Participation in Birthright Israel trips by Americans down by half this summer

Aftermath of Oct. 7 has also decimated teen camp trips to Israel

Participants in a Birthright Israel trip. Courtesy of Birthright Israel

By Beth Harpaz May 8, 2024

The number of young adults from the U.S. and Canada taking free Birthright trips to Israel this summer is about half what it was last summer.

About 5,000 to 6,000 Americans and Canadians signed up for Birthright trips scheduled to run between mid-May and September this year, compared to 12,508 last year, according to statistics provided by Birthright.

Overall, Birthright expects to bring 13,500 people to Israel from around the world this summer, a 13% decline from the 15,573 who went last summer.

Birthright is the latest program offering travel to Israel to report steeply lower numbers in the aftermath of Hamas’ attacks on Israel and Israel’s war in Gaza. Jewish summer camps that traditionally send thousands of American teenagers to Israel have also seen dramatic declines in participation this year.

Summer camps and Bronfman fellows

The Reform movement’s Yallah! Israel program, which typically sends hundreds of U.S. and Canadian teens to Israel on summer camp trips, will send just 43 North American teens to Israel this summer.

RootOne, an organization that provides $3,000 vouchers for teens joining group trips to Israel, said in March that it expected to subsidize trips for 500 teens this summer. That’s 10% of the 5,000 who participated in RootOne in 2023. RootOne’s focus is on promoting travel to Israel by non-Orthodox kids and those who do not attend Jewish day schools.

The Bronfman Fellowship program for teens announced that it would take place in the U.S. this year rather than Israel. The 26 U.S. teenagers chosen to participate in the program, which focuses on the study of Jewish texts and ideas, will instead be offered an optional trip to Israel at the end of July. A letter to participants explaining the change cited “the ongoing uncertainty around security in Israel.”

850,000 Birthright trips since its founding

Birthright Israel has brought more than 850,000 young adult Jews to Israel since its first trip in 1999. The 10-day sightseeing trips are designed to foster a connection to Israel and to Jewish culture and heritage.

Birthright participation peaked in 2018 with 48,000 participants that year. It began to scale down before Oct. 7 due to reduced support from major donors, increased costs largely due to inflation, and pandemic-related disruptions to travel.

The program’s classic 10-day itinerary of sightseeing and cultural immersion has two new components this year: volunteering and meeting with Israelis to talk about Oct. 7. CEO Gidi Mark said in a statement that the program is more relevant than ever “in light of the recent escalation on college campuses, in which Jewish students are being threatened daily.”

Why the decline?

While much of the decline in trip participation is undoubtedly related to safety concerns, many parents who spoke to the Forward in March about opting out of camp trips also said they didn’t want their kids in Israel at a time when the country is at war and so many people there are still processing the trauma of the Oct. 7 attacks.

It’s harder to gauge how many families and young Jewish adults may be avoiding travel to Israel because they oppose the war. A poll from February by the Pew Research Center found that 42% of Jews under the age of 35 —and 33% of all Jewish adults — believe the way Israel has carried out its war in Gaza is “unacceptable.”

One parent who did not want to be quoted by name told the Forward his teenage son “can’t see a way to visit Israel as a tourist and not feel that such a trip condones in some way what the IDF is doing now in Gaza.”

Beth Harpaz is a reporter at the Forward and manages the Bintel Brief advice column. She previously covered politics and breaking news for The Associated Press. Email: [email protected].

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