For those that may not know, Taglit is the Birthright Israel Foundation which gives young Jews, 18-28 a chance to go on a free 10-day trip to Israel, to see our homeland. The real cost of the trip is a $10 application fee and $250 deposit that is completely refundable after the trip. During this experience young Jews from all over the world travel around Israel to learn more about the country, about Judaism, and about the history of our people. This concept has worked well since Taglit was founded in 1999.
Since then thousands of Jews have come to Israel, to taste wine in the Golan, to go rafting on the Jordan river, to praying in Jerusalem, shopping in Tel-Aviv, learning about Kabala in Tsvat, gazing at the stars during a night spent in a real Bedouin tent, and exploring the realities of the Holocaust at Yad Vashem, and so much more. This is truly a once in a lifetime experience. Some trips focus on entrepreneurship, others focus on the outdoors, but each type of trip has something that makes it slightly different from the others. Whether you’re going in the winter or in the summer, it is an experience like no other.
Recently however these trips, most of which do not really focus on the conflict with the Palestinians, have been muddled with left-wing faketivists who’s job seems to be to ruin the trip for others by spewing hateful and inaccurate rhetoric. One would think they would go on a special trip for people just like them, sponsored by JVP or any of the other anti-Israel organizations. But they haven’t, and they try as hard as they can to ruin the experience for others, whether as an attempt to usurp the meaning of the trip or to try to brainwash the masses. Unfortunately, Birthright has not yet put forth any measures to address this. This is where I come in and would like to assist. Simply removing these idiots from the trip does not address the holes in Birthright’s programming.
Thus, I suggest changing a couple of things. First and foremost, the chaperons should be people who can do more than just recruit people to come on Birthright. They should be people who have been to Israel, know its history, politics, and have leadership experience. Secondly, you have to not be afraid to talk about the conflict and do it in a factual reasonable way that presents all points of view for participants. Thirdly, tours around the city will ensure a rewarding experience and a full circle one that enriches a participant’s Jewish education and makes the reality of their trip and the meaning and value of Israel much more real. You need to develop an actual curriculum and work to educate them so that when participants do return from Israel, they really can talk about what they learned and maybe be more active in the pro-Israel community.
Sasha Kaplan is a college graduate, conservative Zionist, and the online
pro-Israel superhero, Captain Israel. You can find her at Jewishpolitics.tumblr.com, on twitter @CaptainIsraelP, or you can reach her by email at SashaCiKaplan@gmail.com
