Birthright Israel
 |
|
| Formation | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Jerusalem, Israel |
|
CEO
|
Gidi Mark |
|
Budget
|
$46.9 million (2011) |
| Website | birthrightisrael |
Taglit-Birthright Israel (Hebrew: תגלית), also known as Birthright Israel or simply Birthright, is a not-for-profit educational organization that sponsors free ten-day heritage trips to Israel for young adults of Jewish heritage, aged 18–26.
Taglit is the Hebrew word for discovery. During their trip, participants, most of whom are visiting Israel for the first time, are encouraged to discover new meaning in their personal Jewish identity and connection to Jewish history and culture.
Since trips began in the winter of 1999, more than 500,000 young people from 64 countries have participated in the program. About 80% of participants are from the United States and Canada. The number of participants has not grown beyond 40,000 a year due to budgetary constraints.
The Birthright Israel program was initiated in 1994 and founded in cooperation with Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt, as well as the Israeli government, private donors, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and Jewish communities around the world. Tours are held in the winter and summer, for which demand is very high. Registration is conducted online and each round there are usually thousands more applicants than spaces available.
In 2007, annual capacity was increased to 20,000 participants a year. That year, Sheldon Adelson pledged $25 million to Birthright Israel to take applicants off waiting lists and to increase annual capacity from 25,000 to 37,000 in 2007 and 2008. The Adelson Family Foundation has contributed many millions of US dollars annually to Birthright Israel since 2007. In 2011, he pledged an additional $5 million toward the effort. In 2013, Adelson doubled his past annual commitment to Birthright Israel, announcing a $20 million challenge grant that will match new and increased gifts or pledges through 2015. This raises Adelson's total support of the program to over $250 million as of February 2015.
Eligible individuals are those who have at least one parent of recognized Jewish descent and who do not actively practice another religion, between the ages 18 to 26, post-high-school, who have neither traveled to Israel before on a peer educational trip or study program past the age of 18 nor have lived in Israel past the age of 12. A Taglit-Birthright Israel trip includes airfare from major cities, hotels, most meals, all transportation within Israel, and costs associated with touring the country for the ten-day trip. A US$250 deposit is required which is refunded upon return from the trip. Airfare or transportation from a participant's home to the gateway city is not included, although the trips depart from multiple cities.
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