Casino magnate, wife to fund 2,000 birthright trips to Israel

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his physician wife Miriam have announced that they will pay for 2,000 young Jewish adults to take part in the Taglit-birthright israel program, an initiative which gives Diaspora Jews a chance to visit Israel for free.

The donation comes on the heels of the Adelsons' October announcement that they will donate $25 million to Yad Vashem, the largest donation in the Holocaust memorial museum's history. The couple plans to start a foundation next year which will donate $200 million a year to Jewish and Israeli causes.

Each individual birthright trip is estimated to cost the organization some $2,000.

As the birthright project has become more popular over the years, space for applicants has become limited, the organization said. The Adelson's donation will be used to allow waitlisted potential participants to go on the trip this winter.

Participants tour Israel for 10 days, meeting Israeli peers, mostly members of elite IDF units.