Israel 1: My Birthright
This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Israel for 10 days through Taglit-Birthright. The Taglit-Birthright Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides financial support to the Birthright Israel program in North America. The program provides a free, 10-day educational trip to Israel for young Jewish adults between the ages of 18-26. Funding for these trips comes from many donors across the world, including small groups of committed philanthropists, individual donors and the Israel government. The program has sent over 400,000 Jewish young adults to Israel since they were founded in 1999. My experience in Israel was nothing short of amazing.
As we all saw and read about in the news, I was traveling across the world to a country in the middle of a heated war, and needless to say, my family and friends were a little worried. Even though there were rockets flying from Gaza, I did not feel as though I was in a war zone. The trip was not meant for us to be in danger or to brainwash us into joining the military. Instead of feeling pressured in any way, I only felt a sense of excitement, culture shock and enjoyment. My group consisted of 22 Birthright travelers, three tour guides, an Israeli security guard and four Israeli military people. The group was originally supposed to have 40 travelers, but because of the situation in Israel, many people backed out. Not only did I meet new friends and experience a new culture, but I experienced some of the beauties of Israel that I will share weekly in my next five posts.
By Lonnie Bloom, MBA | 609.520.1188 | [email protected]
