Starting this week, around 14,000 Taglit-Birthright Israel participants from nearly 900 universities and colleges in North America are expected to land in Israel over the coming months. The flights mark Birthright Israel's long-awaited return after a series of suspensions since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Birthright expects to bring about another 5,000 young adults from North America for a total of 19,000 visitors, in addition to 7,000 more participants from other parts of the world during this summer.
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"We started trips last May, but it was up and down," Noa Bauer, vice president of global marketing at Birthright Israel, said.
Due to the 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip last May and the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant, said Bauer said, "We had to restart and cancel. It was very challenging. We made sure we kept trip organizers and partners on their toes and stayed in touch with participants and applicants who were ready to travel."
Currently the largest educational tourism organization in the world, Birthright offers free, 10-day trips to Israel for young Jews between the ages of 18 and 26 to give every Jewish young adult the opportunity to visit Israel.
Harvard University student Zachary Lech, 20, will travel to Israel in two weeks. "This pandemic definitely affected my plans to an extent. It just seemed slightly more dangerous to go to the country, seeing how the restrictions might be affecting things. I was more just waiting for my opportunity to go," he said.
"I'm excited to have the chance to be able to connect with those from other universities who are also joining us. Obviously, a chance to visit the historical sites, experience the culture, have a chance to even try the food. And I'm definitely hoping to have a chance to be a part of meaningful conversations."
The Polish-born Lech, who is active in the Harvard Jewish community, including at Hillel, said, "It's more than a sightseeing trip for me. It's also a chance to connect to Jewish heritage and culture."
While this summer's participants are unlikely to notice much of a difference, Bauer stressed that for Birthright staff, the pandemic has changed how they prepare for trips.
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"The world has changed, as it has for us as well, both in terms of logistics and from a health perspective. We still have smaller groups than pre-COVID, and we mostly are using direct flights because things travel-wise around the world are still challenging," she said.
As the Israeli tourism sector looks to make a full return, Birthright officials believe that their program will help set the foundation in the coming weeks and months.
"I think we will be a massive percentage of tourism, especially in May. The challenge for us is mainly internal tourism; also, a lot of Ukrainians are coming to Israel and staying in hotels, so that is taking part of the hotel availability," said Bauer.
She noted that some space remains on select campuses, though most of the trips are already full. There are also trips for those who require accessibility considerations.
Birthright Israel CEO Gidi Mark said: "After a long hiatus, we are excited to bring back so many students from North America to these important and exciting tours to Israel. Many of these students are coming from college and university campuses where incidences of antisemitism are increasing, leaving them feeling beleaguered and isolated. We know that after going on a Birthright trip, these students feel more confident."
Israel, of course, offers the dichotomy between the resort-like atmosphere along the Tel Aviv beach and the more spiritual side of Jerusalem.
For his part, Lech said he is looking forward to touring and "being able to connect. I feel like it's going to be a great experience going to the Western Wall in Jerusalem and being able to actually be at one of our most sacred sites."
Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.
The Adelson family, which has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to Taglit-Birthright Israel, owns the company that is the primary shareholder in Israel Hayom.
