Birthright Israel
Yad Vashem, Ramallah and Swimming in a Settlement: J Street Launches Its ‘Birthright’ Alternative
Inaugural 10-day tour, titled ‘Let Our People Know,’ arrives Tuesday and features meetings with settlers and peace activists
15 Jewish Anti-occupation Activists Arrested While Protesting Outside Birthright Offices in New York
Activists from IfNotNow were arrested following a protest against Birthright in which demonstrators held signs reading 'confront the crisis' and 'stop lying to young Jews'
Michael Steinhardt’s Staff and Family Say Sexual Remarks Were Just Humor
Family and foundations of Birthright co-founder respond to NYT report on Steinhardt's pattern of sexual harassment: Remarks were made in 'jest'
Opinion The Birthright vs. J Street Fight About Free Trips to Israel Is Completely Pointless
J Street has validated, rather than challenged, two controversial Birthright principles – that young Jews deserve freebies and that Israel should be at the center of their Jewish identity
J Street to Offer Competing Free Trip to Israel for Those Fed Up With Birthright
First trip, in July, will include visits to Palestinian cities and an Israeli settlement; organizers believe it’s the kind of ‘nuanced trip that our generation wants to go on’
Hillel International Confirms Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Donors
After a six month investigation, the Jewish student organization issued a confidential statement calling such allegations 'justified,' the New York Jewish Week reports
Opinion Why It's So Hard for U.S. Jews to Have a Serious Conversation About Arabs in Israel
The most polarizing voices on the left and the right police and dictate how we in the U.S. Jewish talk about and engage with Israel, Birthright and Arab society
Opinion Palestinian Narratives Are Always Right. Israeli Jewish Views Are Just Propaganda
That's the clear message from the anti-occupation activists of IfNotNow. Forget a more ‘balanced’ approach to the conflict: When they label views sympathetic to Israel as deceptive or malevolent – they’re trying to shut them down
After Summer Walkouts, New Birthright Contract Bans 'Efforts to Hijack Discussion'
Birthright revises contract with participants in bid to avert future anti-occupation protests, saying it rejects any attempt to manipulate trip's 'open climate'
Opinion Young American Jews Would Engage More With Israel if Birthright Stopped Lying About the Occupation
Showing the truth won’t alienate Birthright trip participants from Israel. But offering a sanitized, whitewashed Israel patronizes young Jews’ curiosity and intelligence – and sets them up for dissonance and disengagement
Sharp Decline in Number of American Jews on Birthright Trips
Numbers are down as much as 50 percent in some cases, with providers speculating that disengagement with Israel among young U.S. Jews is part of the problem
Birthright Participant From Uganda Told He’s Not Jewish Enough for Israeli Yeshiva Program
Asiimwe Rabbin, who led the first-ever Birthright group from Uganda, denied visa because Interior Ministry does not accept his community as eligible for Law of Return
What It's Like to Be a Socialist Zionist in the U.S.
This week at the Tel Aviv airport: A group of young Diaspora Jews talk about what Zionism means to them; an Israeli tour guide recalls how a busload of Jews and Arabs in Slovenia realized they weren't so different
Report: Jewish-American Philanthropist Michael Steinhardt Accused of 'Inappropriate Sexual Remarks'
Jewish campus organization Hillel investigating claims against the Birthright co-founder and has removed his name from their board, Jewish Week reports ■ Steinhardt: These women 'can’t be accusing me of anything other than words’
'My Great-grandfather Bit a Nazi in the Neck. That's How He Escaped the Shooting Pits'
This week at the Tel Aviv airport: Why this young Saint Petersburg resident left his family and moved to Israel
These Birthright Participants From Uganda Are Just Happy to Be Allowed Into Israel
Still not recognized as Jewish by Israel, three dozen members of the Abayudaya community celebrate their Judaism at the Western Wall in a unique way
Jerusalem Hostel Booted by Birthright Bans ‘Haters of Israel’
Several celebrities and newspapers, including Haaretz, are featured on the list of banned 'Haters of Israel'
Birthright Co-founder Says Walk-out Protesters Don’t Have Right to Criticize Israel ‘On Our Nickel’
Charles Bronfman tells Haaretz that protesters aren’t being fair to fellow participants, but admits complaints about a map that showed the West Bank as part of Israel are valid
Opinion IfNotNow Hijacked Our Birthright Trip
Our trip was shattered by premeditated walk-out in which we, unwillingly, became part of the media spectacle that their activists had sought from the start. This is our side of the story
Proving They're Not Too 'Bougie' for Birthright
This week at the Tel Aviv airport: Two young L.A. women explain why they decided to rough it out on Birthright trip to Israel ■ What it's like to be on the verge of being drafted into the Israeli army
Activists Hand Out Anti-occupation Materials to Birthright Participants en Route to Israel
The Jewish activists from the IfNotNow group were kicked out of the JFK International Airport after Birthright staffers allegedly asked airport security to intervene
Facebook Takes Down Video of Second Birthright Participants Walking Off a Trip
The social network took down the video over the weekend, which featured the moment of the walk-off, as well as a lengthy conversations with Palestinians
How Birthright Guides (Don't) Discuss the West Bank
After a video of participants walking off a trip went viral, many question whether Birthright has a responsibility to grapple with the occupation
Birthright Says It Won’t Vet Applicants Despite Recent Walkouts Protesting Israeli Occupation
The program that offers free trips to Israel reiterates that it does not inquire about its applicants’ political views
Birthright Drops Southern Israel From Tours Due to Gaza Violence
'At the moment, minor changes being made to daily itineraries in accordance with our security guidelines,' official says
Opinion Principled Activists or Entitled Brats? What's Wrong With the Birthright Walk-outs
Birthright’s programs are essentially a gift from the government of Israel and wealthy American Jews. The goal of these protests may be noble: the method – not so much
U.K. Jewish Group Gives Info About Occupation to Birthright Groups at the Airport
The group was eventually escorted off the premises by police after trip leaders complained, they say
For Second Time in Two Weeks: U.S. Jews Walk Off Birthright Trip to Join Anti-occupation Activity
Eight young Americans leave the trip during a visit to Jerusalem's City of David Park to visit family slated for eviction by right-wing organization that manages the park
Opinion 'One Jewish Life Is Worth More Than 10,000 non-Jews': Why More U.S. Jews Will Walk Off Birthright This Summer
My Birthright guide's supremacist stance was extreme. But the program's claim to be 'apolitical' is not only demonstrably untrue; it frames every critical, inquisitive Jewish millennial who wants to meet Palestinians as Israel-haters