We write this op-ed every bit Jewish students who went on Taglit-Birthright. In sharing some of our experiences we hope other students may begin to question Birthright. Birthright exposed u.s. to the facts on the ground in Israel/Palestine and forced us to face up and reject the Zionist ideologies nosotros grew upwardly with. It showed u.s. that Israel is doing the verbal opposite of what our Jewish values teach united states. Birthright led us to stand in solidarity with Palestine.
Julia's Experience (Summer 2012):
"Tzedek, Tzedek, Tirdof: Justice Justice, you shall pursue" were the words I was taught to live by growing upwardly as a Jewish-American. I was also taught I had a "Birthright" to State of israel–that I should connect to, travel to, and even live in that location, merely because I am Jewish. My Birthright trip and the two months I spent in Israel/Palestine afterwards transformed me into the anti-Zionist Jewish woman I am today. Somehow I saw through Birthright'due south propaganda and learned to employ my Jewish values to all people, particularly those oppressed in my name. If I had non gone on Birthright, I do not know if I would exist in Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Notwithstanding, knowing all that I do now, I would never take made the decision to participate in Birthright in the outset identify.
During my Birthright trip we stayed in a settlement. When I asked about it, I was told that information technology was not a settlement, because under Israeli law the settlement was legal, and the give-and-take settlement implies illegality. In reality, any settlement in the West Depository financial institution is illegal under international law. To get to Jerusalem from the illegal settlement, we had to pass through a checkpoint. We were told it was a tollbooth. When I asked why we did not pay the toll, I was told nosotros had an East-ZPass. We did in fact have an Due east-ZPass, but non like the i we have on cars in Boston. Instead, it was our Jewish privilege, embodied by the Taglit-Birthright sign on the front of our passenger vehicle. As Jewish tourists, we passed correct through the checkpoint, while Palestinians attempting to cross it to get to work or the infirmary were stuck in hours long queues. In v years, sixty-vii Palestinian babies were built-in at checkpoints. Thirty-six of them died. That doesn't happen at toll booths.
Bedouin tent feel on Birthright
The just experience nosotros had with Palestinians on my Birthright trip was visiting the false Bedouin tent in the Negev. We sabbatum under the stars, ate on the flooring, and rode camels. These Bedouin tents are an exploitative part of the Israeli tourism industry, attempting to create a utopian view of Bedouin life in Israel. When I extended my trip, I visited an actual Bedouin hamlet, unrecognized under Israeli police force. This means Bedouin in these villages cannot get permits to fix their rundown homes and that the whole village could be demolished at the drop of a hat by the Israeli authorities. Most Bedouin, including the laborers at the fake Bedouin tents, alive in unrecognized villages.
The mission of Taglit-Birthright is to "create solidarity with Israel" through a free 10-day trip. Instead, Birthright made me into a Palestine solidarity activist. I saw a small sample of the violence enacted by Israel in my name as a Jew and I knew I could not stand idly past whatsoever longer. I had to extend the pursuit of justice that Judaism taught me to the Palestinian people. Occupation and apartheid are not my Jewish values. When I stand in solidarity with Palestinians, I am doing exactly what Judaism teaches me to do–to seek justice and stand with the oppressed.
Chase's Feel (Winter 2014):
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Going on Birthright always seemed like information technology was a given–why wouldn't I accept a gratuitous trip to State of israel, a land that is supposed to mean then much to me equally a Jew? The last few years, and especially last summertime during Operation Protective Edge, I began to question the relationship between my Jewish identity and Israel. I found that State of israel's behavior–their military occupation of Palestine and discriminatory laws against minorities–was in opposition to my Jewish and human values. I learned more than about Birthright'southward funding: Sheldon Adelson, a stiff financial supporter of Republican ultraconservatives, is also the largest single benefactor of Taglit-Birthright. I became skeptical, and even opposed to the whole premise–that every bit a Jew I have a right to visit Israel/Palestine, while Palestinians are not just denied the aforementioned opportunity, but likewise have restrictions on their travel to and inside Israel/Palestine. Knowing I was not the but one with reservations, I found numerous testimonials virtually the trip, including those offered in Birthright? A Primer. In spite of my serious doubts, I felt that in order to have a more fully informed stance, I needed to "run into information technology for myself." My decision, nonetheless, came with 1 condition: I would extend my stay and travel in the occupied West Bank.
My childhood friends who had gone on Birthright all returned no more than educated about the issues, but certainly more fervent in their back up for Israel. My experience was unlike. I expected to feel alienated by the organizers, but instead they expressed support and appreciation for my contrasting opinions. Additionally, nosotros went to a peace middle to talk to an Israeli anti-war activist, Lydia, and a Palestinian lawyer living in Israel, Amir. There, we learned in-depth about how Lydia'southward experiences of anti-Semitism every bit a kid in Wales led her to fight racism and injustice in State of israel/Palestine, and about Amir'due south life as an oppressed minority in Israel. Still, this all-expenses-paid trip was not without serious problems.
While our conversation with Amir at the peace centre was very educational, our organizers seemed to not give him the brownie he deserved. They recognized non believing his claims about discriminatory Israeli laws as much as if he were an Israeli Jew. Afterward looking upwards the laws in question, I constitute that his statements were entirely true. Later, in Sderot, a urban center most a one-half-mile from Gaza, we were taken to a bunker that doubled equally a children's playground. We were shown an incredibly disturbing video that attempted to demonstrate, using graphic imagery and incendiary text, what life is like in a city vulnerable to homemade rocket attacks from Gaza. Instead, information technology expressed numerous anti-Arab sentiments, completely removing any context from the attacks. This video was never discussed afterward its presentation.
Perhaps the nearly absurd part of the tour was the Mega Event. I was caught completely off-baby-sit by the spectacle of it all. Walking in felt similar entering a beaming, boisterous rave–albeit one that was highly organized, with metal detectors and security at every turn. Large plumes of theatrical fog ushered in Prime Minister Netanyahu, who simply arrived from France after the Charlie Hebdo and Kosher marketplace attacks. Netanyahu pressed that it was not safe for Jews to alive anywhere outside of State of israel, hammering in to "Make Aliyah! Brand Aliyah!" While I felt this attitude completely delegitimized my Jewish experience in the diaspora, most of the other iii-k Birthright participants applauded his statements. I suppose it is not surprising I was the only one to boo him.
Even in the all-time case scenario, Taglit-Birthright is an fundamentally problematic programme attempting to conflate Judaism and Zionism. It would be hypocritical for us to tell you not to go on Birthright, but we urge yous to think long and hard virtually information technology. Before making whatsoever decision, you must understand that engaging with Birthright is an inherently political choice. Delight recognize the pain Palestinian students on campus experience when they come across a Birthright advertisement. Think that Palestinians cannot render to their homes, just that you lot, as a Jew, have a constructed "right" to go to that aforementioned country. Birthright is only possible because of Israel's violence toward the Palestinian people.
Just as your support for or critique of State of israel is not related to your Jewishness, going on Birthright is not an essential Jewish rite of passage. Our Jewish values are what led us to SJP and JVP. If you lot go on Birthright, we promise that yous will take a transformative experience and acquire to honor your Jewish values and the legacy of your ancestors by standing against oppression enacted in your proper noun.
An earlier version of this piece appeared in the Tufts Daily.
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