This Week

Insight

Still A Birthright

After convincing the skeptics, Israel _program faces challenges.

JULIE WIENER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Jerusalem

B

irthright Israel, the splashy
and ambitious international
partnership to bring young
people on identity-strengthen
ing Israel trips, has had to prove itself
quite a few times.
When Birthright was first announced,
many Jewish leaders suggested the
money pledged to the program could
be better spent on things like day
schools, questioned the value of a 10-
day trip to Israel and wondered
whether participants would take seri-
ously something that was free.
However, as the first wave of partici-
pants returned last winter gushing
about their "life-changing" experiences,
and a Brandeis study found a powerful
short-term impact on Jewish identity,
Birthright's skeptics were largely won
over. Jewish federations, the Israeli gov-
ernment and 14 individual donors
pledged large sums of money, bringing
the program's total five-year budget to
almost $210 million.
Still, with a host of new challenges on
the horizon, Birthright — known as
Taglit, or "Discovery," in Hebrew --
will have a lot more proving to do.
The following issues will be closely
watched:
• Future financial viability.
Philanthropists Michael Steinhardt
and Charles Bronfman, Birthright's
founders, announced recently that
they will end their support for the
project in five years, expecting that
new donors and institutions will step
in. Funding from Birthright's other
major partners — Jewish federations
and the Israeli government — is by no
means guaranteed indefinitely.
• How many trip providers should
be used, and to what extent Birthright
should offer a consistent experience
regardless of provider. Last year, 10
programs provided trips under
Birthright auspices. This winter, 30
programs are running trips, and their
policies and goals vary. Birthright lead-
ers say they are closely monitoring for
"quality control" and are using the

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2/9

2001

28

current batch of trips to test which
Lubavitch program — were forbidden
programs to use in the long run.
from dancing together at group events.
• Follow-up engagement. Birthright
With Israel and the Palestinian terri-
and the federation system began pro-
tories rocked by violence this winter,
viding grants for post-trip programs
many wondered whether Birthright
this year. Several trip providers, like
would be able to operate. In the end,
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish
despite thousands of dropouts, mostly
Campus Life, have invested consider-
from the United States, Birthright is
able personnel to stay in contact with
bringing more young people than last
alumni and encourage them to contin-
year: between 8,000 and 9,000, of
ue the "Jewish journeys" spurred by
whom 6,000 are American.
Birthright. It remains
The North American
to be seen whether
groups — particularly Hillel
alumni will receive as
and Chabad, which have a
much attention as
presence on most major uni-
Birthright grows.
versity campuses — are ask-
• The trip's long-
ing whether the Israeli
term impact. With
providers can offer meaning-
Birthright still in its
ful follow-up.
infancy, all pronounce-
In the process, questions
ments about its long-
are being raised about
term effects on Jewish
Birthright's basic goal: Is it to
life are speculation.
promote a love of Israel, a
However, Birthright
commitment to Jewish
plans to continue
observance or something
Hillel's
Richard
Jo
el
commissioning
else? How much of the trip
detailed studies from
should be structured and
Brandeis University's Cohen Center
e ducational, and how much for reflec-
for Jewish Studies, and is exploring the ti on and relaxation?
possibility of longitudinal studies that
At the same time, as many providers
compare Birthright participants to
re port staff and overhead expenses
other young Jews.
b eyond the funds allocated by Birth-
ri ght, groups like Hillel are wondering
Diverse Support-
w hether it makes sense to continue in
While many people believe Hillel and
th e Birthright business or seek to posi-
Birthright are synonymous, Hillel —
ti on themselves as follow-up providers.
the network of Jewish student organiza-
The Hillel trips are credited with
tions — is simply the largest of some
b uilding a sense of community, and
30 trip providers. The providers include
fo rging relationships between Hillel
both nonprofit and for-profit, Israeli
st aff and students that later are devel-
and North American, secular and.
op ed on campus. But they also drain
Orthodox groups. Their policies and
re sources from Hillel's other work.
approaches vary widely, from Aish
"I want to make sure I'm not leading
HaTorah, an Orthodox outreach group,
m y movement down a siren's path to
to the Society for the Protection of
so mething that seems right, but in the
Nature in Israel.
lo ng term isn't right," Richard Joel,
Although all providers must adhere to H illel's president, said.
certain guidelines, particularly about
Although Hillel has no plains to drop
security, providers have differing alco-
its involvement in Birthright, Joel said
hol policies, rules and tones. Recently,
he wants to evaluate the issue more
while participants in a Jewish
do sely.
Community Centers Association trip
`We have limited resources and are
watched the raunchy teen comedy
sp reading them very thin by devoting
movie American Pie on the bus ride
so much to Birthright," he said. "I need
home from the Dead Sea, male and
so mething more than my own kishkes
female participants on Mayanot — the
tell ing me there's a quantum added

Remember
When •

From the pages of The Jewish News
for this week 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50
years ago.

1991
The Simon Wiesenthal Center
uncovered a practice by some of
Europe's leading airlines to omit
references to Israel in their Middle
East publications.
Israel air force jets blasted bases
of the Abu Nidal terrorist group in
southern Lebanon.

..„,..s,,,,sy,,..-sut.o- --,..w •

The State University of New York
at Buffalo began offering a graduate
seminar in Jewish religious law.
Detroiter Jack Schon was elected
president of the Synagogue Council
of Greater Detroit.

1971
A valuable Judaic collection of
10,000 volumes was acquired by
the University of Denver.
Benjamin Ben-Baruch (Schiff) of
Huntington Woods began first year
studies of sociology and interna-
tional relations at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem.

The first export shipment of fresh
cabbage from Israel to the United
States, valued at $90,000, was
unloaded in New York.
Four Jews were injured in the
explosion of a hand grenade thrown
into a crowd by Algerian national-
ists on the main street of
Constantine, Algiers.

ewish scientists working in the
atomic plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn.,
formed a Jewish community center
on land granted by the government
and intend to establish a syna-
gogue.
Detroiter Ben Grant was installed
as the new president of the Turover
Aid Society.
Orchestra leader Lionel Hampton
turned over the royalties from one
of his hit tunes to a village in Israel.

—Compiled by Sy Monello,
Editorial Assistant