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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Israel News Birthright Now Offers Free Trips to Israel — For Israeli Americans
A decade ago, Eden Bennun wouldn’t even pass the initial screening for a Taglit-Birthright trip to Israel. She was born to Israeli parents and is fluent in Hebrew. More important, she had already visited Israel numerous times. But now the 20-year-old psychology major from American Jewish University Los Angeles is preparing for her Birthright trip…
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Fast Forward Birthright Launches New Trip for Hebrew-Speakers
Birthright Israel and the Israeli-American Council will offer a new Birthright program track for Israeli-American young adults called IAC Shelanu. The free trip for children of Israelis, which will be funded by the council, will be conducted in Hebrew. The Birthright program takes Jewish 18- to 26-year-olds on free 10-day trips to Israel. The impetus…
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Culture My ‘Birthright’ Trip to China
After a 20-minute wait, the cab finally arrived. My sister, Sarah, and I hustled into the car, grateful to be off our feet and away from the dimly lit, humid streets of Xi’an, a city in northwest China. It was nearly midnight, and the karaoke hall we had just exited had already blocked off the…
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Opinion No, Birthright Didn’t Kill Max Steinberg
L.A. native Max Steinberg, killed in combat during fighting with Gaza / Courtesy of Steinberg Family I’ve gone on the record about my ambivalence about Birthright, having argued that it actually discouraged a connection to Israel for Jews like me due to the clear bias of its agenda. Should I have been offered a more…
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News Israel, Meet Lacrosse
Taglit-Birthright brought Scott Neiss to Israel. And Neiss, in turn, brought lacrosse. That’s the story, more or less, behind Israel Lacrosse, a not-for-profit organization engaging Israeli boys and girls ages 8 to 18 in the sport. Neiss, who worked as a general manager for several professional lacrosse teams in the States, founded the group in…
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Fast Forward French Participation in Birthright Expected to Increase Tenfold This Year
The number of French participants in Taglit-Birthright Israel is slated to increase to 1,000 this year from approximately 100 a year ago. The Birthright organization decided to focus on France this year due to recent anti-Semitic attacks there, expanding its cooperation with local Jewish organizations and increasing its French online marketing effort. “We have decided…
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Opinion My Advice for Birthright? More Palestinians
Taglit-Birthright Israel Birthright’s worried. Registrations are dwindling and young Jews are growing disinterested in the free 10-day trip to Israel. Over a period of three years, applications have dropped more than 17%. To compensate for the downturn, the group has started to ease its “Jewish” definition and dig into its years-old wait lists. It’s also…
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Music Birthright Eases ‘Jewish’ Definition as Applications for Free Israel Trip Dip
(Haaretz) — Concerned about declining interest in its free 10-day trips to Israel, Taglit-Birthright has hired a marketing agency to seek out new participants, targeting college students with little or no connection to the Jewish community. According to figures obtained by Haaretz, registration among North American Jews for Birthright’s summer trips dropped by more than…
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In Case You Missed It
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Yiddish אַ פֿריִערדיקער גילגול פֿון בינעם העלערס באַרימט ליד „מײַן שוועסטער חיה“A previous version of Binem Heller’s iconic poem, ‘My Sister Khaye’
דעם ערשטן נוסח האָט ער געשריבן אין 1934 אונטער אַ פּסעוודאָנים, צוליב פּאָליטישע סיבות.
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Fast Forward Netanyahu delays ceasefire vote as right-wing protest against deal mounts
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BINTEL BRIEF I live in a Muslim country. Speaking out against antisemitism has left me isolated
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Opinion Gaza ceasefire is the result of political machination — not Donald Trump
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