Adelson foundation gives $25m to Taglit

NEW YORK - The Adelson family foundation yesterday announced a $25 million donation to the Taglit-birthright israel program, which funds free trips to Israel for young Jews from around the world.

The donation, which senior Jewish officials in NY described as one of the largest given to a Jewish education program, will finance trips for some 10,000 young adults. According to Taglit, this will increase the number of Jews visiting Israel through birthright this year by 50 percent, to 30,000.

Sheldon Adelson, one of the world's richest men, lavished praise on Taglit yesterday, saying it helps preserve the Jewish community against assimilation. Adelson, who until recently gave relatively little to Israel, has donated $54 million in Israel over the last three months, including $25 million to Yad Vashem.

Since it began in 2000, Taglit has brought about 100,000 Jews from 15 countries on 10-day trips to Israel. The program is a joint venture between the Israeli government and a group of overseas Jewish donors.