Birthright Israel Foundation Blog

Adam Shapiro is a 2022 Birthright Israel alumnus who participated in an accessibility trip for those on the Autism spectrum. In the video and interview below, you'll meet Adam and hear why he loved his Birthright Israel experience and what he learned while in Israel. Adam's Birthright Israel Story After being accepted to Birthright Israel after two years and three… Read More 

More than 3,000 enthusiastic attendees gathered on Wednesday for an extravaganza, known as the Birthright Israel Mega Event, which caps each summer’s gathering of the organization’s trips to Israel. Yet this event was more special than usual, marking as it did the return, after a two-year break due to the coronavirus crisis, of the free summer trips to Israel for… Read More 

Noah Friedman is a 2022 Birthright Israel alumnus from San Antonio, TX. He is currently a sophomore chemistry major at Texas A&M University. At campus, Noah is a leader at the Hillel and is also involved with MOVE Texas, a progressive grassroots student organization focused on increasing voter registration. Noah is outspoken on issues that face the Jewish community, and… Read More 

It’s simple: I am the person I am today because of Onward Israel. Growing up, I was a handful, especially when it came to being Jewish. If there was a world record for the number of times someone faked being sick to stay home from Hebrew school, I would hold it. In fact, if you asked my Rabbi who was… Read More 

Birthright Israel alumnus Jake Niefeld is currently a student at the University Kansas studying Spanish Education. He's originally from Minneapolis, MN, and absolutely loves to be outdoors. Jake also enjoys playing his guitar and any kind of sport, most specifically, Ultimate Frisbee. In our interview below, we caught up with Jake and wanted to know why he thought Birthright Israel… Read More 

Levi Meir Clancy was born in Los Angeles, CA, and is of Ashkenazi and Okinawan descent. Levi's work, passions, and hobbies are all one and the same. He explained that growing up with a minority’s perspective on survival from both sides of his family — an estimated one-third to one-half of Okinawans perished in atrocities during World War II —… Read More 

Caleb Esrig grew up in New Rochelle, NY, where he attended Solomon Schechter School of Westchester (now The Leffell School), where he first developed his passion for Judaism. For college, Caleb attended Harvard, where he studied Economics and worked closely with Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the Harvard Hillel. Today, Caleb works as an associate consultant in Bain & Company's New… Read More 

Rabbi Jordan Gerson is a 14-time Birthright Israel trip staffer, a Birthright Israel Fellow and serves as a rakaz for Hillel International Birthright Israel trips. Originally from St. Louis, Rabbi Jordan landed his dream job when he took the position of Campus Rabbi at Washington University and was glad to be back in his hometown. Most recently, Rabbi Jordan staffed… Read More 

Every year, Israelis and Jews worldwide come together to commemorate and celebrate two important days on the Jewish calendar: Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut. Yom HaZikaron is Israel's Memorial Day to remember those who lost their lives fighting for the establishment of the State of Israel and all military personnel killed in active duty. Yom Ha'atzmaut is Israeli Independence Day… Read More 

Coming from a mixed family, with what many might call an unorthodox Jewish upbringing, I’m probably the last person you’d expect to dedicate my professional and much of my personal life to advocating for the Jewish people and Israel. I grew up with a very unaffiliated Jewish father, a Chinese-American mother, and an uber-liberal, atheist Jewish grandmother. I always knew… Read More 

There are many lessons and sites young Jews on Birthright Israel will never forget, and perhaps the place that impacts participants the most is Yad Vashem. The museum, known as the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, was established in 1953 and is the globe's leader in Holocaust education. Tripadvisor ranks it as one of the Top 25 Museums in the World.… Read More