Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Taglit-Birthright Israel, a free 10-day trip to Israel for young adults with Jewish heritage.
Birthright
The Latest
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Life Spoofing the Sex-Drenched Zionism of North American Jews
Good satire depends not only on distancing the viewer from the object of ridicule, but on making them identify with it, if only just a little. For North American Jews who’ve grown up with affection towards Israel, a new video blog (or vlog) does just that. is a sendup of sex-drenched Zionism which purports to…
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Breaking News ‘Birthright for Moms’ Urges Return to Israel for ‘End of Days’
The founder of group that claims to have taken 7,300 Jewish mothers on subsidized tours of Israel has posted a video that references the end of days and urges Jews to move to Israel for safety reasons. Lori Palatnik, founder and director of the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project, which runs trips that some have nicknamed…
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News Corporate-Style Bonuses Come to Jewish Charity World
The salary of the top executive at the Birthright Israel Foundation in 2014 was half a million dollars. He took home much more. First there was his bonus, a $90,000 chunk awarded, according to a vague statement from a Birthright spokesperson, based on “key metrics and benchmarks.” Then there was the deferred compensation he accrued,…
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News Will Ezra Schwartz Murder Cause Schools To Rethink Security in Israel?
As violence rises in Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, parents of American Jewish students studying there say that they are relying on the security protocols of the programs to which they have entrusted their children. It is not yet clear, however, whether such protocols were followed by Yeshivat Ashreinu, the school the American teenager…
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News Presidential Candidates Head to Israel — But Who Foots the Bill?
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson visited Israel on a tour organized by a for-profit company that has since ceased most of its activity. Ted Cruz took the trip on the dime of a hawkish advocacy group with neoconservative ties. Rand Paul had an anti-gay Christian group pay his way to Jerusalem. And Carly Fiorina, a…
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Forward 50 2015 Sheldon Adelson
America’s 18th richest person decided this year to oppose the campaign to boycott Israel. And Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas casino magnate, did it in typical style — with mountains of cash. Adelson’s anti-BDS initiative, launched in a closed-door meeting at his Venetian hotel, took community activists by surprise. Some felt sidelined and others complained…
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Breaking News Charles Bronfman Urges Reform To Take Birthright Israel Back From Chabad
Birthright Israel co-founder Charles Bronfman called on the Reform movement to displace Chabad as the largest provider of Birthright trips to Israel. Speaking to a crowd of thousands Wednesday night at the biennial conference of the Union for Reform Judaism, Bronfman noted that 75 percent of participants on Birthright — which provides free, 10-day trips…
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News Is Birthright To Blame for Sexual Harassment on Trip?
Taglit-Birthright Israel sends 200 groups of young adult Jews to Israel each year. This summer alone, the program hosted 30,000 participants, an all-time record. Many of those participants say that Birthright is a life-changing experience. But something went very wrong on a trip in early June, and those involved assert that the organizer’s lax regulation…
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