Should I go to Israel? Any Birthright experiences?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Having been raised Jewish, I can take a free 10-day or so guided trip to Israel, through Birthright. My Hebrew school class was supposed to go in late 2001; due to obvious security concerns the trip was cancelled. So having never been on an organized trip, I meet the Birthright criteria. I’m sort of considering going this summer, for a number of reasons. There’s a number of reasons why I don’t want to, either.

Reasons for it:
*It’ll get my father to shut up about going to Israel. He’s never been there, but he at some point got it in his head that it’s Very Very Important for his Jewish daughters to go to Israel. My gentle reminders that I do not in any way consider myself Jewish just bounce right off. Once a month or so he’ll start lecturing me about what a great experience it would be, etc. This is my primary reason.
*Free trip. Enough said.
*I managed to find a tour which looks like it would be marginally interesting. Allegedly, it has a focus on “Peace pluralism and social justice”, which is a field of interest to me.

Reasons against it:
*I’m not Jewish. I’m not religious in any way and think “cultural Judaism” is absolute bunk. So not only would I feel guilty for taking the free trip, but I’m also afraid I’d be uncomfortable, having signed up as ostensibly Jewish, surrounded by (I’m assuming) more-or-less observant Jews. I’d either have to lie and fake it or risk being offensive.
*I hate guided tours. I’m an independent traveller. I like being able to make my own itinerary and then decided whether or not/how much to stick to it.
*I’d have to go during the summer. I don’t yet have a job lined up, but I’m really hoping to get a particular, very competitive internship. So I’d have to take nearly two weeks off from both work and (if I get) an internship, which could be problematic.
*Money. They provide airfare and accommodation, but food and spending money and such are up to me. I’m going to be flat broke for the next fifteen years or so (student loans), so I don’t know if a week or buying souvenirs is a wise idea.
*The whole safety ‘I’m too young to die’ thing.

That’s where I stand. Mostly I’m wondering two things: 1) Based on the above, would you say it’s worth it? and 2) Have any of you gone on a Birthright trip/had friends/family/etc who have, and have any feedback? Are the trips generally worthwhile? Is there a chance I’ll actually learn something, or will it be ten days of a tour guide with a spotty grasp of English driving us from beach to beach?

2

Going to a university with a lot of Jews, I know a fair number of people who’ve gone on Birthright. Most (possibly all) really enjoyed themselves. I’d find it hard to pass up a cheap opportunity to travel, and if I were Jewish I’d love to go. I can’t comment on your “not feeling Jewish enough,” but if you went to Hebrew school, indicating a fair amount of exposure to the culture, I bet you could pass without feeling too uncomfortable.

Also, I’m not saying this in a positive or a negative sense, but word on the street has it that on some of the trips, some of the participants get fairly… bawdy. With each other.

ETA: probably it would be a lot of fun and interesting, and why turn down the opportunity to go somewhere and placate your dad?

3

I’ve been to Israel. I’m glad I went (when I did), I can 't imagine wanting to go back–so many other places in the world I’ve never been, plus that perception that Israel is not as safe now for tourists as it was when I went (betwen Yitzak Rabin’s assassination, and the start of suicide bombings, etc.)

I’m not Jewish, but I think that you are wrong in your assumptions here

I bet there are plenty of people who feel more or less like you do–minus the guilt for the free trip–taking the free trip. Will you/would you eat mostly kosher food? Sure, but that’s no hardship. (Well, OK, if you are a coffee drinker with strong pro-cream or pro-nonfat nondairy creamer opinions, you may have problems–cream was available at dairy meals --meaning breakfast, and nondairy creamer was available at meat meals–meaning dinner). Still, while keeping kosher may be a pain, eating kosher food prepared by others isn’t a big deal. (Er–I just remembered, our vegetarian travelers had issues at meat meals. Not all the time, but some of the time).

Might you have some companions who are strongly (and not neccessarily) pro-Israel or pro-Judaism? Sure–I traveled with one. I also traveled with a guy who admitted to having 4 Jewish Grandparents and 2 non-practicing Jewish Parents. He wore a hat, a canvas fisherman’s hat, the whole trip, and I only figured out later that some of that was so that his head was covered when we went places where guys were supposed to have covered heads rather than wearing a paper kipa-thingie. So he respected the covered head tradition, but didn’t have to actually do anything at a particular location to have his head be covered. (I’m not sure that my explanation makes sense, oh, well. )

I really don’t think that Israel is as dangerous for tourists as your post makes it sound like you think it is, even though I’d be a lot more scared to go to Israel now than I was when I went. (Although, some of that may be changes in me rather than in Israel).

But, concerns about money are reasonable. Concerns that the trip would interfere with job or internship prospects are even more so, and I’m not sure that “to shut my dad up” counts as a good reason to go to Israel. (Incidently, if going to Israel is so important to Dad, any chance you can get Dad to chip in for the food bill? Not so much the souvenirs, but the food?)

4

I can answer this one. Before we went to Israel in December, Mr. Neville crunched the numbers, and came up with an order-of-magnitude figure of a 1 in 10 million chance of being killed by terrorists during a two-week trip to Israel.

Compare that to a chance of about 1 in 7000 of any American being killed in a car accident this year (300 million Americans, about 42,000 killed in car accidents every year). In fact, you have a much better chance (around 1 in 185,000) of being killed in a car accident in any random two weeks at home.

5

Dunno about you, but this would be at most “neutral” for me. But I’m kind of ornery when it comes to peer-pressure…

indeed :slight_smile:

Sounds pretty interesting!

Shouldn’t be much of an issue, especially if you’re on your own for food.

:Sigh: I’m with you here…

Plus, it’s pretty f***ing hot here in the summer!

That’s obviously your call.

Then you’re safer here than in NYC. Or what Anne said.

Several more good reasons to come:

  • Israel is an amazing treasure trove for anyone even remotely interested in Western history – unbelievable archaeological sites, Religious sites interesting to anyone of (or just intellectually interested in the history of) any of the three Abrahamic religions…
  • Israel has some amazing scenery; it’s just a great place for a run-of-the-mill tourist who wants to see some sights, work on their tan, have a good time…
  • Speaking of which, Tel Aviv (at least) has some really good culture and night-life going for it.

Once again, I can’t emphasize enough how overblown the security issue is here. Sure, there are a few places to avoid, but that’s true anyplace (if for different reasons); other than that, Israel is actually remarkably safe when you factor in all the risks you take every day back home, including being the victim of Violent Crime (no matter what it’s motivation)

Last but not least, I’d love to meet a foreign Doper visiting here :slight_smile:

6

One of my fondest memories of an indentured bilge rat period in the Mediterranean is a Saturday afternoon in Haifa. The trains weren’t running and the only place open was at the top of the hill. I walked. I walked through neighborhoods where the only sound came out of kitchen windows. I wasn’t just waking through a place, I was traveling through time from Saturday to the Sabbath.

P.S. I’m Muslim.

7

Based on friends’ experiences, the only real question you’ve got to ask yourself is, ‘Do I feel like getting laid this summer?’ And not just with one of your fellow travelers. Locals, too!

8

Thanks for the input so far.

I just rechecked the dates and it looks like the interestingly-themed tour wouldn’t work: I’d have to miss graduation, and since I’m good friends with about half the graduating class (yes, tiny school), that’s really not an option.

I think I’m going to talk it over with my parents tomorrow: I know what my dad will say but I’m not sure about my mother. They might be open to helping shoulder some of the cost, I’m not sure.

Another part of why I’m interested (that I forgot to mention) is I’m a history geek. I really love Old Stuff. I know that that region is full of Old Stuff, and probably on a trip through Athens or Rome would satisfy my “Oh god the history” thirst. Buuut, I’m afraid that I wouldn’t get enough time as we were shuttled about in a group or we’d skip too many things of major interest. If there was a program that said “We’ll give you airfare and x amount of money for transport within the country, go have fun”, I wouldn’t hesitate.

I hadn’t even thought about the food issue. I’m a vegetarian, so that’s definitely something that’ll get added to the formula.

Re: getting laid…that’s really not a selling point in my mind.

9

My sister went on the Birthright trip last year. She **loved **it! My immediate family is not extremely Jewish (we go to our relatives’ houses to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, Passover & Chanukah, but that’s about it. Neither me or my sister have ever been to Temple or Hebrew school) and she said that was no problem at all. There will be all type of Jews there, from non-observant to Orthodox. I applied for the March trip this year myself but was told that for some reason all the March ones this year are being cancelled and that I should try again for the summer session.

10

I did birthright in January '07 with my sister. Fantastic experience.

Shouldn’t be a problem. I went with one girl who had discovered about a year earlier that one of her grandparents was Jewish. That’s it. She’d never been to synagogue. She didn’t know any prayers. She didn’t know a word of Hebrew.

The point of the trip is whatever you make of it. For some, it’s a pilgrimage. For others it’s a singles bar. For yet others, it’s just a free vacation. The organization has the thinly-veiled motive of creating more pro-Israel sentiment in the world, and no matter your mindset going in, Birthright does the trick.

I usually feel the same way. I’ve spent months backpacking solo through Europe. I never ever make an itinerary: travel is about freedom.

But Israel was different. I’d like to go back someday and do the no-itinerary thing, but for your first time, you get so much more out of it with a tour. Especially, ESPECIALLY if you’re a history buff. The guides they have on Birthright are brilliant (mostly), and will not let you down. Yeah, you’ll do touristy stuff, and some of it will be stupid touristy stuff (sleeping in a Bedouin “tent”? Oy), but there’s a reason the touristy stuff is so popular. Visiting the Western Wall is deeply moving, even if (like me) you are not religious. Jerusalem, Safat, floating in the Dead Sea (mind = blown), the sea of Galilee, hiking in the Golan Heights…
And since you’re a seasoned traveller, I should point this out: many people defer their return tickets and stay on for a couple extra weeks. My sister did this and traveled around Syria with some of her new friends from the trip. You can make the decision when you get there

As noone special pointed out, it’ll be freaking hot. I went, as I said, in January, and the weather was positively Mediterranean.

I don’t know where you’re getting this. Here’s what you should have to pay for:
*One meal a day. And food is cheap.
*A tip (usually $50) for your bus driver.
*Spending money. I’m not a shopper and I spent probably less than $50 on souvenir crap for the whole trip.

That’s it.

Your group will be assigned one or two ex-IDF armed guards at all times. But if you talk to them, they’ll point out that not even the craziest terrorist would attack a caravan of rich white Americans. Take note also that the rifles carried by the guards are antiques. It’s pretty damn safe there, and Israel does not fuck around when it comes to security.

Your tour guide will have perfect English. Some of them are even Americans. It’s one of the most competitive guide positions in the country, so it attracts top-notch talent.

Other thoughts:
You’ll be in good company as a vegetarian. You’ll find it WAY easier to eat vegetarian there than it is in the US. With everything kosher, many kitchens don’t even allow meat in the door.

Choose a trip based on the age group if you can. The 18-20 groups will be more interested in drinking and “stickin’ it to the man” than history and culture. I went in a 24-26 group and while some people were there to party, most were there to learn and see the country.

The trip organizers fell in love with my sister on the trip and invited her to come back. She’s self-employed, so she’s able to lead trips occasionally. She’s gone back three times now with Birthright trips.

PM me or post here if you have any specific questions about it.

Oh, and what trip are you thinking about? I’m a bit wary of the “theme” trips. I’m a little biased, but I’d recommend Shorashim: they actually add 10-12 Israelis who are your same age to the group. I’m still occasionally in touch with the some of the Israelis I met there.

11

Even on a tour- Israel will Blow Your Mind if you’re into history. Take it from another history geek. Even if you’re on a tour that doesn’t do a lot of historical stuff- just, all of a sudden, at random there will be something that’s 2,500 years old in front of you that the guide will point out to you.

12

I’m Jewish, but I don’t plan on going on a Birthright trip. I’m rather disgusted by the presumptous idea that I have a ‘birthright’ (talk about your strong words) to a country I’ve never been to, know no-one from, and have no familial connections to. The concept seems to stretch colonialism to the very end of its grabby limits. That’s just my personal choice, of course.

13

If you have a chance to take the Birthright trip to Israel… make it fit into your life.

By the time I found out about the Birthright trips, I was in my last few years of college, and I was almost too old for the program. My last chance to go was my “senior” year in college (I took a while to finish my degree) I was unable to go because of classes (geology field work in the summer). So I didn’t go and now I deeply regret not putting off summer field work for it.

Now I am too old for the Birthright program, so I doubt I will ever see Israel, due not being able to build up enough vacation time, being too busy at work (when I have a job), and all the other B.S. that life brings.

14

I’m sorta talking out of my ass here, but my understanding of a big part of why they sponsor these trips is as a sort of low key sales pitch to American Jews who aren’t particularly religious or have little interest in the religion to inspire them to get more into Judaism. I’m sure that a large chunk of the participants have little to no Jewish involvement going in, and I have no doubt you won’t be the only one who hasn’t done much Jewish since Hebrew School. Although the organizers expect that some percentage the participants to come back more interested and involved, I’m sure they understand that many won’t.

This is all to say that if you take the trip with an open mind, I’m sure you’ll meet the criteria that the organizers expect.

15

I was pointed to this thread by a friend, as I went in June of '04. My group was the graduates and young professionals, but I don’t know how old you are, NinjaChick. I also don’t think there’s much I can add that Noone Special and Randy Seltzer didn’t cover. :frowning:
A few things are definitely true: There’s a lot of stuff scheduled and a lot of places to go. It’s also a healthy dose of indoctrination of what Israel is about.

This is it in a nutshell. There were people in my group who were Orthodox and people who barely considered themselves Jewish. And yes, some people who just wanted to party and have a free vacation. Nobody’s going to be singling you out like, “what’s wrong with her?” if you don’t considered yourself observant or even Jewish.

I’d also agree with Randy’s suggestion that you stay a few extra days. They cram so much in that the ten or so days just fly by. One of the only complaints I had was that we didn’t talk to enough native Israelis; most of the people we met seemed to be expatriate Americans.

I definitely don’t regret going, just that I waited so long. I’d say go, but be aware of what the trip really is.

16

Poking around their website a bit more, I get that impression as well.

For clarity, my relation to Judaism is this: Mom never officially converted, Dad was born Jewish. They had a Jewish (reform, obviously) wedding. My sister and I were fully raised Jewish, Hebrew school from age 7 to 15, bat mitzvah, etc. We were mildly observant at home - synagogue on the High Holy Days, shabbat candles on Friday night, that’s about it. Around the age of twelve I started asking serious questions. Many, many big teenage fights with my parents happened because of Hebrew school until I finally finished at 15.

Since then (so about six years on) my greatest exposure to anything remotely Jewish has been: some kosher-for-passover candies showing up in a care package from the synagogue my freshman year of college, and sitting silently as my parents say the Shabbat prayers when I’m home. I’ve gotten over it (mostly), but I did go through a phase where I was kind of angry at Judaism in general, and especially my parent’s synagogue, for a variety of reasons. It’s not just a case of ‘on paper, Jewish, but not in practice’ - when I was at the peak of my ‘grr angry’ phase I even denied having any relationship to Judaism at all.

And now I’m worried that I might not be able to keep my mouth shut if I did go - my political views on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict generally don’t fit with what Judaism (as a whole) generally embraces.

Definitely going to talk to my parents about it tomorrow, though, and see what they have to say. My sense of wanderlust is freaking out that I might turn down the chance for a free trip anywhere.

17

I went with a group of Russian Jews through EZRA, an affiliate of Birthright which takes Russian speaking Jews on the trip. The thing is that no one was allowed to practice Judaism in Russia until the fall of the Soviet Union. So all these Russian Jews were Jewish in name only. The purpose of the trip was to teach them about Israel and what it means to be Jewish. That and to get them to support all of Israel’s efforts in the future.

It’s their sales pitch on Judaism and Israel. Do not feel guilty about it. Let them have their say and decide for yourself if it right for you or not.

Yes you will have to be respectful there and observe some Jewish rituals. There were still some observant Jews that went on the trip and I did not mind showing them respect. I did draw the line when my roommate told me not to shower on the Sabbath.

They were pretty flexible with the dates when I went. I hope you can work something out.

I had to give up $60 on tips during the trip and pay only for lunch. Breakfast and dinner is provided for. BTW, breakfast is the hotel’s buffet and will be virtually the same in every hotel.

You get armed guards and soldiers traveling with you. They will let you take pictures with their weapons. They will also have sex with most of the girls on the trip.

Your bus won’t even go through any Muslim neighborhoods during the trip.

It is definitely worth it. I made the mistake of going with Russians because I keep forgetting how different I am from most them. I even hate speaking Russian so I ended up talking very little.

That said, I still enjoyed the trip. What I do love is observing a different culture and I got a really nice dose of that. Plus, the country is beautiful and has great food.

My tour guide was extremely knowledgeable. I learned just how insane Judaism is. My guide knew damn near everything.

Go for the history, culture, the crystal clear beaches, or the even the nightclubs. They have everything covered. I haven’t met anyone who said they regretted going.

18

Ah, good thing I found this thread to remind me. I’ve been planning to apply for summer but didn’t realize the application period ended so soon. I just submitted my application. Here’s hoping!

19

What are you worried about? That you will speak up and somebody will get a clue?

That is really not that bad.

20

Deep Breath. If you go on a Birthright trip, you will be surrounded with a bunch of other people your age with varying degrees of exposure to Judaism and Israeli politics. If you are capable of being polite while arguing your views, I’d be surprised if having “un-orthodox” views will be held against you. And being exposed to what you will be exposed to while on the trip may influence your views. You don’t have to bite your tongue, just be polite, and be willing to listen to the other side, and know when to shut up so that the guide or whoever can move on to the rest of his or her planned speech. But I can’t imagine that you would be vilified or shunned for bringing your own fully formed predjudices with you.