On Wednesday, February 26, 2020, Birthright Israel Foundation celebrated 20 years of impact in South Palm Beach County with a private event at the home of Andrea and Mike Leven. The evening's guests had the pleasure of hearing from local alums Bryan Drowos, Courtney Simmons Demri, Nicole Livadas, and Kyla Gladstone, who represent the voices of Birthright Israel's 800,000+ participants:… Read More
The two weeks I spent in Israel were nothing short of transformative and to show you how much it changed my life; I need to go back a little bit. I went to high school in Boca Raton, FL, where my mom and stepfather still live. As many people already know, Boca Raton is a very Jewish community. In the… Read More
This winter, thousands of young Jews are arriving in Israel and will be shocked at how much they can learn in 10 days on a Birthright Israel trip. By not only visiting sites but gaining insights from their tour educators and Israeli peers, these moments here and there turn into lessons they’ll appreciate for a lifetime. Below are just four… Read More
The idea of going on Birthright Israel had been in my head long before I turned 18, but it always seemed like a hypothetical, not something I would actually do. This was due mostly in part to my upbringing in a town of very few Jewish people. No one talked about going to Israel and I couldn’t name a single… Read More
“In Israel, in order to be a realist,” Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion said, “you must believe in miracles,” and for centuries in the diaspora, Jews under the oppressive arm of an undying anti-Semitism prayed for such a miracle to come into fruition –– to return to Eretz Yisrael. My ancestors of Romanian and Lithuanian descent immigrated to another land said… Read More
In the winter of 2012, a girl from Seattle, WA, and a boy from Charlotte, NC, both signed up for Birthright Israel hoping to get more connected to their Jewish heritage and have a fantastic experience, but little did they know they'd end up meeting their soulmate. This is the Birthright Israel Love Story of Ruthie Schorr and Simon Menaker.… Read More
Assimilation. A word we hear so often in the Jewish world. It's a tragedy not quite as obvious as the many others that have plagued the Jewish people before. If you grew up Jewish, unlike me, you have likely not felt the sting of assimilation or been able to comprehend what that entails fully. Who would you be if you… Read More
We often hear that some Jewish young adults feel apprehensive when they first learn about Birthright Israel, but we promise this trip to the Jewish homeland isn’t too good to be true. The reason the trip costs nothing to participants is because it is a gift that keeps on giving. Every single Jewish young adult who claims their birthright helps… Read More
Before I left for Birthright Israel in May of 2019, I was scared. I wasn't nervous about the security situation, or sad about being far from my family— I was scared that I wouldn't make the absolute most of this opportunity to make a difference. I'm glad I was scared because, as a madricha (trip staff), I had the responsibility… Read More
I wandered for twenty years until Birthright Israel found me. This is how happened. Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, the most Jewish thing we did at my house was on Christmas, when we'd leave rugelach out for Santa. And to make things even more ironic, my last name is Pope. My mom's parents are Jewish but did not raise her… Read More
The Birthright Israel trip was an amazing experience for my son Jacob, he literally came back a changed person with a more insightful view on history, current events and learned so much about the people of his rich heritage. Jacob was amazed by the things he saw and, most importantly, was challenged by the activities he participated in. He told… Read More
