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Tracking The Mideast
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Birthright Worries
Amid Mideast crisis, students struggle
with lure of Israel trip.
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JULIE WIENER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
New York
S
teven Postal was eager to
explore the Jewish state after
he heard about the Birthright
Israel program from friends
who went last year.
But a few weeks ago, when he was
accepted to the program and offered a
free 10-day trip to Israel this winter,
he politely declined.
"I've never been abroad before and I
thought this time, given all the vio-
lence over there, it wouldn't be a good
time for it to be the first time," said
Postal, a senior at George Washington
University, in Washington, D.C.
Amid renewed tensions between
Israelis and Palestinians, Birthright
officials are hoping Postal's stance is
not the dominant one as they prepare
for what is supposed to be the pro-
gram's largest trip yet.
Last December and January,
Birthright snagged headlines and
praise with its debut trips, credited
with energizing thousands of young,
primarily North American, Jews,
many of whom had been largely unin-
volved in Jewish life.
But this year, the trip organizers are
worried that potential participants will
follow the lead of many American
tourists — and heed a U.S. State
Department advisory warning against
travel to Israel — and will cancel in
large numbers.
Program officials are insisting that
the Birthright trip — which will bring
8,000 North Americans through a
variety of programs — will not be
canceled — even if numbers are
reduced, and that it will be safe.
To that end, they are stepping up
security, hoping it will be enough not
only to ensure no one is harmed on
the trip, but to reassure jittery parents
and travelers.
Of those slated to go, "several hun-
dred" have opted out of the trips,
according to Marlene Post, Birthright's
North American chairwoman.
All have been replaced from the large
waiting lists formed of the 17,000 peo-
ple who applied, but were initially
turned down due to limited space.
But the real test for this winter's round
of Birthright trips — in which the col-
lege students and 20-somethings, most
of whom have never been to Israel, are
slated to tour the country — will be in
the coming weeks, as departure dates
loom and participants face deadlines for
having their $250 deposits returned.
The deposit, which ensures a spot
on the trip, is returned at the trip's
conclusion.
Students have until three weeks
before their trips leave — Dec. 2 for
those on the first trip, scheduled to
depart Dec. 23 — to cancel.
If Violence Spreads
One determinant will be whether
the violence in the region remains
mostly limited to the West Bank and
Gaza Strip — areas that Birthright
trips avoid — or if terrorist activities,
such as suicide bombings, start occur-
ring within Israel proper.
Some, like Postal, may reason that
they can apply again for a Birthright
trip in the future, when the situation
in Israel appears calmer.
Birthright officials say that people
who turn down the winter trip will
not be penalized if they apply for
future trips.
"Hopefully the situation on the ground
will get easier, not worse, and fear will
give way to reason," said Richard Joel,
president of Hillel: The Foundation for
Jewish Campus Life, which is the largest
provider bringing students on a
Birthright trip, a total of 4,000.
As part of beefed-up security precau-
tions, individual trip organizers will be
required to submit detailed itineraries
to the Birthright office, and will be
checking daily with Israeli government
officials to ensure that the routes
planned are still considered safe.
Students will have less free time to
wander on their own than they had
last year, and when they do have free
time, will likely be given the choice of
a few destinations, rather than free
rein, said Post.
Some students, like Scott Factor, a
junior at the University of Kansas, say
their interest in the trip is unwavering.
Factor, who is "99 percent sure I'm
going " will be with fellow counselors
from Beber Camp, a summer camp
run by B'nai B'rith.
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