We use {cookies} to optimize the functionality and give you the best possible experience
WARTIME PIVOT
The horrific and barbaric Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, accompanied by numerous overt displays of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiments worldwide, marked an unprecedented reality for both Israel and global Jewry. This new landscape compelled Birthright Israel to make substantial adjustments to its immediate plans, shifting from the necessity to postpone trips in November and December to more enduring modifications in our overall interactions with potential participants and alumni.
Our prompt response, initiated on October 8, 2023, involved activating our extensive alumni network for the benefit of Israel. Leveraging our established multifaceted infrastructure we strengthened our direct connection with alumni created during the Coronavirus pandemic as we swiftly reached out to hundreds of thousands of alumni through various channels.
Throughout October, we expanded our efforts rapidly, focusing on: (1) mobilizing alumni in support of Israel, (2) assisting evacuated families from the south and north of Israel, and (3) engaging volunteers through Birthright Israel Onward. When the situation indicated the resumption of trips in January 2024, we began preparing strategic visions of our broader educational and operational goals.
In terms of education, Birthright Israel recognizes that October 7 brought about a seismic shift in Jewish identity and associations with Israel across the Jewish world. These shifts have prompted us to reassess and revise our educational approach. Especially during these challenging times, Birthright Israel acknowledges the responsibility to leverage its significant educational assets and reaffirms its commitment to:
- Provide young adults with an inclusive, sensitive, and supportive space to express themselves, voice concerns, share feelings, and feel supported, empowered, and embraced as members of the Jewish people.
- Offer young adults hope and empowerment through frameworks, tools, and existing supportive networks, enabling them to address antisemitic/anti-Israel activities thoughtfully, responsibly, and effectively.
- Present young adults with a meaningful and comprehensive narrative of Israel and its inherent connection to our personal and collective identity as a people, from antiquity to the present.
While honoring the solemn pledge to remember, remind, and actively commemorate October 7, we must also be mindful of the powerful pull of tragedy and its potentially detrimental impact on Jewish identity formation. Consequently, Birthright Israel aims to engage with October 7 and the corresponding antisemitism abroad without allowing it to become the central focus of our programs. For the foreseeable future, our educational process will continuously adapt in a dynamic relationship with the challenges presented by October 7 and its aftermath.
It is clear that Birthright Israel’s educators (Tour Educators and Madrichim) need to become even more “culturally bilingual” to lead the educational processes in our programs respectfully and sensitively, catering to both global and Israeli young Jews alike. To that end, we are committed to prepare educators to navigate in today’s more complex reality, underscoring our participants’ central role in the educational process.
Today, we find ourselves at a crossroads with both formidable challenges and opportunities, the full extent of which we are yet to comprehend at this juncture.
Birthright is back: Diaspora Jews, Israel are better together in times of war
