Jewish? 18-26 years old? if you answered yes you are totally eligible for a great 10-day free trip to Israel.
Taglit-Birthright Israel is a unique, historical partnership between the people of Israel through their government, local Jewish communities (North American Jewish Federations through the United Jewish Communities; Keren Hayesod; and The Jewish Agency for Israel), and leading Jewish philanthropists.
The trips include touring the country for ten fascinating days, during which they get to know the state of Israel and its people. The participants, who are university students for the most part, visit important sites in the history of the Jewish people and the state of Israel and meet with Israeli peers, mainly soldiers from the IDF’s elite units. The program also includes a visit to a historic Zionist site, a site connected to modern Israel, an institution commemorating the holocaust and, of course, Jerusalem (including the Western Wall). These young men and women return to their countries infused with emotional experiences and new discoveries about Israel.
Taglit-Birthright Israel provides the gift of first time, peer group, educational trips to Israel for Jewish young adults ages 18 to 26. Taglit-Birthright Israel‘s founders created this program to send thousands of young Jewish adults from all over the world to Israel as a gift in order to diminish the growing division between Israel and Jewish communities around the world; to strengthen the sense of solidarity among world Jewry; and to strengthen participants’ personal Jewish identity and connection to the Jewish people.
Since its foundation in 2000 by Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt in cooperation with the Israeli government, private philanthropists and Jewish communities around the world, more then 160,000 individuals from 52 countries have participated in Taglit trips through 25 trip organizers.
A team of academics from Brandies University conduct on-going research regarding the impact of the Taglit-Birthright Israel educational journey to Israel. The findings speak for themselves:
- After the trip, 64% of participants say they feel connected to their Judaism (compared to 38% before the trip) and 55% feel very connected to Israel (compared to 22% before).
- Upon their return, the vast majority of students convey their desire to stay connected to Israel, and express their intention to lead a Jewish life and be involved in their Jewish communities.
For the 60th anniversary of Israel, Birthright Israel will bring a record number of more than 40,000 participants from all over the world to join the celebrations during the Summer 2008 season.
For more info check out Birthright Israel website.