Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Community

The Legacy And The Importance Of Birthright Israel

In early 2005, I went on a journey that will forever hold a place in my heart. Joining other young Jews, I visited Israel for ten days through Birthright Israel. Before that, I visited Israel ten years before on a Bat mitzvah trip with my family. It’s one thing to travel with your family as a young teenager; it’s another thing entirely to travel with a group of your peers in your late teens and early to mid-20’s.

Birthright Israel was started in 1999 by a group of wealthy Jewish philanthropists who wanted ensure that the upcoming generation of Jews not only had a strong connection to their religion and their history, but also Israel. Since then, over 500,000 young Jews can call themselves Birthright Alumni. They come from 66 countries and from all over North America. With a variety of trips appealing to the many religious and cultural sensibilities of the participants, Birthright’s appeal is nearly endless.

A Birthright trip is more than the average vacation. It is the opportunity to not only make new friends, but also to connect with Israel and Judaism in a way that can only be experienced on the ground in Israel. And in today’s political and cultural climate, it is more important than ever.

The statistics are alarming. According to a poll done by the Pew Research center, only 68% of Millennial Jews (born after 1980) identify as Jewish compared to the 93% of Jews of the greatest generation (born between 1914 and 1927). Anti-semitism is rising to levels that have not been seen since World War II, especially on college campuses.

When I look back to my experience with Birthright, I recall the visceral feeling of being in Israel and experiencing what it is to be there first hand. With the accusations, lies and half-truths that are being presented in the press and online, Birthright’s mission is more about meeting new friends, new experiences and connecting to our religious and cultural past. It is securing the future of Israel and the Jews that is the true mission of Birthright.

Image by Courtesy Adina Berenstein

No Birthright trip is complete without a sunrise hike up to Masada. But for me, the hike was more than a hike up a mountain.

I had two Bat mitzvahs. One was in the Brooklyn synagogue that my family attended at the time. The other was on Masada.

It was as if I was coming full circle. Stepping into the ancient shul that I became a Bat mitzvah in just over 10 years before, I felt as if this journey to Israel was required to end one part of my life and begin another. Masada is more than just another set of ancient ruins. It represents the heartbeat and the strength of the Jewish people. We have been down many times before, but never out.

That morning of the hike was cold. We were woken up around 4am, the hotel only offered us coffee and muffins. Not exactly the food that is best for an early morning hike. As we drove up the bottom of the mountain, night had yet to slowly recede to dawn. With every step, the Roman ramp became steeper and my stomach began to growl. But the then sun rises and the ruins begin to sparkle with history and the reminder that Am Yisroel Chai, the Jewish people will live on.

Judaism will live on and Birthright plays an important part in that continuation.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

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

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

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.