Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

‘Birthright For Moms’ Brings 975 Jewish Dads To Israel

(JTA) — An organization that has brought 10,000 Jewish mothers on subsidized trips to Israel has also brought nearly 1,000 fathers since launching its program for men in 2013.

The Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project, which was founded in 2008 and is based in Rockville, Maryland, to date has brought 975 men to Israel from seven countries, the group said in a statement.

The project comprises week-long trips aimed at bringing non-observant Diaspora Jews closer to Jewish practice. Known as “Birthright for moms” after the similar program bringing young adults to the Jewish state, the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project is expected to bring this year to Israel a total of 3,500 people, of whom 400 are men, from 26 countries.

Labeled MoMENtum, the trip for men is primarily designed for men whose wives had already participated in the women’s trip. Participation is open to any Jewish woman who has children at home under the age of 18.

The decision to extend the trip to men was the result of demand by husbands who sought to also experience what their wives had experienced, according to Lori Palatnik, the founding director of the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project.

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.

In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.

At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.

Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.