On June 30, Birthright Israel announced that it would resume travel to Israel for eligible Jewish students ages 18 to 26. The Israel-Iran conflict beginning on June 13 disrupted travel for many participants, with some caught post-program when international flights were suspended.
The last time Taglit-Birthright Israel trips were canceled was during the coronavirus pandemic. Since 1999, over 900,000 participants from 68 countries have attended Birthright programs.
Birthright’s five programs, Taglit-Birthright, Volunteer, Onward, Excel and Beyond, all offer unique experiences for young adults. Birthright Israel offers participants an immersive 10-day itinerary that highlights the rich history, culture and modern life of Israel. But for many participants, this summer’s itinerary was anything but predictable.
Remy Eidelman, a rising junior at the University of Maryland, was enrolled in two separate Birthright programs: the traditional Taglit-Birthright tour, followed by Onward, the internship program coordinated by Hillel International.
Eidelman arrived in Israel on June 4, expecting to spend his entire summer there. He completed most of the Taglit program before the war erupted on June 13.
“We were locked down in a hotel for five days,” Eidelman recalled. “Then they told us, ‘We’re getting on a boat tomorrow.’ It was a whole adventure.”
Approximately 2,800 young adults across Birthright programs were similarly stranded when international flights were suspended in mid-June. Of these, 1,500 participants were evacuated to Cyprus by boat. Another 1,300 remained in Israel, while 4,000 more had not departed for their programs by mid-June.
Eidelman’s program, which included two buses of about 40 participants each, boarded a flight to Rome following a boat to Cyprus.
Eidelman’s second program, Onward, was originally scheduled from June 18 to Aug 12. It was suspended but eventually restarted on July 9 with a shortened timeline and drastically reduced size.
“There were supposed to be 30 people on Maryland [Hillel’s] Onward,” Eidelman said. “[We] ended [with] about 15 people.”
Despite the reduced numbers, Eidelman explained that his Onward program had the largest group that came back to Israel.
He said that this was most likely due to his trip beginning a few weeks after the conclusion of the 12-day war.
Despite the happy ending to Eidelman’s summer, the Birthright experience didn’t come without sacrifices. After learning about the cancellation of Onward upon returning home after Taglit-Birthright, Eidelman had lined up a summer internship. After the cease-fire between Israel and Iran was publicized on June 24, all five programs were announced to resume on June 30. Gidi Mark, the CEO of Birthright Israel, spoke out in a press release.
“We led a historic operation grounded in resilience, responsibility and care, and now we’re opening the gates to Israel once again,” Mark said. “Our commitment to connecting Jewish young adults to Israel is stronger than ever, and we expect thousands of participants to arrive from now through the end of the summer season.”
Eidelman explained that he had to retract his acceptance to his internship at home so that he could return to Israel.
“I had to renege and say, ‘I know you got me this internship, but I’m going back to Israel,’ which was not ideal,” he said. “My parents were definitely more worried, [but] they knew how much I wanted to go back.”
Eidelman is now interning at Via, an Israeli tech company, and enjoying his time despite the changes to his program.
“The program is definitely much shorter. It’s only four and a half weeks instead of eight weeks. And it’s way smaller,” Eidelman said.
Eidelman added that the smaller group helped give participants a chance to meet everyone, whereas with the original program size, that may not have been possible.
“It’s definitely a different experience than I think it would have been. But I think everyone who came back is really excited to be here,” Eidelman said.
While Eidelman was navigating early departures and reentry into Israel, another participant, Grant Cooper, was still waiting to find out whether he’d be going at all.
Cooper, a Taglit-Birthright participant whose program leaves on Aug. 11, is most excited to meet other Jewish young adults while touring Israel.
A Modern Orthodox Jew born and raised in Washington, D.C., Cooper had heard about Birthright from friends, but was initially signed up for the program by his father. After the armed conflict between Iran and Israel, Cooper wasn’t sure if his trip would take place.
“We were just waiting for a little bit to discover [if we were going to] be able to go,” he said.
Once it was announced that Birthright would resume, Cooper expected the program to change.
“There’s probably going to be people who are going to be a little more uptight, personality-wise and maybe security-wise. People might be a little bit more anxious due to the recent events. [It will probably] affect everyone,” he said.
Cooper is confident that due to Israel’s fortitude in the past, the program will run smoothly.
“I felt like it was going to blow over rather quickly. [It will] be handled,” Cooper said.
Amy Hollander is a Washington Jewish Week intern.
