Fewer teens and young adults have embarked on Birthright trips to Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, and some Hillel directors at D.C.-area universities are watching their recruitment gradually creep back up.

Jewish students and young alumni between the ages of 18 and 26 are eligible for a 10-day trip to Israel through Hillel, where the website says they can “explore different facets of their heritage” and connect with Israeli peers. Trips are offered twice a year: in the winter and the summer.

Maryland Hillel brought 150 students on the summer 2023 Birthright trip, whereas this summer, they brought 36 — one of the largest current cohorts in the United States. The winter trip in January was canceled due to the Israel-Hamas war, according to Dan Kling, Maryland Hillel’s Birthright coordinator.

Safety concerns amid the war coupled with budget cuts have negatively impacted the number of students Maryland Hillel can send.

Before Oct. 7, George Washington University Hillel typically brought 30 to 50 students every year, split between the May and December trips — both of which were canceled after Oct. 7, said Adena Kirstein, executive director of GW Hillel.

“[Traveling to Israel is] a security concern for some people, especially for those who have never been to Israel before, which many of our students have not,” Kirstein said. “But also they’re challenged by the Israel conversation on campus, and I guess that makes them more hesitant.”

Some members of Maryland Hillel told Kling they want to go on Birthright, but their parents are concerned for their safety due to the war.

“Many students I’ve spoken to say they want to respect their parents’ wishes, and so they’re not going, but it’s not for lack of want or because they personally feel it’s unsafe,” Kling said.

Kling added that he believes a trip to Israel is safe because Birthright Israel prioritizes safety — he said the organization invests in effective security infrastructure.

“I see when the tour guide gets calls from the security groups approving or removing a location from the itinerary, so I know that they’re actively watching us,” Kling said. “And then from the Israel side, I do trust Israel to keep us safe.”

“When you walk around in Israel, you can see people are alert because of the war, but also people go out and have a helping hand. It’s very reassuring how the country came together after Oct. 7; this is still a safe place to travel and to be authentically Jewish,” he added.

Twenty-three Maryland Hillel members involved in Birthright Israel Onward are in Israel for a two-month stay in Tel Aviv, where students intern four or five days per week.

Kirstein, who traveled to Israel from June 30 to July 8 with Hillel International, said Birthright is an “amazing opportunity” for students to see Israel with their own eyes and
gain perspective.

“I think [it’s] being out of the bubble of campus life and seeing what’s happening in the country, seeing the challenges for yourself, the edges of every story you don’t necessarily catch on your Instagram feed, understanding how the Israeli people are navigating this moment in time, understanding the horrors of Oct. 7,” Kirstein said. “It’s almost like I didn’t understand until I saw it for myself.”

She said with Birthright, “the time is now.”

“We like to really pitch the deep value of going with your local college group because it’s not just an isolated 10-day experience,” Kirstein said. “This also attempts to build a wider community once you come back to campus.”

Birthright also provides opportunities to give back to the community. Kling said the group of students who went on Birthright this year went to volunteer in Israel: “They really, really, really wanted to be there. They were passionate about being there.”

Although some local Hillels struggled with Birthright recruitment in the months after Oct. 7, Kling remains hopeful that the program will return to its previous attendance.

He said more Jewish students now feel “reinvigorated” to apply for a Birthright trip after more than nine months of turmoil both on U.S. college campuses and in the Middle East.

“I think as the [Israel-Hamas] war progresses and feels like it might come to a close, people will feel really safe to start coming back to Israel,” Kling said. “Already, I’ve had a bunch of people who told me that they didn’t feel safe in the summer already applied to Birthright for winter [2025].”

zbell@midatlanticmedia.com