Drinking In His Jewish Side Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The Jewish Week
During his childhood in Garden City, L.I., Tyler Barnet, grandson of Herbert L. Barnet, a former president of Pepsi-Cola, knew almost nothing about the company’s adherence to the Arab boycott.
Raised Catholic, Barnet, now 26, wasn’t taught about Israel or anything else Jewish...
...Birthright [Israel], Barnet said, "has been a transformative, pivotal experience." Prior to the trip, "I considered myself a ‘critical atheist.’ Now in Israel, I see Judaism from a philosophical perspective. Before coming here I thought it would be impossible for me to adopt religion. Now I think it’s a possibility."
Graffiti group to bring solidarity message to Sderot Sunday, March 14, 2010
The Jerusalem Post
Sometime during Operation Cast Lead, Craig Dershowitz’s graffiti magazine, BOMBIN’, became something of a forum for pro-Israel views.
However unlikely, the graffiti community, touched by 9/11 and smarting from increased police cameras that stopped them from freely painting, sympathized with Israel. In the face of widespread public criticism of Israel’s military operation, the graffiti artists - rebels to the core - sided with the Jewish state.
"It was this weird mishmash, this group of issues that made the graffiti community care about Israel," said Dershowitz, a 32-year-old tattooed Taglit-Birthright Israel alumnus, who quickly mobilized artists to form Artists 4 Israel.
Largely non-Jewish, the group has had gallery shows and produced off-Broadway plays in the past year. Next month, 12 artists plan to travel to Israel; with actress Meital Dohan acting as their liaison, they will bring their art to Sderot from April 24 to May 2.
"This is a huge untapped resource," said Dershowitz, referring to his effort to get artists to promote a positive message about Israel.
Local special needs adults wowed by Birthright Israel trip Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Jewish Community Voice
Four young adults with special needs enjoyed the experience of a lifetime when they went to Israel on a Taglit- Birthright trip. Kevin Chin, Matt Gardner, Ashley Ramos, and Amanda Singer began their 10-day journey with opening ceremonies at Kibbutz Ha’on in the Kinneret region. Highlights from their itinerary included a hike at the Dan River Nature Reserve; exploration of the Golan Heights, olive oil tasting at an olive farm; an excursion to Tsfat; a tour of Yad Vashem and the Israel Museum; and a Havdalah service at the Western Wall. There was also a camel ride and Dead Sea swim. The trip was facilitated by Samost Jewish Family & Children’s Service (JFCS), an agency of the Jewish Federation.
"My Birthright trip to Israel was a great experience. I saw and learned so much and met a lot of new people," said 25- year-old Ashley Ramos. It was the first time the young woman traveled without her family. "If I could, I would do it all over again!"
Demand Surges for Birthright Israel Summer Trips, 24,000 Young Adults Waitlisted Thursday, February 25, 2010
Program announces 1-to-1 matching grant to boost participation.
Press Release
NEW YORK-Taglit-Birthright Israel announced today a sharp increase in eligible applicants for the program’s summer session, up 12 percent from the same session last year.
After closing North American registration for 2010 summer trips yesterday, Birthright Israel said nearly 39,000 Jewish young adults had qualified, up from 35,500 last year. With 15,000 summer spots available, Birthright Israel faces the prospect of leaving at least 24,000 applicants home.
"We’re just wrapping up a great winter season in which we took almost 11,000 participants from 24 countries, and demand grows every year," said Gidi Mark, CEO of Taglit-Birthright Israel. "We know the impact the trips have on Jewish lives. We wish we could take them all, and we’re working towards that."
Since its first flight in 1999, Taglit-Birthright Israel has taken over 230,000 Jewish young adults from all over the world to Israel on a free, educational, peer-group trip. Independent research published last year by Brandeis University shows that, five to ten years later, the majority of participants describe the experience as "life-changing."
"The time to support Birthright Israel is now," said Bob Aronson, President of the Birthright Israel Foundation. "We’ve announced a brand-new matching grant that adds one dollar to every dollar given to the program, hugely increasing the power of all gifts."
The Brandeis study published last fall concluded that Birthright Israel alumni have a stronger relationship with Israel than non-participants, have a stronger sense of Jewish identity and a stronger desire to raise Jewish children.
A Gut Feeling For Israel Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Jewish Week
It’s one thing to claim Masada as your birthright, or the Western Wall or the Dead Sea. It’s quite another to be able to say that shakshuka - that iconic and palate-zinging Israeli egg dish - is now part of your cultural heritage.
But that’s exactly what happened this week for 48 participants on Birthright Israel’s first-ever culinary trip.
Earlier this week the hungry Birthrighters disembarked from their tour bus at Shvil HaSalat (The Salad Trail), a farm in the northern Negev, anticipating a meal featuring lots of homegrown vegetables.
An hour and a half later the group sat down to a lunch of brightly colored Mediterranean-type salads that could have been served proudly at any fine restaurant anywhere in the world.
While the food was delicious, what made the experience at Shvil HaSalat particularly special was the fact that the 22- to 26-year-olds prepared it themselves.
Taglit-Birthright [Israel] inspires plans for return to Israel Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Jewish Voice & Herald
After sitting on a packed plane - filled only with Taglit-Birthright ("Birthright") teenagers - for 11 straight hours, we finally landed. I was sitting near the front of the plane, so as soon as we landed, I rushed to get through the plane door.
What happened next was something that none of us was ready for. As we looked outside, there must have been 200 screaming people from all around the country, including representatives from Israel’s newspapers and television stations. We didn’t know that we were one of the first Birthright groups since the Bernard Madoff scheme, and we didn’t know that it was also Birthright’s 10th anniversary. For all of us, this entrance was nothing short of amazing.
I later joined my group, Israel Outdoors, which gives participants a feel for the land of Israel by walking and hiking. Birthright breaks into smaller groups, and Israel Outdoors, which I selected to join, was just one of several such groups. On the first day, the 41 individuals assigned to Israel Outdoors were driven to the Golan Heights, in northern Israel. There, we visited the historic city of Safed, a former Syrian base, an Israeli winery, an Israeli olive oil farm and we hiked up an historic mountain. That was around the same time that we met up with Israeli soldiers; Birthright arranges a five-day immersion program for Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers whose English skills are sufficient, who then join the tours. Although they’re not there for protection for us, it gives us an idea of what the IDF is really like, as we hang out with soldiers.
Birthright [Israel] creates memorable experience Friday, February 12, 2010
Cleveland Jewish News
As Taglit-Birthright Israel: Hillel Bus 833 departed from the Tel Aviv airport this past year, our diverse group of travelers from Cleveland and Detroit area colleges had no idea what kind of experience we were embarking upon or the type of friendships we would create. But in 12 short days, 43 strangers became explorers, adventurers and family.
It is difficult to share a single experience that encapsulates the trip. Among the plethora of shared memories of laughter, camaraderie and accomplishment, one moment of absolute and true epiphany really sticks out.
Our bus group had been traveling together for a week. We had been to the north, been to the desert, ridden camels, and physically and emotionally carried some of our friends up and down Masada. We were growing tired, antsy, maybe getting a little sick of sharing the same air with each other, and were in need of a little rejuvenation.
The end of December was the period of Christmas and Hannuka celebrations. And Sophie found herself among the Jews. First at the New York airport, where she waited with others for their flight to Auschwitz, and then again in Poland. "I had never seen so many Jews," she smiled. For the first time in her life, she participated in a Hannuka candle-lighting ceremony. "Everyone one else knew the blessings, except for me. When they sang Maoz Tsur, I stood quietly," she said.
When they landed at Ben-Gurion Airport, everyone clapped their hands: "Welcome to Israel." Sophie looked at them with surprise: I didn't know anything about Israel, and they clearly felt such a deep connection." Her own feelings were quickly transformed. "I felt the responsibility to build this connection. I felt that I was a Jew, and linked to the Hebrew language, a feeling that can't be attained from a book."
At the end of the visit, Sophie returned to the United States, but that was only the beginning. She joined the Jewish student organization "Hillel," and even taught others about her Israel experience. She joined a Conservative synagogue, took courses in Jewish studies and rented an apartment in a Jewish neighborhood. She also joined an Israel advocacy organization.
On free Jewish trips to Israel, love is in the air Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Religion News Service
When Jodie Arbesman and Dan Williams flew to Tel Aviv with hundreds of other college students 10 years ago, they looked forward to a fun, free trip offered by a new program for Jewish young adults.
They had no idea it would also lead to their chuppah, or wedding canopy.
"I wasn’t ever planning on dating a Jewish girl, let alone marrying one," Williams said, recalling the surprising sparks that flew between him and his future wife on the tour. "My dad is Christian, and my high school only had about 10 Jewish people, so it wasn’t on my mind."
When they eventually have kids, the Williamses plan to raise them as Jews. For now, Dan, 31, credits his wife with making him a more regularly practicing Jew "because she makes it a priority."
The Williams, now settled in Washington, D.C., represent a growing number of newlyweds who found love with fellow travelers or people they met through Taglit-Birthright Israel, a free program that has sent some 215,000 18- to 26-year-olds to Israel from around the world.
Birthright wins another heart Monday, February 1, 2010
New Jersey Jewish News
Carly Rosenberg wasn’t all that interested in going to Israel, even after her older brother came back from a Birthright trip totally enthusiastic about the experience. When she finally decided she did want to go, it turned out to be not so easy.
The Taglit-Birthright Israel groups she wanted to join were already full. Then her luck changed. With the assistance of the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County, a spot was found for her on a group - organized by the tour provider, Israel Experts - that was set to depart on New Year’s Eve with 40 students from Penn State University.
She got the news in mid-December and flew into action to get ready.
"I was nervous because I didn’t know anyone else," Carly told NJ Jewish News in a phone interview a few weeks after her return. "But that might actually have made things easier; I got to meet more people than I might have if I’d been traveling with old friends."
In all sorts of ways, the trip was a mind-opener for the 19-year-old from Manalapan, a sophomore fashion student at the University of Rhode Island. Her parents, Michael and Helane, have always wanted to go to Israel but hadn’t been yet, and Carly said she didn’t know all that much about the country. Now she’s eager to get back there, and her enthusiasm about Israel has made her parents all the more eager to go, too.
Birthright Celebrates Decade, IDF Pledges More Soldiers Thursday, January 28, 2010
Arutz Sheva
The now-famous Taglit-Birthright program, which brings Jewish young adults to Israel for free 10 day trips, will increase the number of trips and participants by 20% in 2010. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the participation of soldiers in the project will grow, as well.
This week, Birthright celebrated its 10 year anniversary, proudly acknowledging the feat of bringing 250,000 young Jews and children of Jews from around the world to Israel, where they also spend time meeting IDF soldiers. In last week's "mega event" commemorating the birthday, Birthright CEO Gidi Mark told attendees that the organization would bring 27,000 young people to Israel this year, a 20 percent increase from previous years.
"We are celebrating 10 years of the Birthright project, and even though we have succeeded in including over 250,000 young Jews in this initiative, to date, the situation of Judaism in the Diaspora is not so good," Mark said. "Most young Jews have still not visited [Israel], and this is a problem we are striving to correct."
Young adults reconnect with Jewish heritage Thursday, January 28, 2010
Houston Chronicle
When Nate Levy left home for college from Klein in northwest Houston, religious observance was an unimportant aspect of his life. The Jewish senior at the University of Texas grew up without practicing the religion.
"I knew I was Jewish, but that was the extent of it in my family life," Levy said. "It wasn't part of my identity and it wasn't important."
He didn't expect anything to change in college, but became intrigued at the offer for a free 10-day no-strings-attached trip to Israel through the Taglit-Birthright Israel program.
Open to Jewish young adults ages 18-26, Birthright offers the trip to those who have never visited the country in an organized peer group experience.
Now, after his Birthright trip he has taken a second, lengthier trip to Israel and has become an active participant in Jewish life .
Birthright Israel recently marked its 10th anniversary, and we can only hope that it will be around for at least another decade. It is widely acclaimed as one of the most successful innovations to hit the American Jewish scene in decades.
The program, which offers free 10-day trips for young Jewish adults in the Diaspora, was the brainchild of mega-philanthropists Michael Steinhardt and Charles Bronfman, who were seeking new ways to help reverse the trend of disaffection and alienation of our college and post-college population.
They created a rare partnership between philanthropists, Jewish federations and the Israeli government, all of whom understood the vital need to create new initiatives to connect the next generation with meaningful Jewish experiences.
Already, some 200,000 Jews from around the world have reaped the benefits. While some participants clearly click with the Jewish state more than others, the exposure provides all of these young people with a direct connection to their heritage.
Second Annual Asperger's Syndrome Trip in Israel Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Shorashim
Shorashim completed its second Taglit-Birthright Israel trip for 18 to 26 year olds with Asperger’s Syndrome last month. The trip was an incredible success thanks to the participants, the Israelis who joined the group, and of course, the staff.
...
Pamela Saeks, parent of participant Karly Saeks, wrote a letter of appreciation to the Birthright Israel Foundation.
"Words cannot begin to express our sincere gratitude for the opportunity that Birthright Israel recently afforded Karly to not only experience Israel for the first time, but just as importantly, to be like everyone else!" Ms. Saeks wrote. "For years we searched for an organized trip to Israel that had the additional supports necessary to enable Karly to participate. Sadly there were none. And understandably, none of the trips available for ‘typical’ teens were willing to alter the pace, or make the accommodations required for her to go. That said, I’m sure you can imagine our shock when we learned that Taglit Birthright Israel was offering a trip for young people with Asperger’s Syndrome... it was truly a ‘pinch me I must be dreaming’ moment!"
Birthright Israel Works Hard on What Comes NEXT Thursday, January 21, 2010
Jewish Exponent
Dressed in scruffy clothes and wearing gloves spotted with red and blue paint, Lauren Shapiro was wielding a brush as a way to deepen her connection to the Jewish community.
The St. Joseph's University alum, who grew up in a small Jewish community in Colorado, recalled that while attending college, she often felt like the only Jew on campus. Going on a Birthright Israel trip after graduation, however, led her to understand that she wanted to get more involved.
"I seriously had no Jewish friends growing up, so it was cool to meet other people my age that were Jewish," said Shapiro, as she touched up spots on the area she was painting. She joked that she'd been surprised to finally discover that her family wasn't the only one that had celebrated Jewish holidays while she was growing up.
The 23-year-old was one of about a dozen Birthright alumni who'd teamed up with Greater Philadelphia Cares to repaint and refurbish John Welsh Elementary School in North Philadelphia as part of the Martin Luther King Day of Service.
Leon Levine Foundation Gives $130,000 to Birthright Israel for Charlotte Community Buses Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Press Release
Eighty Jewish young adults to go on educational trip to Israel.
NEW YORK, NY - January 19, 2009 - The Leon Levine Foundation has given $130,000 to the Birthright Israel Foundation, leveraging a 2009 2-to-1 challenge match in order to send 80 Jewish young adults from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Israel.
"The Leon Levine Foundation has made an investment in the future of young Jews in Charlotte and beyond," said Sue Worrel, Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte. "Sandra and Leon Levine’s generosity offers 80 young Jews the opportunity to connect with Israel, strengthen their Jewish identity, and build community - all of which insures Jewish continuity for our children and our children’s children."
The gift of $130,000 - the cost of one Birthright Israel bus - qualified for Birthright Israel’s 2009 Adelson Family Foundation grant, gaining an additional bus for Charlotte and sponsoring a third bus for youngsters from elsewhere. Participants will go to Israel this coming summer and next winter.
"This unique experience for young adults in our community will have tremendous positive impact for their entire lives. We can think of few better ways than through Birthright to emphasize the importance and benefit of Jewish values than this direct connection to the roots of Judaism," said Tom Lawrence, Executive Director of the Leon Levine Foundation.
Jewish young adults from Charlotte have gone on every Birthright Israel trip in the ten years since the program was founded, with 46 participants during the largest round and 37 participants this winter, but just as many applicants are left behind every year for lack of funding - until now.
"This is a great example of local leadership collaborating with us to great effect." said Robert Aronson, President of the Birthright Israel Foundation. "This is the Charlotte Federation telling dozens of young adults that they are vital to the future of the Jewish community."
Since its launch in 1999, the Birthright Israel program has provided free educational peer group trips to Israel to 220,000 Jewish young adults ages 18 to 26 from around the world. The first ever study of the long-term impact of the trips, published this year by Brandeis University, shows that Birthright Israel is achieving its original objectives of enhancing participants’ personal Jewish identity and connection to the Jewish people, closing the gap between Israel and Jewish communities around the world, and strengthening the sense of solidarity among world Jewry.
Participant finds birthright in Israel Friday, January 15, 2010
Jewish Review
Since a Birthright Israel trip last May rekindled her love of Shabbat candles and family traditions, Portland native Margot Feves has returned to Portland, reconnected with her Jewish community and now is leading a January Birthright trip to help other young adults connect with their heritage.
Taglit-Birthright Israel offers free trips for those 18-26 who never have been on a peer trip to Israel.
**
"After spending 10 very full days in Israel with 40 other Jewish 20-somethings I came home feeling much stronger about my Jewish identity," she said. "Since returning from Israel and moving back to Portland, I have become more involved in Jewish activities and family traditions. I love lighting candles and welcoming the Shabbat just like my sister Jordana and I used to do with our Grandma Sadie."
More young Los Angeles Jews get free trips to Israel Monday, January 11, 2010
Los Angeles Times
Hundreds more Jewish young people from Los Angeles will be able to take free educational trips to Israel because of a $700,000 donation from the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles to the Birthright Israel Foundation, the two organizations have announced.
The gift from the federation also leveraged a 2-to-1 match by the Adelson Family Foundation, making a total of $2.1 million available to help buy down the popular Birthright program's long wait list of Los Angeles applicants. Since the program began in 1999, about 220,000 young people from around the world have traveled to Israel under its auspices.
Jay Sanderson, who has just begun his stint as president of the local Jewish federation, said Los Angeles sends more students on the Birthright trips than other regions of the U.S. but also tends to have the longest waiting lists. After the donation, however, "the waiting list for 2010 is almost completely wiped out," he said.
Sanderson said studies show that Birthright's fully funded trips, which take 18- to 26-year-olds on a 10-day journey through Israel, significantly strengthen participants' feelings about their Jewish identity, which he says continues to be a challenge for younger generations.
Taglit-Birthright Israel by the Numbers Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The Forward
As most of the world celebrated the New Year, TAGLIT-Birthright Israel, the Jewish organization that provides free trips to Israel for young adults in the Diaspora, celebrated its 10th anniversary. Kicking off the celebration was a ceremony for a plane filled with 400 participants, alumni and donors that landed in Israel on December 29. At the event, the organization was entered into Guinness World Records for the largest collective work of art: a 13-foot-by-16-foot Israeli flag made up of 28,267 fingerprints of Birthright participants from the past two years.
