Five participants on a Birthright Israel program left early Thursday in public protest of its education curriculum, which they say didn’t touch on the occupation of the West Bank.

Danielle Raskin, one the participants who protested the trip, created a Twitter account to document her experience, which she had been skeptical about upon arriving, according to her posts.

I’ve made this account to document and share my experiences traveling around Israel on #Birthright. I’ve felt conflicted for a long time about coming on birthright, but here I am, with one day down and nine to go. @IfNotNowOrg

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

— Danielle Raskin (@DanielleRaskin1) June 19, 2018

Her timeline details unsuccessful attempts to learn more about the plight of the Palestinians. Her group leader, she wrote, said, “Birthright is the Jewish birthright.” On Thursday, toward the end of the trip, she and four other participants broke away to join Breaking the Silence, an Israeli veterans’ organization that raises awareness of the occupation. They went to Hebron to see the conflict for themselves.

Video of the walkout shows the tour guide and many other Birthright participants upset over the activists, as one participant described it, “disrupting everyone’s experience.”

Me and four other participants walked off our #birthright trip since they wouldn’t show the occupation, we’re going to Hebron to see it for ourselves with @BtSIsrael https://t.co/nKdUbqxnu1

— Danielle Raskin (@DanielleRaskin1) June 28, 2018

Here’s the statement the five of us wrote on the bus to Hebron 1/2 pic.twitter.com/00Oijxi2aG

— Danielle Raskin (@DanielleRaskin1) June 28, 2018

2/2 pic.twitter.com/MW757oseig

— Danielle Raskin (@DanielleRaskin1) June 28, 2018

A Birthright Israel spokesperson said in a statement that the walkout video was misleading.

“We encourage Birthright Israel participants to analyze the complexities of the Middle East,” the statement said. “Yet this video omits the portion where the troublemakers repeatedly berated trip leaders, attempting to actually take over the trip from its leaders. That is the opposite of respectable debate and consideration of divergent views. Over the past 18 years, more than 650,000 young adults have participated in Birthright Israel’s apolitical programming that helps them explore their heritage and provides them with firsthand observations so that they can form their own opinions. Unfortunately, a group this week arrived with a determination to interfere with an experience that other participants are entitled to enjoy.”

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount