32 | JUNE 2 • 2022
B
irthright trips to Israel
have picked back up
again since the start of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
“
After a long hiatus, we are
excited and honored to bring
back so many participants
from North America on these
important and exciting tours
to Israel,
” said Birthright Israel
CEO Gidi Mark.
About 2,000 Birthright Israel
participants from 45 states and
provinces in North America
have made their way to Israel
this past February and March.
A few of those participants are
from Metro Detroit.
The JN caught up with Nicki
Borovsky of Bloomfield Hills
and Amanda Buchalter of
Canton who both say they have
been waiting to go to Israel
for years and jumped at the
opportunity as soon as it was
available.
“I’ve been trying to go on
Birthright for three years now,
”
Borovsky said. “The first time
that I was supposed to go was
May 2020. But because of
COVID, that was obviously
canceled. Then I was supposed
to go this past December with
my older sister. And a week
before we left, they canceled the
trips, and nobody was allowed
into Israel.
”
In 2020, the COVID out-
break caused cancellations for
thousands of young people reg-
istered to go. “They are doing
everything they can to make
sure that it’s safe, especially right
now,
” Buchalter added.
Birthright participants must
be fully vaccinated. Birthright
Israel continues to work closely
with Israel’s Ministry of Health
to ensure a comprehensive and
dynamic COVID protocol,
taking care of all participants’
needs while in Israel. With these
rules in place, Borovsky said she
felt more comfortable going on
the trip.
“Knowing that all the people
I went with were vaccinated
made it easier to be around
people who were in the same
situation as me,
” Borovsky said.
Organizers say they are opti-
mistic about the future and look
forward to the summer.
“Our summer trips are filling
up quickly, and we are excited
and optimistic that we will now
be able to accommodate the
100,000 North American young
adults who signed up for a trip
over the last two years and
couldn’t travel due to COVID,
”
Gidi Mark said.
Both Borovsky and Buchalter
say they had a successful
Birthright experience and
would love to go back to Israel.
“The biggest takeaway that I
got from this trip was a sense of
community. Both the American
and Israeli participants in my
group just meshed immedi-
ately. Bonding with people
from so many different back-
grounds over this exploration of
Judaism, an immersion into a
place that is majority Jewish, is
irreplaceable,
” Buchalter said.
To find out if you’re eligible for a
Birthright experience go to https://www.
birthrightisrael.com.
NEXT DOR
Birthright Trips Resume
after COVID Hiatus
RACHEL SWEET ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Views of the city of
Jerusalem after touring
Yad Vashem Holocaust
Memorial Museum
An extremely
content selfie of
Amanda Buchalter
on Masada
A 4:30 a.m. wake-up call
was worth it for the stunning
views on the top of Masada,
according to Nicki Borovsky,
right, with new friend Bella
Sakolish of New York.
VOICE OF THE NEW
JEWISH GENERATION