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Birthright Israel to scale back again, slashing number of free trips by up to a third
(JTA) – Birthright Israel is drastically cutting back on the number of free trips it plans to offer to Jewish young adults, scaling back its operations by up to a third, the organization announced Monday.
The cuts come amid what the organization said is a mix of financial pressures, chiefly inflation and heightened travel expenses in a post-COVID world. It plans to make added appeals to its top donors but still expects to heavily reduce its Israel trips in 2023 to as few as 23,500 participants, down from 35,000 this year and 45,000 annually pre-pandemic.
“The significant cost increases of our program mean that we will not be able to accommodate as many applicants in the coming years,” Birthright CEO Gidi Mark said in a statement provided to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
However, Birthright’s own fundraising has not been affected. A Birthright spokesperson told JTA that the organization actually expects its funding to increase from 2022 to 2023, but that the growth won’t be enough to compensate for the rise in expenses and inflation.
The group has shown other signs lately of scaled-back operations for its free 10-day trips to Israel for Jewish young adults. Earlier this year Birthright said it would lower the maximum age of participation back to 26, after five years of allowing Jews aged 27 to 32 to enroll. The group’s leadership said at the time that the increased age limit was backfiring by convincing younger Jews to keep delaying their trips. Birthright also merged with Onward Israel, another Israel travel program for young adults, during the pandemic.
The program was founded in 1999 as a means of encouraging greater Israel engagement among younger generations of Jews, and studies commissioned in the two decades since have shown that Jews who participated in Birthright trips were more likely than peers who applied but did not go to marry somebody Jewish and to feel a deeper connection to Israel. One such study was released last week.
“Without a major immediate increase in fundraising, we will be hard-pressed to have the positive effect we’ve had on many individuals,” Mark said.
The Birthright Israel Foundation, its fundraising arm, is making a large appeal to donors this year for increased funding. Though it receives large portions of its estimated $150 million annual budget from the Israeli government and large donors such as the Adelson Family Foundation, the foundation’s CEO, Izzy Tapoohi, said it is “a myth” that “just a few large donors” fund Birthright.
It’s been a difficult period for several of Birthright’s most stalwart funders, from various legal troubles for founder Michael Steinhardt to potential sanctions for Russian Jewish philanthropists in the wake of Russia’s war with Ukraine. Young American Jews have also indicated in demographic studies that they feel less culturally and politically connected to Israel than previous generations, and the group IfNotNow, which aims to end American Jewish support for Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, urged a boycott and other protests of Birthright.
Israel’s recent election that propelled a far-right bloc into government is widely seen as likely to drive a further wedge between Israel and many young American Jews.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Birthright has suffered a downturn in fundraising. In fact, Birthright projects its funding to increase from 2022 to 2023, even as it reduces the number of trips.
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Proposal to elevate Netanyahu’s son shatters fragile concord at World Zionist Congress
JERUSALEM — An early sign of moderation and compromise among the delegates here this week for the 39th World Zionist Congress appeared to shatter late Wednesday amid revelations that supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to install his son Yair in a key leadership role.
The drama is roiling the high-stakes gathering that is often described as the “parliament of the Jewish people,” taking place against the backdrop of heightened antisemitism around the world and war in the region.
Delegates from more than 40 nations have converged in Jerusalem, with the U.S. delegation the largest in the congress’ history: 155 delegates and about 100 alternates, representing 22 states and a wide age range (18-87), including 75 rabbis of various streams.
The congress, which opened Tuesday, is expected to determine the allocation of more than $1 billion annually toward Zionist institutions, appoint the leadership for the movement, and set the tone for Israel-Diaspora relations.
In his opening remarks, Israeli President Isaac Herzog underscored the enduring purpose of Zionism in an era of rising antisemitism.
“Those who once called us ‘Yids’ or ‘kikes’ now call us ‘Zios’… These ‘Zios’ are us,” he said. He invoked the founding vision of Theodor Herzl for a pluralistic Zionist movement that gathers multiple voices under one roof.
Yet beneath that message of unity, fissures have been visible, perhaps most notably in the absence of Netanyahu, marking the first time since Israel’s founding that a sitting premier has skipped the gathering.
Senior delegates said his absence reflected friction inside World Likud and his long-running dispute with its chair U.N. envoy Danny Danon, with whom he has sparred over internal appointments, as well as concern he would face a hostile reception from delegates.
Kenneth Bob, newly elected chairman of the World Labor Zionist Alliance, said that given that “half the congress are not fans,” Netanyahu’s decision to skip the convening was unsurprising.
“He’s afraid of the response he’d get from the delegates. He knows he’ll be greeted rudely,” he said.
But Netanyahu’s presence is still being felt. As delegates deliberate policy and funding, the congress is also navigating intense power-sharing negotiations. A deal reportedly struck between center-left and center-right Zionist blocs to rotate leadership of major institutions was thrown into jeopardy after word emerged that Yair Netanyahu — son of the prime minister — would take a senior role at the WZO. That revelation sparked the collapse of the agreement and forced the extension of the congress by two weeks.
Yair Netanyahu is a divisive figure in Israel. Unlike many other Israelis his age, 34, he spent the war living in Miami and did not serve in the reserves during the war in Gaza. He is known for his social media posts backing his father’s politics and advancing far-right conspiracy theories.
Yair Netanyahu with his father, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem, Jan. 23, 2020. (Alexei NikolskyTASS via Getty Images)
The deal that collapsed was notable for excluding only a single party from power-sharing: Otzma Yehudit, run by the far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, currently Israel’s national security minister. The congress is the first to include delegations representing extremist parties.
The deal was also notable because it would have installed Doron Perez as the World Zionist Organization’s next chair. Perez’s son Daniel was murdered on Oct. 7 and his body was held hostage in Gaza until earlier this month.
Herbert Block, executive director of the American Zionist Movement, which represents U.S. Jewry at the congress, said the days of coalition bargaining had exposed familiar frictions among religious, right-wing, and liberal Zionist factions over control of budgets, appointments, and ideological priorities within the national institutions. Referring to the negotiations process, he quipped that it recalled the adage about how “laws are like sausages.”
“Enjoy the end product but not how they’re made. You don’t want to see them shechting the cow in the slaughterhouse,” he said, using the Hebrew term for ritual slaughter.
Block added that he hoped the final agreement would lead to “more involvement of the Diaspora communities” and “a greater voice for Diaspora Jewry” in the WZO and the national institutions.
This year’s elections brought a surge of ultra-Orthodox representation: Eretz HaKodesh captured 19 seats, giving it leverage in committee appointments and budgets. The growing presence of haredi parties — many of whose members historically rejected the Zionist label — has upended the traditional ideological balance.
Bob said the development is “frustrating because they have not identified as Zionist,” adding that while inclusion was welcome, “it has to be with the right intentions.” He cited alleged irregularities in delegate elections as “really shocking.” (Voters had to certify themselves as Zionists to cast ballots.)
Tensions deepened Wednesday ahead of planned protests over Israel’s forthcoming draft of haredi Orthodox men into the military, which prompted the congress to reschedule some sessions.
Many delegates spoke of a movement in flux.
“The Congress has become more like Knesset-style arm-wrestling — who’s bigger, who writes the narrative, who gets another seat,” said Gusti Yehoshua-Braverman, a senior executive at the World Zionist Organization. “We need a new charter for Zionism that restores a shared sense of purpose and updates our values for the realities of today’s Jewish world.”
Beneath the jousting, delegates were voting on a set of resolutions, some with practical consequences and others whose impact is symbolic. One such resolution calls for an official state inquiry into Oct. 7, a move supported by a majority of Israelis that Netanyahu has rebuffed. Another that passed, following a reportedly heated debate, bars the World Zionist Organization from using its funds to support Jewish settlement in Gaza.
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The post Proposal to elevate Netanyahu’s son shatters fragile concord at World Zionist Congress appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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A Saturday night in Portland, very close to the ICE building
ס׳איז געווען אַ שטילע נאַכט אין פּאָרטלאַנד, אָרעגאָן. מײַן חבֿר ברונאָ, אַ משפּחה־דאָקטער װאָס אַרבעט אויפֿן געביט פֿון עפֿנטלעכן געזונט פֿאַר דער שטאָט, האָט פּאַרקירט זײַן אױטאָ אין אַ טונקעלער גאַס אַ פּאָר בלאָקן פֿונעם „אײַס“־קאָמפּלעקס.
„אײַס“ זענען די ראשי־תּיבֿות פֿון דער אַמעריקאַנער אימיגראַציע־אַגענטור, וואָס האָט זינט אָקטאָבער 2024 אַרעסטירט מער ווי 185,000 אומדאָקומענטירטע אימיגראַנטן.
„װילסט טראָגן דעם האָן־קאָסטיום?“ האָט ער מיך געפֿרעגט. דאָס ערשטע מאָל אין מײַן לעבן הער איך אַזאַ פֿראַגע. איך זאָג זיך אָפּ, און ער קװעטשט זיך אַרײַן אין דעם אייגנאַרטיקן פֿאַרשטעלעכץ.
אין פּאָרטלאַנד בין איך געפֿאָרן צוליב אַ קאָנפֿערענץ. נישט געקוקט אױף די בויך־סבֿרות פֿון דאָנאַלד טראָמפּ, איז דאָס אַ שײנע שטאָט, פֿול מיט אײגנאַרטיקע װעגעטאַרישע רעסטאָראַנען, מאָדישע שענקען און אַ סך בריקן אַרום אַ בילד־שײנעם טײַך. מע האָט אויך געזען הײמלאָזע אױף די גאַסן אָבער דאָס איז שוין אַ טײל פֿון דער לאַנדשאַפֿט אין כּמעט יעדער גרויסער אַמעריקאַנער שטאָט, אַ סימן פֿון אונדזערע אומגלײַכקײטן.
נאָר צופֿעליק כאַפּט מען זיך אַז נישט אַלץ איז פֿױגלדיק. אָפּשטאַטנדיק אַ װיזיט אין אַ היגער קליניק, האָב איך באַמערקט די באַװוּסטע שילדן, װאָס װאָרנט „אײַס“ נישט אַרײַנצוטרעטן אָן אַ יורידישן באַפֿעל. פֿאַרבײַגײענדיק אױף דער גאַס, הער איך אונטער װי עס רעדט אַ פּאָרל. זי: „איך באָד זיך אין חובֿות. אַפֿשר זאָל איך זיך פֿאַרשרײַבן פֿאַר אַן אײַס־אַגענט, מע זאָל מיר פֿאַרגעבן די חובֿות.“ ענטפֿערט ער אַ שאָקירטער: „רעד נישט אַזעלכע רײד אין דער עפֿנטלעכקײט!“
װי באַװוּסט װערט פּאָרטלאַנד די טעג אָפֿט מאָל דערמאָנט אין די נײַעס, װײַל טראָמפּס אױפֿמערק האָט זיך פֿיקסירט אױף איר, װוּ עס בושעװעט כּלומרשט אַ מלחמה. כאָטש די אײנציקע קריג װאָס איך האָב דאָרט געזען איז געװען דאָס שטופּעניש אין מײַן האָטעלס לאָבי־באַר, האָב איך באַשלאָסן זיך אַריבערצוכאַפּן אין די בלאָקן לעבן „אײַס“־בנין. און דערפֿאַר האָט מײַן חבֿר זיך אָנגעטאָן דעם הון־קאָסטום.
צוליב דעם וואָס איך בין אָנגעקומען אין פּאָרטלאַנד נאָך שבת האָב איך פֿאַרפֿעלט די דעמאָנסטראַציע מיט אַ 100 מענטשן װאָס איז פֿריִער פֿאָרגעקומען, נאָר איך האָב יאָ געזען דעם עולם װאָס זאַמלט זיך דאָרט חדשים לאַנג, און װאָס טראָמפּ װיל באַקעמפֿן מיט דער נאַציאָנאַלער גװאַרדיע.
אַלץ איז געװען גאַנץ פֿרידלעך, כאָטש אַקטיװ. מ׳איז געשטאַנען אין קרײַזלעך, רעדנדיק, אַ מאָל גאַנץ הױך. עטלעכע „יוטובער“ טיפּן האָבן פֿילמירט.
ניק שירלי, אַ 22-יאָריקער װידעאָ־בלאָגער און „קאָנטענט־שאַפֿער“, האָט מיר געזאָגט, „איך בין דאָ צו רעדן מיט מענטשן [אױפֿן אינטערנעט] צו זאָגן זײ װאָס דאָ קומט פֿאָר. אַנטי־פֿאַ און פּראָטעסטירער פֿאַרנעמען די געגנט צו פּראָטעסטירן ׳אײַס׳.“ אַזעלכע פֿילמירערס, אַרומשפּאַנענדיק מיט אַפּאַראַטן אין דער האַנט און מאָבילקעס אױף סעלפֿי־שטעקנס, האָבן געשאַפֿן גיכער אַ מין צירק־געפֿיל, איידער אַן אײַנדרוק פֿון אַ קאָכעדיקן פּראָטעסט.
אַפֿשר אַ פֿופֿציק מענטשן זײַנען געשטאַנען אױף דער גאַס לעבן דעם „אײַס“־בנין יענעם שבת־צו־נאַכט, שרײַענדיק אױף די אַגענטן װאָס האָבן זיך אַװעקגעשטעלט אױפֿן דאַך. טעראָן, אַ 19-יאָריקער, האָט געזאָגט אַז ער איז געקומען כּדי זיך אַקעגנצושטעלן קעגן „אײַס.“ ניקאָל, 22 יאָר, האָט געזאָגט, „מע נעמט אַװעק אונדזערע קאָנסטיטוציאָנעלע רעכט. דערפֿאַר זײַנען מיר דאָ.“
ברי, אַ יונגע, נידעריקע פֿרױ איז געשטאַנען אין מיטן אַ קרײַזל מענטשן, האַלטנדיק פֿעסט אין דער הײך אַ מעקסיקאַנער פֿאָן. „װאָס טוסטו דאָ?“ האָב איך זי אַ פֿרעג געטאָן. „מיר פּראָטעסטירן קעגן דעם ׳אײַס׳־בנין און לאָזן פֿלאַטערן די פֿאָן כּדי אַרױסצוּװײַזן סאָלידאַריטעט מיט אונדזערע מעקסיקאַנער ברידער און שװעסטער, װאָס װערן עטניש גערײניקט.“
אַז אַ פֿרױ, װאָס האָט נישט געװאָלט געבן איר נאָמען, האָט געהערט אַז איך שרײַב פֿאַר אַ ייִדישער צײַטונג, האָט זי האַסטיק אַ פֿרעג געטאָן, „װאָס מײנסטו װעגן עזה? האַלטסטו דאָס פֿאַר אַ גענאָציד?“
אױפֿן װעג צום עולם טראָפּמיסטן (אַ היפּשע צאָל, כאָטש אַ קלענערער װי די לינקע – מיט טראָמפּ־ און אַמעריקאַנער פֿאָנען), האָב איך געטראָפֿן אַ יאַט אָנגעטאָן אין שװאַרץ. „איך װיל גאָר נישט זאָגן, נאָר ס׳איז אַ מזל אַז קײנער איז דאָ נאָך נישט דערהרגעט געװאָרן.“
אַ פּאָליצײ־אױטאָ איז אַדורכגעפֿאָרן. „בלאָקיר נישט די גאַס! זײַט אײדל אײנער צום צװײטן!“ האָט מען געפֿאָלגט. מײַן חבֿר מיטן הון־קאָסטיום האָט געטאַנצט צו דער מוזיק װאָס עמעצער האָט געשפּילט.
אַ פֿאָן־טרעגער צווישן די טראָמפּיסטן האָט מיר באַשריבן זײַנע צילן. „איך בין דאָ צו פֿאַרברענגען, אָנצוקוקן דעם עולם און פֿאַרטײדיקן די פּאַטריאָטן.“
אַ פֿרױ און אַ בחור זענען געשטאַנען אױפֿן ראַנד טראַטואַר. „פֿאַר װאָס זײַט איר דאָ?“ האָב איך אַ פֿרעג געטאָן.
„איך בין אַ שטיצער פֿון די פּאַטריאָטן,“ האָט זי זיך אָפּגערופֿן. „אָנגעקומען בין איך אין פּאָרטלאַנד צו 18 יאָר װי אַ נישט־חתונה־געהאַטע מאַמע. איך האָב געדאַרפֿט שפּעטער פֿאַרלאָזן די שטאָט װײַל איך האָב מער נישט געקענט פֿאָרן מיט דער צופֿאָר־באַן. דראָג־אַדיקטן. ווילדע אומרוען. מע באַגנבֿעט אײנער דעם צװײטן. איך הייס בעט. אָט איז מײַן זון לאָראַן.“
„מעג איך אַראָפּנעמען אײַער בילד?“
„װאָסער צײַטונג, װידער?“
„אַ ייִדישע.“
„אין דעם פֿאַל, דאַרף איך ענדיקן מיט דעם: יעזוס איז דער מלך.“
איך האָב אַ קוק געגעבן אױפֿן האַנטזײגער און זיך געכאַפּט אַז ס׳װערט שפּעטלעך. איבערגעכאַפּט אַן אינדיש־װעגעטאַרישע װעטשערע, זײַנען מיר צוגעפֿאָרן צום פֿליפֿעלד. מײַן חבֿר איז שױן געװאָרן אױס האָן.
כ׳בין אַהײמגעפֿאָרן מיט פּאָרטלאַנדער זכרונות פֿון פֿאָנען און פֿאָטאָגראַפֿן.
The post A Saturday night in Portland, very close to the ICE building appeared first on The Forward.
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Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist Attacks Israel During Democratic Primary Campaign for Governor
Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist speaks at a “Hands Off” protest at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, on April 5, 2025. Photo: Andrew Roth/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist has sparked backlash among the state’s Jewish community in recent weeks over his fierce condemnations of Israel while running in the Democratic primary to be Michigan’s next governor.
Gilchrist has sharpened his rhetoric against Israel, falsely accusing the Jewish state of both committing a “genocide” against the Palestinian people and purposefully inflicting famine across Gaza.
Since entering the race, Gilchrist has embarked on a full-court press to galvanize Michigan’s Arab community behind his campaign. Gilchrist recently spoke at events held by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and ArabCon, in which he condemned Israel for supposedly committing a “genocide” in Gaza. He has also vowed not to accept money from organizations that support Israel’s war against Hamas, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a lobbying group that seeks to foster bipartisan support for the US-Israel alliance.
“This is not a matter of opinion; it is a matter of fact,” Gilchrist said to a cheering audience at ArabCon last month. “This has been established by the global leaders who study genocide. This is not something we should support. American taxpayer dollars should not fund offensive weapons of war while children are starving, while medical resources are being blocked to civilians, and while lineages of families are being erased.”
ArabCon, an annual convention held in Dearborn, Michigan to address issues affecting the Arab American community, featured several speakers connected to terrorist organizations. Some featured speakers referred to Zionists as “vile” and dismissed the Jewish people’s connection to Israel.
At last year’s event, Mohammed Maraqa, data strategist for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said that “the Jewish community is led by their business people, by their moneyed interests.”
Gilchrist further condemned Israel in fundraising emails, claiming that the Jewish state has oppressed Palestinians and accusing AIPAC, the foremost pro-Israel lobbying organization in the US, of collaborating with “billionaire allies” to silence him.
“What’s happening in Gaza is a genocide. Families are starving. Children are being bombed. And our federal government is writing the checks that fund it,” Gilchrist’s campaign wrote in a fundraising email. “I stand for human rights, dignity, and safety. That is why I am standing with the Palestinian people and their family, friends, and allies in Michigan – even knowing that AIPAC and its billionaire allies will flood Michigan with attack ads to try to shut me up.”
The Jewish Federation of Detroit issued a statement accusing Gilchrist of peddling “antisemitic” tropes and mischaracterizing Israel’s military campaign against the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza.
“Gilchrist promotes an inaccurate and offensive narrative that also omits the horrific attacks of October 7th and ignores those that remain hostage in Gaza,” the Jewish Federation of Detroit said in a statement, referring to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
“This inflammatory language is an attempt to foster divisiveness as a campaign tool. We expect our elected representatives to reject political rhetoric that plays into antisemitic tropes and instead promote peace and understanding among all Michiganders,” the group continued.
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), one of the most vocal critics of Israel in the US Congress, endorsed Gilchrist on Tuesday.
“I trust Garlin [and his] lived experience, not only as a father, but as someone who understands what it means when we don’t have people in office defending us and fighting on our behalf,” Tlaib said.
Skeptics have suggested that Gilchrist’s repudiation of Israel is an effort to inject life into his fledgling gubernatorial campaign. Despite serving as the running mate of sitting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), Gilchrist has failed to secure her endorsement. Earlier this year, Whitmer refused to throw her weight behind Gilchrist, breaking a longstanding tradition of Michigan governors endorsing their second in command.
According to polls, Gilchrist faces a steep uphill climb to win Michigan’s Democratic nomination for governor. A recent poll conducted by Impact research showed Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson leading Gilchrist by a whopping 39 points. Unlike Gilchrist, Benson has refused to call Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide.”