This is why I became a Birthright group leader. I remember every second of my first Birthright Israel trip. I’ve never felt that connected to anything in my life. Everywhere we went, everything I saw and did, I felt like I was meant to be there. I think it’s because it’s the land of my people. Read More
A 32-year-old mom of two takes a Birthright Israel trip and finds she has something to learn from her young companions. Other than the fact that I’m a sucker for anything free, I wasn’t entirely sure what compelled me to go on Birthright’s pilot trip for Jewish men and women in the advanced age range of 27 to 32. Read More
No matter where in the world a Birthright Israel participant comes from, each and every single one continues to relive the magic of Israel throughout their entire lives. With more than 650,000 alumni embarking on the journey of a lifetime we wanted to share with you, by week, an insight into just how impactful Birthright Israel is. Read More
I could write novels upon novels about how beneficial Birthright Israel is and how this trip changed my life for the better. Growing up, I really didn’t know much about Judaism or my culture. I am 100% Jewish on both sides, but I was not in touch with my roots. Because I didn’t come from a huge Jewish community, once in Israel, it was like nothing else I had ever experienced before; to be surrounded by all these new Jewish friends from around the states. Read More
For Ian Persits and Mackenzie Samet, Birthright Israel was much more than a free trip—it was where their love story began. Although both from New York, the two of them were brought up in very different homes. Ian was born and raised in Brooklyn in a Russian-Jewish household. His parents immigrated to the United States in 1975 to build a better life for their children. Read More
From an early age, I knew Israel was an important place. My mother’s parents had both survived the Holocaust. After World War II, my grandfather, a survivor of Auschwitz, volunteered in a displaced persons camp in Germany helping other Jewish refugees get to British-controlled Palestine. While my grandfather hoped to also emigrate to Eretz Yisrael, his one surviving family member from the war, his brother, was unable to secure a visa and instead they accompanied each other to the United States. Read More
