Earlier on in the semester I wrote briefly on Birthright in Israel, but now after doing my culture project on the subject matter I can delve much deeper in to the subject. Birthright is a great opportunity for several Jews around the world to travel back to Israel on a free ten day trip to experience their heritage and bond with the local Jews. Nearly 70% of the people, aged 18-26, that participate in the program are from the United States. This is partly because the generous benefactors that make this program happen are from the United States and they give back to the program, as evidenced by a recent donation of $25 million from an American couple. The birthright trip varies on a group basis. The program is run by several different groups that will lead tours based off of what the tourists want to see. If the group is orthodox Jews then the 10 day trip may be more faith based. If the group is just college aged kids from Richmond then they may be looking for a more social interaction during that trip. Both groups are guaranteed to attend the Mega Event which has very important people (called machers) attend the event with musical artists like Lenny Kravits performing for the guests. There is another interesting part of the trip called a mifgash or encounter with Israeli soldiers that are the same age as the guests. The purpose of this 5 day mifgash, in which the soldiers travel around with the others, is to develop rich discussion and learn about such things of what it means to be a Jew in Israel and what it means to be a Jew in the rest of the world or what it means to serve in the Israeli army etc.
If you were a Jew that has graduated from high school and has at least one parent still practicing their Jewish faith then you qualify for Birthright. However, it is very difficult to actually get in to birthright. As of right now they are taking 37,000 Jews from the ages of 18-26 each year. That means for each spot available there are several thousand applicants. You almost have to be lucky in order to qualify and hope that the pre screeners do not take you out of the group because you are believed to have a hidden agenda. This hidden agenda has been complained about by several people because Birthright does not explain why they will not allow you on the trip, just that they think you have a hidden agenda so they will not let you come. Other complaints about Birthright is that the trip is extremely biased and only gives the story of the Jewish people through a pro Israeli perspective. This propaganda is only hurting the relationship between the Jews and the Arabs in that Middle Eastern environment. Another complaint by the local Jews in Israel is that the funds used to pay for Birthright could be used elsewhere to help others. For instance, would you rather use the money to help take care of the elderly or to allow for college aged students to come over and have fun? Most would say the first option is more honorable so that is why some people complain about the use of the funds.
Overall, I believe birthright is a great idea. Although I am not Jewish I think a trip like this to discover ones Hebrew ties would be a fantastic opportunity and something that would certainly enrich my personal faith.
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