Hey everyone,

I'm a journalist based in NYC, working on a story about Birthright Israel and how young American Jews are navigating their relationship with Israel since October 7 and the war in Gaza.

I'm particularly interested in speaking with someone in their late teens or early 20s who is planning to go on Birthright or has recently returned, especially if they have conflicted feelings about Israel.

Maybe you feel connected to Israel but disagree with the government or its actions in Gaza. Maybe the war has made you question whether to visit at all. Or maybe you went on Birthright with doubts and came back with a completely different perspective, whether more positive, more critical, or somewhere in between.

I'd love to understand what motivated you to go, how you felt beforehand, and whether the experience changed your views about Israel, the war or your Jewish identity.

If this sounds like you, or you know someone with a similar experience, please comment or DM me! Happy to explain more about the story.

Thank you!

Hello, not to sound entitled, but has anyone heard of a birthright trip redo? I am obviously looking into my other options, volunteering and Onward, etc, but if I could somehow redo the trip I would, even if there's a fee. Let's just say it was during the height of the war, the trip got moved by a month, and so a lot of people cancelled going on the trip, and the ratio was pretty terrible, around 15-20 guys and 5 girls. Also, because it was so hot (August) a lot of activities got cancelled, and also due to last minute the trip dates being moved in the first place, a lot of the activities got changed and what I was looking forward to the most - sleeping over at a Kibbutz, didn't happen. A lot of the days were spent being back early at the hotel and chilling at the pool with other groups. I also got sick the last 4 days pretty bad. Anyways, it wasn't super memorable for me, my time in Israel afterwards with the few connections I made / ppl I already knew was better spent in my opinion. Of course, I'm glad I got to go on this free trip and am grateful, and did make a few friends out of it, but a lot of people on the trip were pretty immature and even participated in bullying behavior towards people from other groups and towards each other. I feel the staff of the trip didn't care much about the behavior being exerted and encouraged one particular individual that they knew, who was not even staff, but one of us, to act rude/spoiled and be some group leader. He made fun of lgbt people, and tried to hit on a lot of girls etc. If you know anyone I could speak to about that whole situation, but especially redoing the trip, please reach out or comment -I'd appreciate it.

My neighbor is modern orthodox but has never been to Israel. Are there any free or subsidized trips he can take that would show him Israel for the first time, with a group of similar aged people? Thanks!

Planning to go this winter, any experience with the outdoors max trip / was it very intense?

Hi everyone! I will be attending a birthright trip for participants who are between the ages of 27-32. Trips for this age group are being offered temporarily.

My trip departs from New York. I live in Toronto.

There is another trip occurring at the same time as mine with participants who are 22-26 years old and departs from Toronto. I asked if I could fly with that group and then meet the 27-32 age group in Israel.

I was told this wasn't possible, i.e. that I couldn't fly with the 22-26 group who departs from Toronto, and that I'd have to get to New York to catch the 27-32 participants flight.

Can someone explain to me why this isn't possible? Can an exception be made?

Since a Toronto flight exists with birthright, it seems too bad that I'd have to go to New York for the flight, especially because getting to New York is an expense I'd pay for out of pocket.

Thanks!

Hi everyone!

I will be going on a birthright trip. I have a cat allergy. For those of you with cat allergies, did the stray cats in Israel trigger your symptoms, or were you ok?

Were the hotels cat-free?

Thanks

Can I pay to upgrade my seat/switch location?

Hi I am looking for any mid-late November trips or early December and I could not find any . Is there a waitlist anywhere to sign up for ?

I just did a birthright trip in the summer. I was very inspired by the entire experience. I have been wanting to staff a trip but am having a hard time getting my foot in the door. Any suggestions for how to do this?

I am 47 years old and I would like to go on a volunteer trip to Israel (sponsored by Birthright). I am worried that the target age is 18 to 50 but I will be the only person who is in late 40s. It will be weird if all other participants are in their 20s or early 30s. Any feedback? What organization should I go with?

Heyy all cool fello Armenianss!!! Thinking about participating in Birthright after finishing my music studies in Estonia, but I’m having trouble deciding whether I should go in June or September. Helppp! What are the possibilities/pros of going in the summer vs. autumn?

Just finally sent my deposit for a Taglit trip. Was stalling it a bit because I was worried about the situation there and I have travel anxiety.

I did however stall enough that I aged out of the 22-26 bracket so I will be on a 27-32 one. Is it still mostly the same experience? I am newly 27, so I will be the youngest one there. I am not married or anything, so am I going to be a fish out of water? A little bit concerned about being the outcast/being out of place.

How is the atmosphere/energy different between the 22-26 and the 27-32?

I live in the US, and transatlantic flights are expensive. I'm planning on going to visit Belgium with some friends around the same time, and would it be possible to fly to Israel for for birthright, do the trip, stay a bit longer to visit relatives and such, and then after that leave for Belgium, but return to Israel for the trip home? Nothing has been booked yet, just trying to see if this is an option.

Planning on going to birthright this winter. If I wake up super early or during any free time go to a nearby gym is that possible?

I signed up only a few weeks ago when I found out I was available to go, so I'm worried I may have been left out of something. I had signed up for a trip in the past and had to cancel last minute, but they had already formed a group chat prior to the day of departure. I have my flight info and see the names of people in my group, but I've gotten no other info at all about leaving from LAX.

Is this normal? I want to contact someone but obviously it has been the weekend and I wouldn't be sure who to even reach out to.

Any help very appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I went on my birthright trip in 2023. I was incredibly sick The entire trip even had to make a couple trips to the hospital.
Obviously this is such a once in a lifetime experience and I’ve always been so sad that the whole thing was ruined for me.
Is there any way to go again even if I paid or something? I’m just so sad I never got to have this experience

I know legally I can bring enough tins for my trip but I'd love to get one with Hebrew on the tin.

I have three pairs of shoes that I think will be useful, but I'm hesitating on the hiking boots because they take up so much room and are heavier than normal shoes. I'm going on a classic trip in August.

Will I be alright with just: * Waterproof walking sandals * Sketchers sneakers

Or should I bring the waterproof hiking boots too? They're leather so can be quite warm.

I'm not planning on bringing flipflops or "nice" shoes

I’m considering doing a birthright trip sometime this year or the next and I want to know how badly I’ll get reprimanded if I sneak out of a hotel to explore.
My friend said they did it basically every night, but I don’t wanna get shipped back to my country if I do end up wanting to explore at night.

As cool as the guided tours are, I’m much more of a wanderer and the type to get lost on purpose to explore the places more authentically and less from a tourist lens

I just turned 33 at the end of June, I wanted to go on Birthright in the spring but the dates didn't line up with my grad school program. I thought they were ending the 27-32 trips then, so I didn't look at going in the summer. I just checked and saw that at least TailorMade is doing the 27-32 trips in the winter.

I don't know if they're offering any older trips in the summer, since they're not available on the website. But do you think I would be allowed to go on Birthright in the winter, even if I'm 33? I know I've aged out, but since I am so close to the cutoff I wasn't sure if they would let me.

Is there a way to know which providers are offering the 27-32 trip so I can reach out to them? Tailor Made is the only one listed on the Birthright website, but I see that Israel Free Spirit lists them on their own website.