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A MASA mega-event attended by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in May 2008 (Dan Keinan) Last update - 14:43 28/05/2008 Does Birthright deliver? By Alison Avigayil Ramer Tags: birthright  Millions of dollars, thousands of participants... but it's not clear that programs like Taglit-Birthright and MASA make the impact the founders intended. If you're Jewish, North American and in your 20s then you're in demand. The chances are, you've probably either participated in an Israel program organized by one Zionist organization or another - or at the very least, you've been approached to take part. Taglit-Birthright Israel is the original, the most dominant and the best-funded of the numerous organizations set up since 2000 that offer young Jews the opportunity to go on short and long-term trips to Israel. Birthright by itself has brought over 160,000 young Jews to Israel on free 10-day trips and this summer the organization plans to bring 60,000 more. The organization focuses on bringing young Jews to Israel for the first time, many of whom may only have a loose affiliation with Judaism, with the aiming of bolstering their religious and cultural identity. Advertisement According to Birthright, the organization's goal is to "diminish the divide between Israel and the 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." Rachel Daniel, a previous Birthright participant, recalls the positive impact it had on her. "My Birthright trip really gave me the opportunity to deepen my Jewish identity and establish a relationship with Israel. After 10 days I really felt that Israel was my home and that as a Jew I had a place here." Other participants argue that the organization pushes their political and religious views on the participants too much, with the result that it is hard to feel well informed. "Everyone who comes on Birthright knows that they have an agenda - marry Jewish, make aliyah, make Jewish babies. They pay for the trip, so they can tell us whatever they want about Israel, but it would be nice to learn different viewpoints." A complete contrasting experience is offered by a subversively similar-sounding group, Birthright Unplugged. Founded as a reaction to and corrective for, the mainstream Zionist narrative of birthright trips, the organization offers six-day tours of the West Bank. Their trips challenge the idea that Jewish people have a birthright to the lands beyond the 1967 borders, expose young Jews to the Palestinian experience since 1948 and give them first-hand experience in Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps. The organization also tries to bring Palestinian voices to the international community, particularly to Jews from the United States. The program openly cultivates activist initiatives on behalf of Palestinians by its alumni, including pro-sanctions and pro-boycott work. As The Birthright Unplugged website explains, "After the program we support our participants' involvement in human rights based and justice oriented efforts, including contributing to the Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions movement against Israel until it complies with international law. This initiative is a direct response to the call from Palestinian civil society and is designed in the footsteps of the ultimately successful movement against South African apartheid." According to Hannah Mermelstein, one of the co-founders of Birthright Unplugged, "Sharing Palestinian voices in the West is a way to critique Zionism, which in large part attempts to silence Palestinian voices." Mermelstein co-founded Birthright Unplugged together with Dunya Alwan, an Iraqi-American of both Muslim and Jewish descent, after years of doing human rights work in the West Bank. Palestinian people kept telling her that they wanted their stories to be heard in the United States and shared with people outside of Palestine, so she and her co-founder created the organization to provide tourists with safe access to the West Bank. The majority of the group's participants are Jewish, roughly a third of them have participated in Birthright trips and over half have previously come to Israel on Zionist youth trips. Apart from Taglit-Birthright and Birthright Unplugged, there are also many options for young Jews who want to stay in Israel for longer-term trips. MASA, a project that was founded by the Jewish Agency and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office in 2004, provides young Jews between 18 and 30 with the opportunity to spend a semester or a year in Israel. Since 2004, MASA has brought over 27,000 young Jews to work, study, volunteer and intern in Israel. This year it has brought over 8,000 participants between 18 and 30, from over 50 countries to Israel. The organization aspires to involve over 20,000 participants a year. All participants enroll in independently-run programs that are approved by MASA. According to the organization, "Participation in their long term programs is the most effective way to shape the next generation of Jewish leadership in Jewish communities, and young Jews' sense of shared destiny with the State of Israel." Last week, to celebrate the end of a year of programming, more than 5,000 participants from different MASA-approved programs attended the MASA mega event. The event was complete with high-profile politicians, including Prime Minister Olmert and Jewish Agency Chairman Ze'ev Bielski, live music, a laser light show and fireworks. "At an event like this, I really feel that I am a part of a larger movement. When I go back to the United States and am in the minority I can remember the thousands of people here and know that I'm not alone," said Noah Speldman, a MASA and Birthright participant. Funders of these programs may note with some anxiety the reactions of other participants to programs specifically designed to shore up identification with Israel and Israelis, and to develop a mainstream pro-Israel outlook. For instance, MASA participants who did not attend the mega event argue that they don't feel a deeper attachment to Israel because of MASA and that, ironically, participating in their programs isolates them from Israeli society. "Even though I am taking courses at an Israeli university, I rarely come into contact with Israeli students and almost all of my friends here are foreigners," said Joshua Goodman, a Masters Student at Tel Aviv University and MASA participant. "If I weren't in my program, I think that I would be less isolated from Israeli society and would be more connected to Israelis." Other participants find the mainstream Zionist orientation of the program's politics - their founding purpose - to be a deterrent. An alumna of numerous MASA programs argues that she "found the whole organization to be a little too Zionist for me. MASA doesn't really give you a complete view of Israeli society and certainly does not expose you to any of the post-Zionist perspectives. Unfortunately, I think that this kind of Zionist project can actually make you feel more disconnected from people in Israel." Young North American Jews are seemingly making use of these programs to deepen their understanding of Jewish life and the Middle East, but very much on their own terms. They express an unorthodox diversity of opinion about Israel that major Jewish organizations that established these programs may not quite have expected. More Jewish World stories: U.S. billionaire Adelson pledges $60 million to Birthright program By Anshel Pfeffer Birthright participant turns pro-Palestinian activist By Annette Young 'Birthright' tours pose Jewish identity questions for IDF troops By Amiram Barkat Russian Jews say 'Da' to Birthright, but 'Nyet' to aliyah By Anshel Pfeffe Bookmark to del.icio.us   Internal fighting Human rights groups say torture is widespread in Palestinian lockups. Danger looms Pentagon chief Robert Gates warns: War with Iran would be 'disastrous.'   1.   Birthright Joke 15:22  |  JMK 29/05/08   2.   Birthright is great, but has limited impact. 18:35  |  Rob 29/05/08   3.   Birthright 18:45  |  Dr. Bernardo Benes 29/05/08   4.   Long Live Birthright 19:56  |  Oscar 29/05/08   5.   birthright 21:52  |  scott 29/05/08   6.   Haaretz 22:58  |  Joe 29/05/08   7.   3 kids are Birthright alumni. 1 made aliyah yesterday. 23:42  |  MH 29/05/08   8.   Waste of an article or waste of a journalist 00:47  |  Jacob Blues 30/05/08   9.   Birthright weddings 01:05  |  Yehudit 30/05/08   10.   What a Surprise-Some Jews Are Alienated From Their People 07:49  |  Ben Israel 30/05/08   11.   Unplugged?? 13:27  |  miah 01/06/08   12.   What north american`s are not exposed to 15:31  |  Dror 01/06/08   13.   JEWISH HISTORY 15:38  |  Dror 01/06/08   14.   Why should Jews want to come and live in Israel? To be treated 16:18  |  AA 01/06/08   15.   Deliver Del 16:29  |  Dima Cohen 01/06/08   16.   Birthright Unplugged is anti-semitic 19:49  |  Avi Billet 04/06/08   17.   Birthright Is Not the Answer 02:42  |  CHGODMK 10/06/08   18.   Aliya or not 04:09  |  sweis Melbourne 22/06/08   19.   Birthright 10:48  |  LL 06/07/08   20.   Birth-bluff 23:27  |  Hillel ha Zaken 28/07/08

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