A Trip of a Lifetime

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“It was a life changing experience,” Sarah Fishman said. “Israel was magical, and beautiful, and everything I could have imagined.”

 

Fishman, 22, from the University of Connecticut, was excited to travel to Israel for the first time in the summer of 2018. Her most memorable moments were praying at the Western Wall, floating in the Dead Sea, and meeting Israeli Defense Force (IDF) Soldiers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       Sarah Fishman in front of the Western Wall. (photo submitted)​

 

Fishman learned about the hardships, stories, and traditions that her ancestors had gone through. “From Adam and Eve to the destruction of the temple…this blows my mind that all of this happened in the State of Israel,” Fishman said.

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Every winter and summer, thousands of Jewish youths from around the globe earn the opportunity to explore Israel. This program is Taglit-Birthright, a nonprofit educational organization that sponsors free ten-day trips to young adults of Jewish Heritage, ages 18-32. The mission of Birthright is published to its website and states they hope “to strengthen the Jewish identity of our youth and further bond Jewish people worldwide to the country of Israel.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cofounders of Taglit-Birthright Charles Bronfman (L) and Michael Steinhardt (R) in Jerusalem, 2015. (The Times of Israel.)

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Established in 1999 by philanthropists Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt, their intentions were to prevent intermarriage and promote Zionism, the re-establishment, development, and protection of Israel.

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Charles Bronfman, an 87-year-old Canadian Jew, has been involved with the development, implementation, and supporter of strengthening the unity of Jewish people and philanthropy since 1985 with the establishment of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies Inc.

 

In 1998, Michael Steinhardt, a long-time investor, approached Bronfman at an International Council in Jerusalem, and pitched his idea to send Jewish youths to Israel. In a matter of a few months, Birthright was born.

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During her journey to Israel, Fishman learned many lessons. First, that all religions in Israel coexist. Despite what she had read in the newspaper, residents do not live in a constant state of conflict. Instead, she found people in Israel to be generally inviting, friendly, and open about their opinions. Second, Fishman was able to learn a deeper understanding of Judaism. As a Reform Jew, Fishman hasn’t been particularly observant. The last Jewish service she attended was in 2009, the year of her Bat Mitzvah. A Bat Mitzvah is a Jewish coming of age ritual. In Israel, Fishman was able to learn that being a practicing Jew does not only mean reading from the Torah, rather it understanding one’s beliefs and ways of thinking.

 

 “Birthright helped me find a certain light in myself,” Fishman said.

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The Logistics

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A free trip to Israel sounds too good to be true. On average, the cost of sending just one participant to Israel is $3,000, according to Birthright. Funding comes from the government of Israel, the Jewish community, and individual donors and philanthropists from all over the world. The largest donation Birthright has received was $70 million from Sheldon Adelson, an American business investor and philanthropist, along with his wife Miriam Adelson.

 

According to Birthright’s annual report, more than 650,000 participants from 67 countries have traveled to Israel through the program.

 

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List of the 67 countries represented. (Birthright.)

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Now, 20 years later, Birthright is often seen as an extraordinarily life-changing trip. There are different styled trips to choose from: classic, adventure, spiritual, culinary, professional, arts and culture, and LGBTQ.

 

Despite the conservative and political leanings of Bronfman, Steinhardt, and Adelson, the founders and funders, Birthright welcomes members of the LGBTQ community.

 

Each trip consists of 40 youths who go to all the main historical sites, such as The Dead Sea, Masada, The Western Wall, Yad Vashem (The Holocaust Museum), and the Bedouin Tents of the Negev desert. The appeal of the trip is easy to understand, especially for Jewish youths who may not have the funds for such an undertaking.

 

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Holes in the Application​

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In order to qualify for a Birthright trip, the applicant must have at least one Jewish birth parent, or have completed the Jewish conversion process. Hopefuls fill out an application, pay a $250 refundable deposit and a have a phone interview.

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Diagram of the application process. (Birthright.)​​

 

Processing the application takes a few months. Some non-Jewish applicants slip through the cracks. How do they do it?

 

They lie.

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Karli, a 22-year-old non-Jew from Ohio, who asked that her last name not be used, was accepted for a summer 2018 Birthright trip. That summer, about 20 of Karli’s friends who have Jewish ancestors decided to apply for Birthright. Although a non-practicing Christian, Karli wanted to join in on the fun, and decided to sign up for a free trip to Israel.  

 

“My boyfriend said it would be okay to apply,” Karli said in a phone interview.

 

It was the interview process that gave Karli a slight case of the nerves. Without an abundance of knowledge of Judaism, she was unsure of the questions that would be asked. Karli waited for her boyfriend to complete the interview to help her prepare.

“His answers allowed me to gauge what I wanted to say” Karli said. She said the excitement of the trip outweighed any concerns she had about lying to get there.

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Bekkah Gold, a 30-year-old representative for Birthright said there is no formal proof needed to prove one’s Judaic background. Gold added that the “answers received in the interview are taken seriously and the answers are assumed to be true.” Ineligible participants are mostly caught during the passport check in Israel and if caught, they are immediately sent home at their expense. This issue has been evolving due to the popularity of the trip.

 

Sometimes legitimate Jewish applicants are rejected for no apparent reason.

 

Brett Neuberg, 21, from Binghamton University in New York, was rejected from Birthright for the summer 2017 session. “I did the interview and thought I had it in the bag,” Neuberg said. He was given no explanation for this rejection. It may be possible that there were too many applicants for that summer.

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Neuberg was confused by Birthright declining his application, as he is a practicing Conservative Jew who went to a Jewish Day School. Neuberg said the rejection did not steer him away from looking forward to applying in the next few years. He sees this rejection as a blessing in disguise. He believes that he will have a deeper appreciation when he goes to Israel after his college graduation. If he had made the trip with his friends, he said, he wouldn’t pay as much attention to the history.

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Birthright does not share their acceptance rate on its.

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Once a candidate is accepted for Birthright, the history lesson begins, with a strong pro-Israel bias.

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The Logisitcs​

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There are a variety of motivations for signing up for Birthright. Whether it’s to find a spouse, gain spiritual understanding, or to have fun, this program is not without its controversies.

 

Before arriving in Israel, Birthright participants are told to sign a Code of Conduct, which provides specific legal obligations that must be enforced. For example, the applicant must agree to have visited a physician prior to the trip to ensure they are in good health, as well as acknowledge the dangers and risks that the trips activities may encounter. A Birthright receptionist, who wishes to be unidentified, said on the phone that from the very beginning of the trip “each tour leader is responsible for ensuring the guidelines.” If it should be discovered that someone breaks the rules over the course of the trip, they lose the $250 deposit and are sent home at their own expense.

 

There is much fraternization among the Birthright participants and those of Israel, including the members of the army. The IDF requires any citizen or permanent resident to be drafted at the age of 18 and must serve 2 to 3 years. Every Birthright trip is accompanied by soldiers on leave from their army service. This component of the trip is called Mifgash, the encounter between young adult Jews and Israel. The purpose of Birthright is not to play matchmaker, like “Fiddler on the Roof,” but sometimes it just happens. In such close quarters, chemistry is bound to form between people.

 

In 2008, The New York Times quoted Steinhardt on how matchmaking is becoming an “Ultimate Government Service,” of Israel. Steinhardt explains that “in Birthright there have been many successful matches, and that is the unintended but happy outcome of the trip.” No exact percentage exists when it comes to the amount of how many marriages have come from Birthright, but a spokesperson said there have been “a lot.”

 

Maxine Tannenbaum, 22, from New York, and Sion Astroff, 23, of New Jersey, met on a Birthright trip in 2016. They began talking as they walked along the Tel Aviv beach as the sun set. Their first kiss was a few days later under the stars of the Negev desert. “I feel like I’ve known Sion forever and hope to spend my future with him,” Tannenbaum said. After two years, Tannenbaum and Astroff are thankful for Birthright for bringing each other into their lives.

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Maxine Tannenbaum and Sion Astroff in Brooklyn, 2017. (photo submitted.)

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Steven Klausner, a sophomore from Elon University, said, “There was a hook-up culture between the group.” During his summer 2018 trip, there were many who chose to have flings with one or more people. A group of five young Israeli soldiers, a mix of men and women, joined Klausner’s trip as participants. It was clear for Klausner that there was a fascination among the participants with the soldiers, which created a sexualized environment between the American participants and the Israeli soldiers, ultimately creating a further hook-up culture.

 

“The soldiers were cute. It was difficult to not want to flirt with them,” according to Michael Bloomberg, 22, of Ohio and a summer 2018 Birthright participant. Bloomberg said the women soldiers were “badass,” and awesome to be around.

 

Participants have the idea that they will find their soul mate on a Birthright trip. Not all pairings were long lasting. Klausner said the hookup culture was “distracting people from finding their Jewish Identity.”

 

Not all of the sexual encounters are consensual.

 

According to The Investigative Fund, Julia Peck, a 2014 participant of Birthright, was reportedly assaulted by a soldier from the IDF who joined her trip. Peck traveled with Birthright through Columbia University’s Hillel, a Jewish Campus organization. Following the report of this incident, it took months waiting for the Israeli Government and Hillel to make a comment. During those months waiting, Peck thought about this traumatizing event and if this issue would even have a solution. As a result of this case, there have been some changes to policies on Birthright trips, such as the necessity of reporting and addressing of these incidents immediately after as they occur. 

 

The Code of Conduct that the youths sign doesn’t mention sexual harassment. Because of Peck’s case, Birthright is rewriting the policies regarding this topic.

 

Other issues include walkouts on the program. These protests are due to participants feeling that the trip does not give a full picture of Israel, politically. Rather, they say they are being urged to fall in love with Israel and to move there. Some disruptors apply to Birthright with the intention of protecting it through walkouts. Those who are sympathetic for Palestine stage this protest by walking off towards the end of the trip. This shows that there are people who want to use Birthright as a platform for a political stance.

 

In addition to visiting historical sites, from day one, Birthright attendees are lectured on a pro-Israel bias. A feature of the trip includes guest speakers and lectures encouraging participants to move to Israel. From Birthright Alums who’ve moves to Israel to post-Birthright programs, it is continuously expressed that life in Israel is better than anywhere else in the world. Representatives from Masa Journey Israel, a program for those looking to return to Israel after participating in Birthright, make an appearance throughout every Birthright trip. Masa offers young adults between the ages of 18 to 30 a gap year, study abroad, post-college and volunteer experiences in Israel. These programs can be 2 months to a year long.

 

Leah Kay, a senior at Elon University, who has been to Israel multiple times but not through Birthright, is hesitant to participate in the program. After her sister traveled with Birthright in 2012, she felt she was being bombarded with right-wing information that did not include Palestinian issues. Kay, like the walkout/disrupters, feels that Birthright is not giving the participants a true representation of Israel. Instead, she said Birthright continuously encourages participants to make Aliyah, which means to move to Israel.   

 

Hidden Accusation

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After 10 days of education, fun, and apparently, hookups, participants return home with a renewed sense of Jewish identity, along with an interest of learning more. This may spark an interest of returning.

 

Brooke Goldstein, 22, from Muhlenberg College, traveled to Israel for the first time with Birthright alongside Fishman. Goldstein was not prepared for the drastic difference of traveling from cities to deserts, from Orthodox neighborhoods to nonreligious. Goldstein was shocked that a country that is similar in size to New Jersey could experience such culture shock. She experienced how complex of a country Israel is.

 

Traveling to a foreign country in the Middle East may seem foolish. In addition, the language barrier may fuel tension. Yet, Goldstein felt safe and loved, and picked up common expressions that are used daily by natives.

 

When it came time for Goldstein’s trip to come to a close she felt she only got a taste, and “wanted a full flavor” of all that Israel could offer her. It didn’t take much convincing for Fishman when Goldstein asked if she would be willing to return to Israel with her after graduation to live on a Kibbutz, a unique collective community.

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Sarah Fishman and Brooke Goldstein in the Negev Desert. (photo submitted)

 

Goldstein and Fishman hope to explore Israel from a local’s perspective, by working on a Kibbutz and being part of a community.

 

“Until we’re in Israel again, L’hitraot B’smachot!” Goldstein said. “This means, see you in happiness.”