Hebrew for 'encounter') with Israeli peers, usually soldiers serving in the Israel Defense Forces, who join the tour. The stated purpose for the mifgash is for the participants and the soldiers to get to know each other and to better understand each other's world view and Jewish identity. Guided discussion sessions explore topics such as the Jewish tradition in the modern world, how Jewish life in Israel differs from Jewish life abroad, and how mandatory military service impacts young Israelis' perceptions of service and commitment to their country.^[20] More than 65,000 Israelis have participated in the program since 2000.^[21]

Participants have the option to extend their plane ticket for up to three months to explore Israel and the region. The optional extension is not part of the Birthright trip, and the participant is in that time like any tourist.

Security policies in place during the trip "ensure a comprehensive safety umbrella":^[22]

• No travel to the West Bank, Gaza, or East Jerusalem other than the Jewish Quarter of the Old City
• Participants in each group remain together at all times and follow a set schedule of activities
• Participants do not leave the groups to travel, explore or visit with Israelis on their own during the ten-day trip
• Public transportation is not allowed at any time
• At least one highly trained, armed escort accompanies each group throughout the entire trip

Through the end of 2011, the program had an operating budget of $660 million. More than half of the funding comes from philanthropists, among them Charles Bronfman, Edgar Bronfman, Sr., Daniel Och, Marlene Post, Lynn Schusterman, Sheldon Adelson, and Michael Steinhardt. About one-quarter of funding comes from the Government of Israel, and about one-fifth is contributed by Jewish organizations and communities, such as North American Jewish Federations through the United Jewish Communities (UJC), Keren Hayesod, and the Jewish Agency for Israel; and many leading private philanthropists through the Birthright Israel Foundation, including Charles Bronfman, Michael Steinhardt, and Lynn Schusterman. The program also receives funding from the German government, through the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.^[7]

According to the organization, Taglit-Birthright Israel has contributed more than 2 billion NIS to the Israeli economy.^[23]

The Birthright Israel program has been criticized for its pre-trip screening process. According to Rachel Shabi from Salon.com, political opinions may be taken into account: "Potential candidates who are discovered to have a 'hidden agenda' are not allowed onto the [Birthright] trips".^[24] Shabi notes the phenomenon of people who use the Birthright program to obtain free transportation to Israel and then leave the group.

Michael Steinhardt, co-founder of Birthright Israel, is a major supporter of The Alumni Community and a primary provider of post-Birthright Israel programs in the New York area. Through its follow-up programs, in which 15,000 alumni participate every year, young Jews continue to learn about Jewish culture and history.^[25] I.D., a performance of monologues by Birthright Israel alumni based on their experiences, is sponsored by Birthright Israel Next, which keeps in touch with alumni by hosting trips, reunions and other programs.^[26]

At an academic symposium on Taglit-Birthright held at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2013, Leonard Saxe of Brandeis University presented evidence that program participants tend to marry later than their peers, and are more likely to marry within the faith than a similar group of Jewish young people who choose not to participate in Birthright. Saxe hypothesizes that participants' delayed marriage age may be motivated by the goal of finding a Jewish spouse. The findings also show that one out of four Birthright participants ends up marrying another Birthright participant.^[27]

Birthright Israel has inspired similar programs for other diasporas with similar goals, including Birthright Armenia for the Armenian diaspora, Reconnect Hungary for young adults of Hungarian diaspora, and Birthright Greece for the Greek diaspora.^[28]

Birthright Unplugged was founded to counterbalance Birthright Israel, with the goal of exposing Jewish and non-Jewish visitors to Palestinian communities inside and outside of Israel.^[29]

Palestinian-Americans can sign up for a sponsored two-week trip called "Know Thy Heritage". The itinerary includes the Church of the Nativity, Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, Samaritan Museum in Nablus and several Christian and Muslim sites in Jerusalem. However, Palestinians with dual citizenship, foreign nationals of Arab heritage, and potential Palestinian activists entering through the Jordanian border may be interrogated at length or denied entry into Israel for security reasons.^[30]

• Sarah Glidden, cartoonist
• Ethan and Hila Klein, of h3h3Productions
• Ali Marpet, NFL football player
• Dylan Moscovitch, Olympic skater
• Jon Rudnitsky, actor and comedian
• Jamie-Lynn Sigler, actress and singer
• Josh Sussman, actor
• Otto Warmbier, student
• David Serero, French satirical blogger

• CubaOne Foundation
• Meir Shamir: Taglit Society Chairman
• Diaspora politics
  • Diaspora politics in the United States
• Jewish Agency for Israel
• Jewish education
• Nefesh B'Nefesh
• Tourism in Israel
• Youth aliyah
  • Hakhshara
  • Youth village

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taglit-Birthright Israel.

• Official website
• Official Foundation website
• Kelner, Shaul, Leonard Saxe, et al. Making Meaning: Participants’ Experience of Birthright Israel (Waltham, MA : Brandeis University, Nov. 2000)
• The Birthright Israel Program: Present and Possible Future Impacts - Interview with Leonard Saxe at the Institute for Global Jewish Affairs
• Saxe, L. & Chazan, B. (2008). Ten Days of Birthright Israel: A Journey in Young Adult Identity. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England
• Avi Herring discusses the merits of Birthright Israel in The Current, a Columbia University journal
• Jordan C. Hirsch investigates how Birthright has affected the American Jewish community in Presentense.^{[permanent dead link]}
• Research on Taglit-Birthright Israel
• Largest Taglit Season Ever 2017
• The launching of the Israeli Taglit Society