Kimberly Koenig

How Birthright Fixed My Jewish Imposter Syndrome

The El Al security officer’s dark gaze bored into mine, then flicked over the middle name on my passport. “Shay. That’s Arabic, isn’t it?” “No, it’s Irish.” I was being questioned for my Birthright boarding pass for my first trip to Israel and it wasn’t going well. The rapid-fire inquiries left me reeling: Was I…