This Week
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Initial skepticism about
Birthright turns into
enthusiasm ... and cash.
JULIE WIENER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
New York
t a Jewish federation briefing last week about
Birthright Israel, the emotional fervor surround-
ing the transformation of college students from
unaffiliated to Jewishly involved almost resembled
a religious revival.
The students were clearly not the only ones transformed
by Birthright's launch this winter, in which 6,000 young
adults went on free 10-day Israel trips.
The briefing closely followed the announcement that
76 federations, representing 83 percent of the North
American Jewish community, have signed letters of sup-
port for Birthright and that their new umbrella group,
the United Jewish Communities, is en route to becom-
ing a partner in Birthright.
Assuming the UJC's plan passes at its board of trustees
meeting in June, the federation system and its overseas part-
ner, the Jewish Agency for Israel, will collectively contribute
$39 million to the initiative, signaling a clear departure
from their initially lukewarm attitude toward Birthright.
In addition, 14 donors have pledged a total of $70 million
to the project, and on April 12 the Israeli government signed
a contract committing it to allocate $70 million to Birthright
over the next five years.
These developments mean Birthright's envisioned three-
part funding partnership — among individual philan-
thropists, federations and the Israeli government — is almost
entirely in place, whereas just a few months ago the project's
financial future was still uncertain.
At last week's emotional briefing, at the conclusion of a
major UJC governance session in Washington, recent
Queens College graduate Max Sivin enthusiastically
described his Birthright-inspired metamorphosis from
someone not interested in Judaism to an outreach worker
for Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life.
"People came home from this trip and felt things they
hadn't felt before," he' said. "This trip gave them the oppor-
tunity to find something they didn't even know they were
looking for."
Sivin and another student's testimonial were greeted
with tears and applause. Ben Zinbarg, president of the
Jewish Community Endowment Foundation of
Stamford, Conn., stood up and thanked Birthright for,
he said, spurring a donor to pledge the largest gift the
Stamford federation has ever received. The gift has not
yet been finalized, and federation leaders declined to
specify the quantity or identify the donor.
A
Birthright Israel travelers: Harvey Dalin, Jodi Levine, Abby
Lieberman, Geoff Wolner, Emily Reetz, Josh Goldblatt and
Dana Riback, all of Michigan State University.
Detroit Between
Esau And Jacob
Tewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit's Robert
WO Aronson likes Birthright Israel, but not the mechanism.
concern is the way in which Birthright has approached
the process in dealing with the federations," said Aronson,
who chaired a national Birthright Israel planning group,
and is the local federation's chief executive officer.
"From the beginning, the federations have been seen
as the third partner along with the philanthropists and
the Israeli government. It is a very important concept
and, a great idea. Federations should participate, but
what has concerned me is the way that Birthright
International has decided what federation's role should
be without due consultation and process."
The Detroit Federation Board of Governors has
already made "a major commitment to teen and college
travel. It allocates roughly $1 million on the Teen
Mission to Israel; $150,000 a year on the Zippori dig
for college students; and $75,000 every other year on
the Ivlarch of the Living,/Teen Unity Mission to Poland'
and Israel for high school students. It has has not yet
t tonth
for Birthright Israel.,
considered fun
"This Federation
etroi.
Flood Of Endorsements
Charles Bronfman, the UJC's chairman and one of the co-
founders of Birthright, said he and his wife had received
1,000 letters from grateful participants, and he unveiled
preliminary findings of a study on Birthright alumni.
The most surprising discovery, said Bronfman, who ini-
tially had thought there should be a small charge for the trip,
was that the overwhelming majority of students said their
main reason for going on Birthright was because it was free.
The study, conducted by researchers at Brandeis
University's Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, also
found that the majority of participants think about the trip
"at least once a day" and that two out
of three Birthright participants now
expect to return to Israel within the
next three years.
Birthright was spearheaded with $5
million donations each and lots of
visionary talk from Bronfman and
hedge-fund-manager-turned-philan-
thropist Michael Steinhardt about the
impact Israel experiences have on
Jewish identity. Steinhardt is chairman
of the Detroit Jewish News.
The program will send, 2,000 stu-
dents to Israel this summer.
Twelve philanthropists — includ-
ing Ronald Lauder, Leslie Wexner,
Bronfman's brother Edgar, and
Hadassah, the Women's Zionist
Organization of America — recently
matched Steinhardt and Bronfman's
contributions.
Assuming its board of trustees
approves the proposed plan in June,
the UJC will commit $15 million,
matched by $15 million from individ-
ual federations and approximately $9
million from the Jewish Agency.
Success Story
Until recently, many in the federation
world were skeptical about Birthright,
even though itIVas touted by the
chairman of their umbrella organiza-
tion. Bronfman insists he has not
abused his UJC role to push
Birthright forward, noting that he
leaves the room during official federa-
tion meetings on the topic.
When Birthright was first
announced in 1998, federations felt
they had not been consulted adequate-
ly beforehand. Some feared Birthright
would interfere with successful Israel
programs they already sponsored,
while others expressed concern that it
have adequate follow-up programming
so, as one federation executive said,
"it's not a one-shot deal."
At last week's Birthright briefing,
Barry Shrage, the executive vice presi-
dent of Boston's Combined Jewish
Philanthropies, told the group he had
"some initial doubts" about Birthright
but now his community is "going to
be one of the strongest advocates."
Shrage later said his community is
considering investing $90,000 a year in
Birthright. The fact that Hillel is play-
ing a large role in the program —
recruiting students, leading trips and
staying in touch with participants after-
wards — has allayed his initial worries
that Birthright would lack follow-up.
He added, "When kids come back
and you meet with them, you can't
help but get excited." El
IN
4/21
2000
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